4765
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 June 9, 2021
11 12:59 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR ROXANNE J. PERSAUD, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., 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 PERSAUD: The
3 Senate will come to order.
4 I ask everyone present to please
5 rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: In the
9 absence of clergy, let us bow our heads in a
10 moment of silent reflection or prayer.
11 (Whereupon, the assemblage respected
12 a moment of silence.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Reading
14 of the Journal.
15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Tuesday,
16 June 8, 2021, the Senate met pursuant to
17 adjournment. The Journal of Monday, June 7,
18 2021, was read and approved. On motion, the
19 Senate adjourned.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Without
21 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
22 Presentation of petitions.
23 Messages from the Assembly.
24 The Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Skoufis
4767
1 moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
2 Assembly Bill Number 4913A and substitute it for
3 the identical Senate Bill 1878B, Third Reading
4 Calendar 301.
5 Senator Kaplan moves to discharge,
6 from the Committee on Investigations and
7 Government Operations, Assembly Bill Number 1108A
8 and substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
9 4704A, Third Reading Calendar 473.
10 Senator Hoylman moves to discharge,
11 from the Committee on Judiciary, Assembly Bill
12 Number 2199 and substitute it for the identical
13 Senate Bill 473, Third Reading Calendar 524.
14 Senator Brooks moves to discharge,
15 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
16 6767A and substitute it for the identical Senate
17 Bill 4562A, Third Reading Calendar 752.
18 Senator Kaminsky moves to discharge,
19 from the Committee on Energy and
20 Telecommunications, Assembly Bill Number 585A and
21 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
22 4281A, Third Reading Calendar 849.
23 Senator Parker moves to discharge,
24 from the Committee on Energy and
25 Telecommunications, Assembly Bill Number 6436 and
4768
1 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 5062,
2 Third Reading Calendar 850.
3 Senator Sanders moves to discharge,
4 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
5 Number 430 and substitute it for the identical
6 Senate Bill 2628, Third Reading Calendar 965.
7 Senator Sepúlveda moves to
8 discharge, from the Committee on Health, Assembly
9 Bill Number 1523 and substitute it for the
10 identical Senate Bill 2212, Third Reading
11 Calendar 1035.
12 Senator Comrie moves to discharge,
13 from the Committee on Corporations, Authorities
14 and Commissions, Assembly Bill Number 6971 and
15 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
16 6257A, Third Reading Calendar 1074.
17 Senator Cooney moves to discharge,
18 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
19 Number 268A and substitute it for the identical
20 Senate Bill 6267A, Third Reading Calendar 1079.
21 Senator Skoufis moves to discharge,
22 from the Committee on Higher Education, Assembly
23 Bill Number 3523A and substitute it for the
24 identical Senate Bill 1662B, Third Reading
25 Calendar 1130.
4769
1 Senator Myrie moves to discharge,
2 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
3 6769 and substitute it for the identical Senate
4 Bill 282, Third Reading Calendar 1213.
5 Senator Jackson moves to discharge,
6 from the Committee on Elections, Assembly Bill
7 Number 6046 and substitute it for the identical
8 Senate Bill 6379, Third Reading Calendar 1352.
9 Senator Comrie moves to discharge,
10 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
11 Number 4186B and substitute it for the identical
12 Senate Bill 6395A, Third Reading Calendar 1353.
13 Senator Gianaris moves to discharge,
14 from the Committee on Elections, Assembly Bill
15 Number 6047A and substitute it for the identical
16 Senate Bill 6429, Third Reading Calendar 1354.
17 Senator Myrie moves to discharge,
18 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
19 Number 6970A and substitute it for the identical
20 Senate Bill 6482B, Third Reading Calendar 1356.
21 Senator Skoufis moves to discharge,
22 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
23 Number 2296 and substitute it for the identical
24 Senate Bill 5160B, Third Reading Calendar 1448.
25 Senator Brisport moves to discharge,
4770
1 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
2 7713 and substitute it for the identical Senate
3 Bill 7033, Third Reading Calendar 1587.
4 Senator Ortt moves to discharge,
5 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
6 7816 and substitute it for the identical Senate
7 Bill 7060, Third Reading Calendar 1588.
8 Senator Bailey moves to discharge,
9 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
10 7601 and substitute it for the identical Senate
11 Bill 7172, Third Reading Calendar 1603.
12 Senator Cooney moves to discharge,
13 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
14 8012 and substitute it for the identical Senate
15 Bill 7187, Third Reading Calendar 1610.
16 Senator Ramos moves to discharge,
17 from the Committee on Social Services, Assembly
18 Bill Number 3331 and substitute it for the
19 identical Senate Bill 924, Third Reading
20 Calendar 1619.
21 Senator Comrie moves to discharge,
22 from the Committee on Agriculture, Assembly Bill
23 Number 735 and substitute it for the identical
24 Senate Bill 3152A, Third Reading Calendar 1630.
25 Senator Comrie moves to discharge,
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1 from the Committee on Consumer Protection,
2 Assembly Bill Number 3173 and substitute it for
3 the identical Senate Bill 3764, Third Reading
4 Calendar 1632.
5 Senator Comrie moves to discharge,
6 from the Committee on Energy and
7 Telecommunications, Assembly Bill Number 949 and
8 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 3789,
9 Third Reading Calendar 1633.
10 Senator Comrie moves to discharge,
11 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
12 2202 and substitute it for the identical Senate
13 Bill 4060, Third Reading Calendar 1634.
14 Senator May moves to discharge, from
15 the Committee on Local Government, Assembly Bill
16 Number 3034 and substitute it for the identical
17 Senate Bill 4432, Third Reading Calendar 1637.
18 Senator Mannion moves to discharge,
19 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
20 898B and substitute it for the identical Senate
21 Bill 4467B, Third Reading Calendar 1638.
22 Senator Reichlin-Melnick moves to
23 discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
24 Assembly Bill Number 6014A and substitute it for
25 the identical Senate Bill 4849A, Third Reading
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1 Calendar 1641.
2 Senator Palumbo moves to discharge,
3 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
4 6426 and substitute it for the identical Senate
5 Bill 5750, Third Reading Calendar 1647.
6 Senator Sanders moves to discharge,
7 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
8 3967 and substitute it for the identical Senate
9 Bill 6230, Third Reading Calendar 1650.
10 Senator Kennedy moves to discharge,
11 from the Committee on Finance, Assembly Bill
12 Number 6968 and substitute it for the identical
13 Senate Bill 6234, Third Reading Calendar 1651.
14 Senator Gaughran moves to discharge,
15 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
16 7209 and substitute it for the identical Senate
17 Bill 6323, Third Reading Calendar 1652.
18 Senator Breslin moves to discharge,
19 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
20 7237 and substitute it for the identical Senate
21 Bill 6441, Third Reading Calendar 1653.
22 Senator Kaplan moves to discharge,
23 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
24 7240 and substitute it for the identical Senate
25 Bill 6542, Third Reading Calendar 1656.
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1 Senator Breslin moves to discharge,
2 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
3 7520A and substitute it for the identical Senate
4 Bill 6555A, Third Reading Calendar 1657.
5 Senator Harckham moves to discharge,
6 from the Committee on Local Government, Assembly
7 Bill Number 7038A and substitute it for the
8 identical Senate Bill 6654B, Third Reading
9 Calendar 1660.
10 Senator Kavanagh moves to discharge,
11 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
12 7564 and substitute it for the identical Senate
13 Bill 6815, Third Reading Calendar 1665.
14 Senator Kennedy moves to discharge,
15 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
16 7567A and substitute it for the identical Senate
17 Bill 6850A, Third Reading Calendar 1667.
18 Senator Kavanagh moves to discharge,
19 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
20 4587A and substitute it for the identical Senate
21 Bill 6877, Third Reading Calendar 1669.
22 Senator Breslin moves to discharge,
23 from the Committee on Insurance, Assembly Bill
24 Number 3516 and substitute it for the identical
25 Senate Bill 7075, Third Reading Calendar 1672.
4774
1 And Senator Hinchey moves to
2 discharge, from the Committee on Rules, Assembly
3 Bill Number 7870A and substitute it for the
4 identical Senate Bill Number 7083A, Third Reading
5 Calendar 1673.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: All
7 substitutions so ordered.
8 Messages from the Governor.
9 Reports of standing committees.
10 Reports of select committees.
11 Communications and reports from
12 state officers.
13 Motions and resolutions.
14 Senator Gianaris.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Good afternoon,
16 Madam President.
17 We're going to simultaneously have a
18 Rules Committee meeting and take up some of the
19 resolutions that were previously adopted.
20 So let's begin with Resolution 998,
21 by Senator Bailey, read its title only and
22 recognize Senator Bailey, after you call an
23 immediate meeting of the Committee on Rules in
24 Room 332.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There
4775
1 will be an immediate meeting of the
2 Rules Committee in Room 332.
3 The Secretary will read.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
5 998, by Senator Bailey, memorializing Governor
6 Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim June 2021 as
7 African-American Music Appreciation Month in the
8 State of New York.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
10 Bailey on the resolution.
11 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
12 Madam President.
13 And thank the leader for permitting
14 us to once again do what I believe is an
15 incredibly important resolution.
16 And, Madam President, it's great
17 when you preside, but usually you'd be down here,
18 you'd be able to contribute to our conversation
19 about African-American music and how critically
20 important it is and how we celebrate it in the
21 month of June.
22 President Jimmy Carter, on June 7,
23 1979, initially made it Black Music Month, and it
24 has evolved into African-American Music
25 Appreciation Month. And much like the day itself
4776
1 has evolved, Black music continues to evolve. We
2 know about jazz and the importance that that had
3 in the Harlem Renaissance. We know about gospel
4 and its importance in the Black church. We know
5 about hip-hop, and I'll get more about hip-hop.
6 And as we all know, Madam President,
7 other boroughs and places say that they think
8 that they've perfected it, but we know where
9 hip-hop started, and that's in God's country, the
10 Boogie-Down Bronx.
11 But, you know, when I think about
12 Black culture and I think about Black music, it's
13 part of our story. It is part of what has been
14 able to push us through tough times. In periods
15 of enslavement, in periods of civil rights, in
16 periods of civil discourse and strife, music was
17 there for Black folks to be motivated by. And it
18 has helped us shape, music has helped shape
19 culture, and not just Black culture.
20 Now, if you think about rap, the
21 late great Notorious B.I.G. once said: "You
22 never thought that hip-hop would take it this
23 far." And that's accurate. We never thought
24 that we'd see hip-hop in mainstream TV
25 commercials. We never thought that we'd see a
4777
1 Snoop Dogg and a Bad Bunny in a commercial
2 promoting mainstream goods.
3 Hip-hop has done amazing things.
4 And hip-hop is going to be doing something even
5 more amazing. Madam President, as I mentioned,
6 the birthplace of hip-hop -- and I was lucky
7 enough to go to the groundbreaking of the
8 Universal Hip-Hop Museum. And for something that
9 is a great art form, for something that was born
10 and raised in America, born and raised in
11 New York State, born and raised in the Bronx, we
12 finally have a museum opening on or about -- in
13 2025, which will be incredibly interactive.
14 It will be a destination point so
15 people will not only just come to the City of
16 New York, they'll come to the Borough of the
17 Bronx, and they'll learn about hip-hop. They'll
18 learn about its foundations at 1520 Sedgwick
19 Avenue, the beginning, in my good colleague
20 Senator Serrano's district. They'll learn about
21 Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash and Afrika
22 Bambaataa and KRS-One.
23 And they'll learn about the hip-hop
24 legends from my district: The great Slick Rick,
25 Slick Rick "The Ruler," as it would be, one of my
4778
1 constituents. One of my late great constituents,
2 the great Dwight Myers, Heavy D, an incredible
3 artist in his own right. Mount Vernon's own Pete
4 Rock and C.L. Smooth. Jeff Redd. Al B. Sure!
5 The list goes on and on about people who are from
6 my district who have contributed greatly to Black
7 culture and Black music.
8 Chuck Chillout, DJ Chuck Chillout
9 and DJ Funkmaster Flex, and so many other people
10 who are, again, from the neighborhood who are
11 making impacts on a global business of hip-hop,
12 on the global business of hip-hop music.
13 And I think about, when it comes to
14 African-American culture, the ingenuity of being
15 able to take something old and make it new again.
16 And that's something that we've been able to do
17 in hip-hop culture. You've been able to take
18 soul music and either speed it up or slow it down
19 and sample the music so that the next generation
20 can hear some of the music, so that it continues
21 to live on.
22 And you think about the
23 Isley Brothers and you think about Earth, Wind
24 and Fire, and you think about all of these
25 incredible groups. So many of the folks my age
4779
1 who were not born when they were in their heyday,
2 we hear the music not just in its original form
3 but in its sampled form via hip-hop.
4 And that takes me to something
5 that's been happening as a result of the
6 pandemic, but it is one of these situations where
7 we take tragedy and turn it into triumph. The
8 series of Verzuz, which was created by
9 Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, an online platform
10 where musical legends are able to appear now in
11 the same room or via virtual video chats, and
12 they're able to play some of their catalogs
13 virtually for their fans. We know about the
14 Teddy Riley vs. Babyface sound debacle. It was
15 one of the most interesting things that happened
16 with Babyface. We know about the Beenie Man
17 Verzuz, live from Jamaica. We know about the
18 Patti LaBelle Verzuz.
19 And the most recent Verzuz that was
20 on my mind was Earth, Wind and Fire vs. The Isley
21 Brothers, and when you got to hear, and hear some
22 of the stories about the culture and about how
23 they arrived at these moments. And there's
24 something endearing about that culture and where
25 music takes you.
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1 Madam President, as I close, I think
2 about what music does for all of us. When we're
3 listening to music, we're not necessarily in a
4 partisan spirit. We're not talking about
5 Democrats versus Republicans. When we all hear a
6 good song, we all sing a good song.
7 And the unifying purpose, the
8 unifying point of Black music is something that
9 is incredibly critical, and it's been really
10 important in part of my evolution as an
11 African-American man. So I am grateful once
12 again to the leader for permitting this
13 resolution to come to the floor. And every year,
14 as long as I'm able, I will extol the virtues of
15 African-American Music Month.
16 And I invite everybody within the
17 sound of my voice, as soon as the Hip-Hop Museum
18 is started, you've got to come on down to the
19 Boogie-Down Bronx and check us out,
20 Madam President.
21 Thank you.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
23 you.
24 The resolution was previously
25 adopted on June 2nd.
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1 Senator Serrano.
2 SENATOR SERRANO: Thank you,
3 Madam President.
4 Now I'd like us to take up
5 previously adopted Resolution 1119, by
6 Senator Harckham, read the resolution title only,
7 and recognize Senator Harckham on the resolution.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
9 Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
11 1119, by Senator Harckham, congratulating
12 Paul Gallay upon the occasion of his retirement
13 after 11 years of dedicated service as President
14 of Riverkeeper, New York's Clean Water Advocate.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
16 Harckham on the resolution.
17 SENATOR HARCKHAM: Thank you,
18 Madam President. It's a pleasure to see you up
19 there.
20 I'd like to thank the Majority
21 Leader, first of all, for bringing this
22 resolution to the floor, and thank all of our
23 colleagues for supporting this resolution
24 congratulating a very important environmental
25 figure in New York State and in the Hudson
4782
1 Valley, Paul Gallay, upon his retirement as the
2 president of Riverkeeper, which is New York's
3 clean water advocate.
4 Paul has been an advocate for the
5 environment, he's been an enforcement official
6 for nearly 30 years, and has been a dedicated
7 public servant to the people of New York State
8 and to the Hudson Valley.
9 So Paul earned his bachelor's degree
10 from Williams College and his law degree from
11 Columbia Law School. He then worked in private
12 practice for a number of years. But his focused
13 environmental work really began when he went to
14 work for the New York State Attorney General in
15 1987, where he served for four years.
16 And then for the next decade Paul
17 worked with the New York State Department of
18 Environmental Conservation. And it was there
19 that he held hundreds of corporate and government
20 polluters accountable and spent the next 10 years
21 in land conservation. And that's originally
22 where our paths intersected. I was a Westchester
23 County legislator, and Paul was the head of the
24 Westchester Land Trust.
25 But it was then in 2010 when Paul
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1 was hired by Riverkeeper to be its president.
2 And in this capacity, this was really where Paul
3 stood out and made his mark on New York State
4 environmental policy. He continually strived to
5 fulfill Riverkeeper's mission of protecting and
6 restoring the Hudson River from source to sea,
7 and safeguarded drinking water supplies for over
8 10 million New Yorkers.
9 And as somebody whose district
10 encompasses the East of Hudson New York City
11 watershed, that was such vital work, such smart
12 policy work, and I was really proud to have
13 worked with him over those years on those issues.
14 Paul was especially good at bringing
15 people together, collaboration -- stakeholders
16 from different parts of the community, even
17 different parts of an issue, people who were
18 diametrically opposed in their issues. Paul was
19 very gifted and patient at working with
20 everybody.
21 Under Paul's leadership,
22 Riverkeeper, the team of more than 90
23 environmental leaders, expanded their
24 groundbreaking water quality testing program to
25 include hundreds of new sites, and they developed
4784
1 New York's largest shoreline cleanup and
2 restoration program. They established the first
3 ever Hudson River Dam Removal Initiative and
4 helped pass transformative legislation to protect
5 our communities, coastal communities and
6 ecosystems from climate change.
7 In 2007, Paul was at the center of
8 the successful negotiation to close the Indian
9 Point Nuclear Power Plant.
10 He lobbied for billions in
11 infrastructure funding and fought tirelessly for
12 the New York State landmark 2014 ban on
13 hydrofracking.
14 He was also very central to the laws
15 that we passed yesterday, our clean water
16 wetlands bill, and last year our Class C streams
17 protection bill, both historic measures in
18 New York State, and both have the mark of
19 Riverkeeper's leadership and collaboration and
20 stakeholders coming together to pass that
21 legislation right here in this chamber.
22 So we are grateful for Paul's
23 30-year commitment to environmental policy and
24 environmental stewardship, but it's important to
25 know that Mr. Gallay is not retiring
4785
1 completely -- it's just not in his DNA. Academia
2 still looms large in his future, as is his
3 commitment to tackling climate change and
4 resilience in our coastal communities.
5 So I'm pleased to say that Paul will
6 still be around, will still be working hard. But
7 we wanted to take this opportunity to thank him
8 for his 30-plus-year commitment to public service
9 and his very successful 11-year run as president
10 of Riverkeeper.
11 Thank you, Madam President.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
13 you, Senator.
14 The resolution was previously
15 adopted on June 8th.
16 Senator Serrano.
17 SENATOR SERRANO: Thank you,
18 Madam President. Let's please take up previously
19 adopted Resolution 1031, by Senator Hinchey, read
20 that resolution title only, and recognize Senator
21 Hinchey on the resolution.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
23 Secretary will read.
24 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
25 1031, by Senator Hinchey, mourning the death of
4786
1 Tommy Keegan, beloved Hudson Valley craft brewing
2 pioneer and pillar of the community.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
4 Hinchey on the resolution.
5 SENATOR HINCHEY: Thank you,
6 Madam President.
7 Tommy Keegan, an esteemed resident
8 of Kingston, New York, and a beloved Hudson
9 Valley brewing pioneer, died on Friday, April 30,
10 2021, at the age of 50. In a future dictionary,
11 next to the phrase "community-minded," there will
12 be a picture of Tommy Keegan.
13 A dedicated family man and an
14 immediate friend to all, Tommy dedicated his life
15 to bringing joy to those around him.
16 Tommy might as well have been the
17 grandfather of craft beer, pioneering the
18 industry in the Northeast well before it gained
19 notoriety, and back when it was only known as
20 microbrews. He opened Keegan Ales in the heart
21 of Kingston in 2003, quickly turning it into a
22 community hub and a cornerstone of the region.
23 His award-winning beers are known
24 nationwide, and his entrepreneurial spirit led
25 him to some of the most unique and interesting
4787
1 partnerships, like the one with IHOP, making a
2 pumpkin pancake stout.
3 Tommy was a man of many passions,
4 but his love for the outdoors, especially when on
5 his motorcycle, was a special one. His
6 environmentalism, a passion sharpened by his
7 years of service in the U.S. Coast Guard, was
8 always at the forefront of his volunteer efforts.
9 He was steadfast in his advocacy for
10 local environmental and agricultural groups like
11 Riverkeeper and Rondout Valley Growers, both
12 philanthropically and by donating beer for their
13 events -- which is, we know, the best kind of
14 support.
15 Always thinking of others, he was a
16 champion for similarly community-focused
17 organizations like Angel Food East, People's
18 Place, the O+ Festival, and the Ulster County
19 Chamber of Commerce. And he ensured Keegan Ales
20 always gave back through creative ways, including
21 his efforts to support one charity every week.
22 Tommy loved his community and
23 strived to make it a better place for all, and
24 always generously opened his door for any
25 community need or event. He will be dearly
4788
1 missed by all who knew him, but he left us with
2 some great advice. We should all try to live by
3 his mantra: "Have fun, play nice."
4 Thank you, Madam President. And I
5 thank the chamber for bringing up this
6 resolution. Thank you very much.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
8 Palumbo on the resolution.
9 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
10 Madam President, for allowing me to rise and
11 speak on this resolution.
12 Tommy Keegan was a childhood friend.
13 He was a week older than me. Tommy's
14 grandparents grew up next door to my
15 grandparents. His father, a local lawyer down on
16 Long Island, was our Boy Scout leader.
17 So you know when you have those
18 groups of friends where you know people from
19 school and from high school? And we went to
20 Catholic school together, and then we went to
21 high school together. You've got that one group,
22 the core group of a handful of people. Well,
23 Tommy was in my core group. We've known each
24 other since before we were born, basically.
25 And I'd like to commend and thank
4789
1 Senator Hinchey for bringing up this resolution,
2 because one of the last texts I received from
3 Tommy was during the campaign this past fall, in
4 October, of he and Senator Hinchey, with his arm
5 around Senator Hinchey, saying "This is going to
6 be one of your colleagues, so be nice to her." I
7 told him he's not supposed to be voting for
8 Democrats but, you know, that's a different
9 story.
10 And "Have fun, play nice" as his
11 slogan emulates Tommy's life. He was on his
12 motorcycle when he passed. We used to ride dirt
13 bikes as kids in the woods and in the sumps, and
14 he would call this his espresso machine. This
15 was how he got his excitement in life, and it was
16 something that he absolutely loved.
17 He would make a joke at anyone's
18 expense during his life, including his own. And
19 he was always a kind and philanthropic
20 individual. So his contributions to the City of
21 Kingston -- I didn't realize the extent of it
22 until actually we were up for his memorial
23 service a few weeks ago, and Senator Hinchey and
24 I attended it. And it was really not surprising,
25 knowing the kind of kid he was and the kind of
4790
1 adult and man and father.
2 So I'm honored to stand here and
3 commemorate my friend because his contributions
4 to this state, the City of Kingston, and the
5 people that knew him will loom large for
6 generations to come. We miss you, buddy.
7 Thank you, Madam President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
9 you, Senator.
10 The resolution was previously
11 adopted on June 8th.
12 Senator Gianaris.
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: Now let's take
14 up previously adopted Resolution 1138, by Senator
15 Gaughran, read its title only, and recognize
16 Senator Gaughran.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
18 Secretary will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
20 1138, by Senator Gaughran, commemorating the
21 25th Anniversary of the Amistad Long Island
22 Black Bar Association.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
24 Gaughran on the resolution.
25 SENATOR GAUGHRAN: Thank you,
4791
1 Madam President.
2 Founded in 1996, the Amistad
3 Long Island Black Bar Association is an
4 illustrious organization that fosters community,
5 professional development and growth of attorneys
6 of color throughout Long Island, and it is
7 steadfast in its commitment to Long Island.
8 This includes programs at local
9 schools, voter registration, election protection
10 efforts, and really most importantly, membership
11 to young students of color entering into the
12 legal profession.
13 The Amistad Black Bar Association
14 provides a supportive network and environment for
15 law students, judges and attorneys of color. And
16 this year, on the 25th anniversary of its
17 establishment, I'm humbled to stand on this floor
18 and recognize them. For it was 25 years ago
19 Robert Cox, Jr., J. Stewart Moore and Victoria
20 Gumbs met with Suffolk County's two lone
21 African-American judges to form an organization
22 dedicated to racial parity and equity within our
23 court system and society.
24 Their efforts in the past 25 years
25 have significantly led to an increase in
4792
1 diversity in judges in Suffolk County and
2 Nassau County and court personnel, which remains
3 a goal that we all continue to strive for today.
4 So I am privileged today to stand
5 here and support the accomplishments of the
6 Amistad Long Island Black Bar Association, and I
7 vote in the affirmative.
8 Thank you, Madam President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
10 you, Senator.
11 The resolution was previously
12 adopted on June 8th.
13 Senator Gianaris.
14 SENATOR GIANARIS: The various
15 sponsors of the resolutions we just took up would
16 like to open them for cosponsorship.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
18 resolutions are open for cosponsorship. Should
19 you decide not to be a cosponsor of the
20 resolutions, please notify the desk.
21 Senator Gianaris.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please take up
23 the Rules Committee report that is at the desk.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
25 Secretary will read.
4793
1 THE SECRETARY: Senator
2 Stewart-Cousins, from the Committee on Rules,
3 reports the following bills:
4 Senate Print 577, by Senator
5 Sanders, an act to amend the Public Health Law;
6 Senate Print 1144A, by
7 Senator Benjamin, an act to amend the
8 Executive Law and the Penal Law;
9 Senate Print 1277A, by
10 Senator Krueger, an act to amend the
11 Election Law;
12 Senate Print 1834A, by
13 Senator Skoufis, an act to amend the Vehicle and
14 Traffic Law;
15 Senate Print 4441, by
16 Senator Gounardes, an act to amend the
17 Retirement and Social Security Law;
18 Senate Print 4554, by
19 Senator Bailey, an act to amend the
20 Family Court Act and the Judiciary Law;
21 Senate Print 5246A, by
22 Senator Kennedy, an act to amend the Banking Law;
23 Senate Print 5325, by
24 Senator Hoylman, an act to amend the
25 Public Service Law and the General Business Law;
4794
1 Senate Print 5489, by Senator Brouk,
2 an act to amend the Education Law;
3 Senate Print 5891C, by
4 Senator Parker, an act to amend the
5 Education Law;
6 Senate Print 6080, by Senator
7 Ritchie, an act authorizing the Commissioner of
8 General Services to convey real property at the
9 St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center;
10 Senate Print 6289A, by
11 Senator Gaughran, an act to amend the
12 Education Law;
13 Senate Print 6301A, by
14 Senator Stavisky, an act to amend the Tax Law;
15 Senate Print 6431, by Senator Brouk,
16 an act to amend the Education Law;
17 Senate Print 6497A, by
18 Senator Parker, an act to amend the
19 Public Service Law;
20 Senate Print 6590A, by
21 Senator Palumbo, an act in relation to
22 authorizing the Flanders, Riverside and
23 Northampton Community Association, Inc., to file
24 an application for a partial exemption from real
25 property taxes;
4795
1 Senate Print 6600A, by
2 Senator Stavisky, an act to amend the
3 Education Law;
4 Senate Print 6690, by
5 Senator Gounardes, an act to amend the
6 Administrative Code of the City of New York;
7 Senate Print 6922, by
8 Senator Breslin, an act authorizing the City of
9 New York Bond Bank Agency to provide municipal
10 relief to the City of Albany;
11 Senate Print 6957, by Senator Brouk,
12 an act to amend the Public Health Law;
13 Senate Print 7011, by
14 Senator Sepúlveda, an act to amend the
15 Executive Law;
16 Senate Print 7015, by
17 Senator Addabbo, an act to amend the Penal Law;
18 Senate Print 7053A, by
19 Senator Kennedy, an act to amend the Vehicle and
20 Traffic Law;
21 Senate Print 7082, by
22 Senator Breslin, an act to amend the
23 Public Authorities Law;
24 Senate Print 7110A, by
25 Senator Thomas, an act in relation to authorizing
4796
1 the Town of Oyster Bay to grant Sai Mandir USA a
2 real property tax exemption;
3 Senate Print 7121, by
4 Senator Brooks, an act defining the term "first
5 responder in communications";
6 Senate Print 7125, by Senator Mayer,
7 an act to amend the County Law;
8 Senate Print 7129, by
9 Senator Kennedy, an act to create a temporary
10 "commission to prevent childhood drowning";
11 Senate Print 7152, by
12 Senator Brooks, an act to amend the Penal Law;
13 Senate Print 7154, by
14 Senator Skoufis, an act to authorize Gina Kehoe
15 of the Town of Montgomery to take the competitive
16 civil service examination;
17 Senate Print 7167, by
18 Senator Kaplan, an act to amend the
19 Retirement and Social Security Law;
20 Senate Print 7169, by
21 Senator Reichlin-Melnick, an act to authorize the
22 Town of Orangetown to offer a certain retirement
23 option to Orangetown police officers;
24 Senate Print 7175, by Senator Weik,
25 an act to provide for the appeal and review of
4797
1 certain property tax exemption applications;
2 Senate Print 7220, by
3 Senator Savino, an act to amend the
4 Judiciary Law;
5 Senate Print 7227, by Senator Myrie,
6 an act to amend the Public Officers Law;
7 Senate Print 7228, by
8 Senator Bailey, an act to amend the
9 Criminal Procedure Law;
10 Senate Print 7230, by
11 Senator Kaplan, an act to amend the Tax Law;
12 Senate Print 7231, by
13 Senator Felder, an act to amend the Tax Law;
14 Senate Print 7232, by
15 Senator Jackson, an act to amend the
16 Civil Service Law;
17 Senate Print 7234, Senate Budget
18 Bill, an act to amend Chapter 53 of the Laws of
19 2021;
20 Senate Print 7237, by
21 Senator Stewart-Cousins, an act to amend
22 Chapter 50 of the Laws of 2021.
23 All bills reported direct to third
24 reading.
25 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to accept
4798
1 the report of the Rules Committee.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: All
3 those in favor of accepting the Rules Committee
4 report signify by saying aye.
5 (Response of "Aye.")
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Opposed,
7 nay.
8 (No response.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
10 Rules Committee report is accepted.
11 Senator Gianaris.
12 SENATOR GIANARIS: At this time
13 we're going to stand at ease for just a couple of
14 minutes while we get our affairs in order for the
15 rest of the day.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
17 Senate will stand at ease.
18 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
19 at 1:32 p.m.)
20 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
21 1:43 p.m.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
23 Senate will return to order.
24 Senator Gianaris.
25 SENATOR GIANARIS: At this time,
4799
1 Madam President, let's take up the reading of the
2 calendar.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
4 Secretary will read.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8,
6 Senate Print 1027A, by Senator Gianaris, an act
7 to amend the Election Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This
11 act shall take effect January 1, 2022.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
16 Jackson to explain his vote.
17 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
18 Madam President.
19 My colleagues, I rise this afternoon
20 to explain my support for Bill Number S1027,
21 sponsored by our colleague Senator Gianaris.
22 During last year's election we
23 witnessed many absentee ballots cast by voters
24 during the pandemic. Our muddled canvassing
25 process for counting these ballots and unclear
4800
1 rules for curing errors significantly delayed the
2 election process and results in many races.
3 This year, once again, voters can
4 cite COVID-19 as a reason to use an absentee
5 ballot for elections.
6 As a member of this legislative body
7 entrusted to continue finding solutions that
8 would make our democratic process even
9 stronger and healthier, we can all agree that
10 this bill will help speed up the counting of
11 absentee, military, special and affidavit
12 ballots.
13 Therefore, as a legislator who
14 values our responsibility to our constituents to
15 ensure their votes are counted efficiently, I
16 vote aye to prevent the lengthy delays we have
17 experienced in the electoral results of 2020.
18 I vote aye, Madam President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
20 Jackson to be recorded in the affirmative.
21 Senator Gianaris to explain his
22 vote.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
24 Madam President. I want to thank my colleagues
25 for supporting this important reform of our
4801
1 electoral process.
2 Our Majority has taken great strides
3 over the last three years to make voting easier
4 and more efficient. We have early voting because
5 we passed it. We have a process to make it
6 easier to vote absentee because we passed a law
7 to make it happen. And now we're improving the
8 method by which the votes are counted so we avoid
9 the embarrassing situations we've seen where it
10 takes weeks on end to get results for elections.
11 This bill will ensure that absentee
12 ballots are counted beginning even the night
13 before the election -- canvassed, I should say.
14 The actual count won't be known until after the
15 election is concluded. But we should have
16 results in nearly all cases on election night, or
17 very shortly thereafter, which has not been the
18 case to date.
19 So I am proud to reinstall
20 transparency and confidence in our democracy by
21 passing this bill today, and I thank my
22 colleagues for joining me. I vote aye.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
24 Gianaris to be recorded in the affirmative.
25 Announce the results.
4802
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar 8, those Senators voting in the negative
3 are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle, Gallivan,
4 Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci,
5 Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath,
6 Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
7 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 239, Senate Print 1103A, by Senator Kaminsky, an
12 act to establish the bottle redemption fraud task
13 force.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
19 roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
22 the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
25 is passed.
4803
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 301, Assembly Print 4913A, substituted earlier by
3 Assemblymember Zebrowski, an act to amend the
4 Economic Development Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
9 shall have become a law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 336, Senate Print 2937, by Senator Kaminsky, an
20 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4804
1 roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
4 the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar 336, those Senators voting in the
7 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
8 Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci, Oberacker,
9 O'Mara, Ortt, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec,
10 Tedisco and Weik.
11 Ayes, 47. Nays, 16.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 425, Senate Print 3822, by Senator Griffo, an act
16 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
18 last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
20 act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
25 the results.
4805
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
3 is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 473, Assembly Print 1108A, substituted earlier by
6 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the
7 Public Officers Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
16 the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 487, Senate Print 778A, by Senator Thomas, an act
22 to amend the General Business Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
4806
1 act shall take effect on the first of January.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
6 the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
8 Calendar 487, those Senators voting in the
9 negative are Senators Borrello, Helming, Jordan,
10 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt and Rath.
11 Ayes, 56. Nays, 7.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 520, Senate Print 4338B, by Senator Skoufis, an
16 act to amend the Tax Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
18 last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
20 act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
25 the results.
4807
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar 520, those Senators voting in the
3 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
4 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Martucci,
5 Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath,
6 Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
7 Ayes, 44. Nays, 19.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 524, Assembly Print 2199, substituted earlier by
12 Assemblymember Cruz, an act to amend the
13 Civil Practice Law and Rules.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
19 roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
22 the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
24 Calendar 524, those Senators voting in the
25 negative are Senators Borrello, Gallivan, Griffo,
4808
1 Helming, Jordan, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Rath,
2 Ritchie, Serino, Stec and Weik.
3 Ayes, 50. Nays, 13.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 671, Senate Print 4097, by Senator Parker, an act
8 directing the commissioner of the Department of
9 Environmental Conservation to promulgate rules
10 and regulations establishing targets for the sale
11 of zero emissions.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
13 last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
17 roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
20 the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
22 Calendar 671, those Senators voting in the
23 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
24 Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Martucci, Oberacker,
25 O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino,
4809
1 Stec and Tedisco.
2 Ayes, 47. Nays, 16.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
4 is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 752, Assembly Print 6767A, substituted earlier by
7 Assemblymember Woerner, an act to amend the
8 Volunteer Firefighters' Benefit Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
17 the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
20 is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 759, Senate Print 5877B, by Senator Gallivan, an
23 act to amend the Village Law and the Public
24 Officers Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
4810
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
8 Reichlin-Melnick to explain his vote.
9 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Thank
10 you very much, Madam President.
11 And I just wanted to sort of say for
12 the record -- and with all respect to my
13 colleague Senator Gallivan, who I understand has
14 introduced this bill at the request of a
15 community in his district -- I think it is a
16 dangerous precedent to set for local governments,
17 villages and towns.
18 Land use is one of the core reasons
19 we have villages in this state, is to give every
20 community that wants to establish a village the
21 right to control what happens in their own
22 community. I was a former village trustee member
23 and a former member of a village planning board,
24 and I cannot imagine having people who live
25 outside of a community setting critical decisions
4811
1 on how to implement land use policies inside a
2 village.
3 And so for that reason, to avoid
4 setting this precedent, which I think is really
5 dangerous to the home-rule principle we have in
6 this state, I'll be voting no on this bill.
7 Thank you.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
9 Reichlin-Melnick to be recorded in the negative.
10 Senator Mannion to explain his vote.
11 SENATOR MANNION: Madam President,
12 I apologize, but I am here to speak on another
13 bill.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
15 you, Senator.
16 Announce the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
18 Calendar 759, those Senators voting in the
19 negative are Senators Brisport, Mannion,
20 Reichlin-Melnick and Skoufis.
21 Ayes, 59. Nays, 4.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
23 is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 788, Senate Print 4730, by Senator Krueger, an
4812
1 act to amend the State Finance Law.
2 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Lay it
4 aside.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 791, Senate Print 5560A, by Senator
7 Reichlin-Melnick, an act to amend the
8 Public Health Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 13 --
12 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Lay it
14 aside.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 849, Assembly Bill 585A, substituted earlier by
17 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the
18 General Business Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4813
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
2 the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 850, Assembly Print 6436, substituted earlier by
8 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the
9 Public Service Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
18 the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
21 is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 965, Assembly Print 430, substituted earlier by
24 Assemblymember Rosenthal, an act to amend the
25 Civil Rights Law.
4814
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
5 shall have become a law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
10 the results.
11 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
12 Calendar 965, those Senators voting in the
13 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
14 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
15 Martucci, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath,
16 Ritchie, Savino, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
17 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1014, Senate Print 4817A, by Senator Krueger, an
22 act to amend the Executive Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
4815
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
6 the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1035, Assembly Print 1523, substituted earlier by
12 Assemblymember Pretlow, an act to amend the
13 Public Health Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
19 roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
22 the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
24 Calendar 1035, those Senators voting in the
25 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
4816
1 Griffo, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath
2 and Stec.
3 Ayes, 53. Nays, 10.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1043, Senate Print 4078, by Senator Hinchey, an
8 act to establish a geoparks task force.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
17 the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
20 is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1050, Senate Print 613A, by Senator May, an act
23 to amend the Election Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
25 last section.
4817
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
7 the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
9 Calendar 1050, those Senators voting in the
10 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
11 Griffo, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci, Oberacker,
12 O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Stec and Tedisco.
13 Ayes, 49. Nays, 14.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
15 is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1074, Assembly Print 6971, substituted earlier by
18 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the
19 Not-For-Profit Corporation Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
21 last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
25 roll.
4818
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
3 the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
6 is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1079, Assembly Print 268A, substituted earlier by
9 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the
10 General Business Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
12 last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
19 Cooney to explain his vote.
20 SENATOR COONEY: Thank you,
21 Madam President, for the opportunity to speak on
22 an important bill that people in my district have
23 been asking about since I took office.
24 We all get too many of those
25 calls -- you know the calls I'm talking about,
4819
1 the calls that buzz in your pocket. In fact,
2 probably during this little floor speech I'm
3 going to have my pocket buzz, someone trying to
4 tell me that I have to pick up a car warranty.
5 What this bill does is it actually blocks those
6 calls, especially those that are likely
7 illegitimate, those calls coming perhaps from a
8 foreign nation.
9 This will not only save consumers
10 the trouble and the hassle of those annoying
11 calls, but will also protect vulnerable
12 populations like our seniors, who have been
13 targeted for scams and frauds, especially coming
14 out of the pandemic.
15 Let me be very clear that this
16 legislation is aligned with the federal
17 legislation, making sure that our
18 telecommunications systems are not going to be
19 overly burdened.
20 Ultimately what we want for
21 New Yorkers is for them to feel safe when they
22 actually use their phones. In fact, we want to
23 make sure that all New Yorkers know that there is
24 integrity in our communications systems. This
25 bill allows us to do that.
4820
1 I want to thank the Majority Leader
2 for her leadership in protecting consumers across
3 the State of New York. I support this bill and
4 vote in the affirmative.
5 Thank you, Madam President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
7 Cooney to be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1130, Assembly Print 3523A, substituted earlier
14 by Assemblymember Peoples-Stokes, an act to amend
15 the Education Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect 18 months after it shall
20 have become a law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
25 Mannion to explain his vote.
4821
1 SENATOR MANNION: Thank you,
2 Madam President. I appreciate leadership's
3 efforts to make sure that this reached the floor,
4 and I appreciate Senator Skoufis's advocacy on
5 this issue.
6 It is challenging to be a new parent
7 and even more challenging to be the parent of a
8 child who is exhibiting characteristics of
9 autism. Children that fixate on the rotation of
10 tires on a toy rather than playing with them
11 appropriately. Children who know their letters
12 and numbers and can read at an early age, but
13 have challenges comprehending the words in front
14 of them. Children who walk on their toes.
15 Children who are mocked by their
16 peers and are ran away from. Children that are
17 overwhelmed at birthday parties as their peers
18 play and socialize and sing.
19 Children who walked out the door on
20 September 12th of 2001, looked to the sky and
21 said "No planes."
22 For parents of children like that,
23 it can seem hopeless at times. But there is a
24 therapy called applied behavioral analysis that
25 was developed by Dr. Ivar Lovaas. Those children
4822
1 have a voice, and it needs to be heard. And this
2 therapy is not for every child or every person,
3 but it is highly effective in many instances.
4 And the New York State Department of Health rates
5 it with a grade of A as a therapy.
6 Children receive ABA therapy, some
7 of them as much as 40 hours a week of intensive
8 one-to-one intervention, often because of the
9 advocacy of their parents. And often those
10 parents are trained in this therapy. And when
11 providers maybe could not be there to provide
12 that therapy, parents and other family members
13 filled in.
14 Some children have tremendous
15 challenges when they start applied behavioral
16 analysis therapy, and there could be great
17 resistance to it. There are situations where a
18 child, after multiple attempts to follow a simple
19 command -- which was "tap the table" -- that
20 child would cry, resist, thrash. But at one
21 point, that child looked the person providing the
22 therapy square in the eye and said: "I tapped
23 the table." And those words meant hope for that
24 child and his family members.
25 And from that day forward, the
4823
1 skills of that child increased and their atypical
2 behaviors decreased.
3 On May 28th of 2021, that child
4 walked across a stage at Le Moyne College on a
5 cold and windy day, like the day that he was
6 born, and received his diploma from President
7 Linda LeMura, accepting his degree, a bachelor of
8 science in business analytics.
9 Everyone is not best suited to
10 receive ABA therapy, but everyone should have the
11 opportunity to receive ABA therapy, as occurs in
12 30 other states in this country. What this bill
13 does is expands the scope of individuals who can
14 receive this therapy. We are losing licensed
15 behavioral analysis because of the limited scope
16 in this state.
17 I am proud to support this therapy.
18 I am proud to vote in the affirmative for this
19 legislation.
20 Thank you, Madam President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
22 Mannion to be recorded in the affirmative.
23 Senator Skoufis to explain his vote.
24 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you very
25 much, Madam President.
4824
1 And my colleague Senator Mannion's
2 powerful remarks summed up the importance of this
3 bill. And I want to thank him for sharing his
4 story, and to the point of today for helping get
5 this across the finish line.
6 And likewise I want to express my
7 gratitude to the Majority Leader, who was
8 instrumental in getting us to this point as well.
9 You know, we deal with a lot of
10 proposals related to scope of practice in the
11 State Legislature, and my philosophy is twofold
12 when considering scope of practice bills. One,
13 do they have the training. And two, is there a
14 need. And in this case, indisputably the answer
15 to both of these questions is yes.
16 On the first, we are the only state
17 in the country that has placed, over the past
18 many, many years, these overly restrictive,
19 draconian measures as it relates to what ABAs can
20 and can't do. And there's a lot more that they
21 can't do than that they can.
22 And on the second, we heard from
23 Senator Mannion the need that exists. And it's
24 compounded by the fact that some of these
25 treatments, some of these therapies could be
4825
1 sought out by psychologists and psychiatrists. I
2 know that they've weighed in on this proposal.
3 But we all know, every single one of
4 us in this chamber knows the dearth of
5 psychologists and psychiatrists that exists in
6 this state and throughout this country. There
7 are some communities that don't have a single
8 psychologist or a psychiatrist for a child to go
9 to.
10 And so the suggestion that even if
11 you wanted to sort of game this out in parochial
12 terms and, you know, if we're taking from here to
13 give here, who's winning, who's losing. The need
14 far surpasses the opportunity for any child to go
15 and see a psychologist or a psychiatrist in this
16 state. You have to wait months and months and
17 months for an appointment, if you can get one at
18 all. And so it's really unfortunate to me to see
19 some opposition from that corner.
20 However, most importantly, this is
21 about the children who desperately need this
22 service, these treatments, these therapies. And
23 to expand the scope of practice for ABAs to offer
24 their expertise, which up till this point has
25 been otherwise wasted in this state. If, by the
4826
1 way, the ABA hasn't already left the state to
2 more fully practice their profession, it's been
3 wasted.
4 And now this two-house bill will
5 head to the Governor. We hope he will sign it,
6 and finally ABAs, yes, they'll be able to
7 practice more fully as professionals as they
8 should have been this entire time.
9 But most importantly, they will
10 better be able to more fully be able to serve
11 children like the one that Senator Mannion
12 remarked on in his comments. That's what this is
13 all about, getting kids in this state the
14 therapy, the treatment they need to best and most
15 fully live their lives.
16 Thank you, Madam President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
18 Skoufis to be recorded in the affirmative.
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
22 is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1213, Assembly Print 6769, substituted earlier by
25 Assemblymember Hyndman, an act to amend the
4827
1 Criminal Procedure Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
3 last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
5 act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
10 the results.
11 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
12 Calendar 1213, those Senators voting in the
13 negative are Senators Helming, Jordan, O'Mara,
14 Palumbo, Rath, Stec and Weik.
15 Ayes, 56. Nays, 7.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1226, Senate Print 5024B, by Senator Rivera, an
20 act to amend the Public Health Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4828
1 roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
4 Rivera to explain his vote.
5 SENATOR RIVERA: Thank you,
6 Madam President. Good afternoon, everyone.
7 We just heard from one of our --
8 from a couple of our colleagues about some things
9 that we are changing in the State of New York to
10 make it so that some children are -- who need to
11 be -- who need treatment to be better can indeed
12 be better. And I thank them for doing that.
13 The bill that we're passing here
14 today, the one that I'm about to -- that I'm
15 speaking of now, does something similar but it is
16 about prevention. And it is a different type of
17 prevention.
18 In the last couple of days we've
19 talked about all the damage that lead causes
20 children, Madam President. And there's a story
21 which is a sad story -- but hopefully today it
22 starts to have a happier ending -- of a young
23 woman named Dakota. Dakota is the daughter of
24 one of my constituents, Tiesha Jones, who is a
25 very strong-minded, opinionated and fantastic
4829
1 tenant leader in a New York City Housing
2 Authority project in my district, a development
3 in my district.
4 And unfortunately Dakota, her
5 daughter, when she was at a year old and two
6 years old, she was tested for lead and the
7 numbers didn't give anything away. It seemed
8 like she was fine. Because there was no
9 requirement that she be tested all the way up to
10 six years old, like this bill that we have in
11 front of us does, when she was tested again at
12 four, her blood levels had spiked from
13 5 micrograms to 45 micrograms per million.
14 The point is that unfortunately it
15 was at a point where the damage done to her
16 development was going to be permanent. And
17 Tiesha, Ms. Jones, felt it was necessary to make
18 sure that this happened to no other child.
19 And so she worked along with my
20 office for the last couple of years to put a bill
21 together -- and this is the first one of a
22 package that we will be hopefully passing as a
23 whole. But for the moment, this one deals with
24 prevention. We still have to make sure that we
25 deal with insurance coverage as well as lead-safe
4830
1 residential rental properties.
2 But all of this from the mind of a
3 New York mother who knew it was essential that we
4 change the law so that the things that happened
5 to her daughter do not happen to any other child.
6 So today I can tell Ms. Jones that
7 the first part of Dakota's Law is going to be
8 passed. And I think it is incredibly important
9 again to just underline that this is about making
10 sure that we can identify very early on when a
11 child has this lead in their system. And if we
12 identify it early enough, not only can we make
13 sure that that child gets taken care of, but
14 then, Madam President, we can go and check the
15 places where they might have been exposed to make
16 sure that other children will be spared the
17 issues that lead in their system can cause.
18 So bottom line, I am extremely happy
19 to pass this bill today. And as I said, Madam
20 President, it is only the first of what I hope in
21 the next couple of years will be a series of
22 bills that will deal with this issue.
23 So I certainly want to make sure to
24 thank again Ms. Tiesha Jones, who worked with us
25 to put this bill together. And, much like I did
4831
1 yesterday, recognize those hardworking staffers
2 without whom none of this would happen, and thank
3 my current Deputy Chief of staff Rachel Ferrari,
4 who worked along with Ms. Jones for years to make
5 sure that we could get this passage today.
6 So to Rachel, to Tiesha, but most of
7 all to Dakota and every other young child that we
8 will spare the damages of lead by passing this
9 piece of legislation, I vote in the affirmative.
10 Thank you, Madam President.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
12 Rivera to be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Announce the results.
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
16 is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1244, Senate Print 6322A, by Senator Harckham, an
19 act to establish the East of Hudson watershed
20 road salt reduction task force.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4832
1 roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
4 the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar 1244, those Senators voting in the
7 negative are Senators Gallivan, Lanza and
8 Oberacker.
9 Ayes, 60. Nays, 3.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1352, Assembly Print 6046, substituted earlier by
14 Assemblymember Bichotte Hermelyn, an act to amend
15 the Election Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
21 roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
24 Jackson to explain his vote.
25 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
4833
1 Madam President.
2 And my colleagues, I rise this
3 afternoon to explain S6379, which relates to
4 electronic applications for absentee ballots.
5 In the shadows of the COVID-19
6 pandemic, last year's primary and general
7 elections showed us the ongoing need to expand
8 access to the ballot. This legislation will
9 implement additional permanent ways that
10 qualified voters -- and I'll mention that again,
11 qualified voters, may request an absentee ballot
12 through electronic means.
13 It would help increase voter
14 participation, which is democracy, while
15 promoting a level of safety as we continue to
16 learn how to face the ongoing battle with the
17 pandemic. In this 21st century, using technology
18 at our disposal to request an absentee ballot
19 just makes sense, Madam President.
20 Again, we were elected to make sure
21 our constituents' right to vote is and continues
22 to be protected. And expanding their access to a
23 ballot is the right thing to do to accomplish
24 that.
25 And so I'm proud, Madam President,
4834
1 to be a part of a historic Senate that will
2 continue to demonstrate its commitment to
3 ensuring that all eligible New Yorkers have
4 access to the ballot box. We can all agree that
5 democracy is healthier when everyone can
6 participate in its construction.
7 For these reasons, Madam President,
8 I invite all of my colleagues to vote aye.
9 Thank you.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
11 Jackson to be recorded in the affirmative.
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar 1352, those Senators voting in the
15 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
16 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
17 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
18 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
19 Weik.
20 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
22 is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1353, Assembly Bill 4186B, substituted earlier by
25 Assemblymember Dinowitz, an act to amend the
4835
1 Election Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
3 last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
5 act shall take effect January 1, 2022.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
10 the results.
11 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
12 Calendar 1353, those Senators voting in the
13 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
14 Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci, Oberacker,
15 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec and Weik.
16 Ayes, 49. Nays, 14.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
18 is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1354, Assembly Print 6047A, substituted earlier
21 by Assemblymember Bichotte Hermelyn, an act to
22 amend the Election Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4836
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
6 the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
8 Calendar 1354, those Senators voting in the
9 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
10 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
11 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
12 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
13 Weik.
14 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
16 is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1356, Assembly Print 6970A, substituted earlier
19 by Assemblymember Walker, an act to amend the
20 Election Law.
21 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Lay it
23 aside.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1441, Senate Print 3479, by Senator Comrie, an
4837
1 act to amend the Public Service Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
3 last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
5 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
6 shall have become a law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
11 the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
13 Calendar 1441, those Senators voting in the
14 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
15 Helming, Jordan, Martucci, Oberacker, O'Mara,
16 Palumbo, Rath, Stec and Weik.
17 Ayes, 51. Nays, 12.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1448, Assembly Print 229C, substituted earlier by
22 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the
23 Municipal Home Rule Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
25 last section.
4838
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
7 Skoufis to explain his vote.
8 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you very
9 much, Madam President.
10 And I want to express my gratitude
11 to Assemblywoman Paulin; Senator Gaughran, who
12 was very instrumental in helping put this
13 together; as well as the entire Long Island
14 Majority delegation.
15 And this bill, or some version of
16 this bill, has been around for well over a
17 decade. And it is so important and so timely
18 that we take this up this year, before the
19 expiration of session tomorrow, because if we had
20 not, and if the Governor does not sign it into
21 law -- which I expect him to do -- then we would
22 be waiting another decade before this bill would
23 become relevant.
24 So what this does is it finally puts
25 into place a framework by which counties who are
4839
1 governed by charters must follow rules,
2 commonsense rules, when it comes to redistricting
3 county legislative districts.
4 And we've seen time after time,
5 whether it's in the Hudson Valley or whether it's
6 in Long Island, gerrymandering that flies in the
7 face of decency and public input and the ideal
8 that voters should be choosing their elected
9 officials and not the other way around.
10 And so what we have in place here
11 are commonsense provisions that will protect the
12 public's interest and make sure there is a level
13 playing field for both parties when redistricting
14 takes place throughout the state. We've seen
15 lawsuits and lawsuits and lawsuits whereby maps
16 have been thrown out at the county level because
17 they have defied U.S. or state constitutional
18 requirements. This will prevent many of those
19 lawsuits by forcing these legislatures to get it
20 right the first time.
21 And so I thank all my partners in
22 helping get this bill across the finish line.
23 It's just in time for the early 2022 redraws that
24 we will see in these over 20 counties governed by
25 charters.
4840
1 And I thank you for the opportunity
2 again, Madam President. I vote yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
4 Skoufis to be recorded in the affirmative.
5 Announce the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar 1448, those Senators voting in the
8 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
9 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
10 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
11 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
12 Weik.
13 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
15 is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1483, Senate Print 1085, by Senator Gaughran, an
18 act to amend the Public Service Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4841
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
2 the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1487, Senate Print 4051A, by Senator Bailey, an
8 act to amend the Family Court Act.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 15. This
12 act shall take effect one year after it shall
13 have become a law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
18 Bailey to explain his vote.
19 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
20 Madam President.
21 Let me express my immense gratitude
22 to Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins for allowing us
23 to pass this incredibly important bill that
24 raises the lower age of juvenile responsibility
25 from 7 to 12.
4842
1 And for those who are watching and
2 listening, yes, currently in statute in New York
3 State, if you are 7 years old you can be
4 arrested, you can be handcuffed, you can be
5 processed. If you are 7 years old.
6 Madam President, I often speak about
7 my daughters because that is the greatest frame
8 of reference that I have in this universe. And
9 my daughter will be 7 in September. One, for her
10 to be arrested would be traumatic to me, but
11 imagine the trauma that would take place on a
12 7-year-old who doesn't understand the gravity of
13 what they do on a daily basis, much less
14 understanding the concept of being arrested at 7.
15 We dig deeper about -- and we speak
16 about mental health, and we speak about so many
17 critical important things about our young people
18 and how they're our future. Well, we should act
19 like it.
20 And what we've done in this house
21 and the Assembly and this Legislature in
22 New York, we raised the age of criminal
23 responsibility a couple of years ago. Because
24 the science said that's what we needed to do.
25 Because young folks don't necessarily understand
4843
1 the gravity of what it is that they do at 16 or
2 17. Especially not 7.
3 So I want to thank the leader for
4 allowing us to bring this to the floor.
5 I want to thank Tamara Frazier, our
6 staff analyst, who has done incredible work in
7 this space and in terms of helping us negotiate
8 and craft the bill, so I really wanted to thank
9 her.
10 The amazing advocates who have
11 brought this and they've brought us the
12 experiences of young people who have been
13 incarcerated and arrested. And I want to thank
14 Chair Brisport here and Chair Hevesi in the
15 Assembly for making this a priority there.
16 But I really want to thank the OG,
17 as it were, of juvenile justice, and that's
18 Velmanette Montgomery. The great Velmanette
19 Montgomery, who was fighting for juvenile justice
20 and Raise the Age before it became a hashtag,
21 before it became popular. Before it became
22 something that we spoke about, it was Velmanette
23 Montgomery who brought this to the consciousness
24 of New York State.
25 And as she departed the New York
4844
1 State Senate, she sent me a letter last year and
2 she asked me to pick this bill up. And she said:
3 "I hope that you can pass this, Senator Bailey."
4 And one of the things that we know,
5 regardless of political affiliation, if
6 Velmanette Montgomery tells you to do something,
7 you better try your damndest to get it done.
8 Because Velmanette commands that much respect,
9 and because she was always fighting for the right
10 things to do.
11 And so I stand on the shoulders of a
12 giant. And Senator Montgomery, I am hoping that
13 I'm making you proud by passing this legislation,
14 amongst other pieces of legislation that you have
15 asked us to move this year. I am grateful to
16 have had a mentor in you to impress upon me how
17 important the reformation of the juvenile justice
18 system is -- and not just the criminal legal
19 system, that they work hand in hand, making sure
20 that young folks can finally get these
21 community-based services that will actually help
22 to rehabilitate them. In the event that they
23 have committed wrongdoing, that will permit them
24 to have a chance to move forward in their lives.
25 The goal of any incarceration should
4845
1 be rehabilitation. But the reality is that when
2 you're 7 years old, 8 years old, 9 years old, to
3 incarcerate individuals for, again, things that
4 they don't fully understand and grasp the gravity
5 of, was something wrong that we were doing in
6 this state.
7 I am incredibly proud to be a part
8 of a body who is making steps in an extremely
9 affirmative manner to make sure that the justice
10 system is fair for everyone, regardless of age.
11 I thank all my colleagues for their strong
12 support of this legislation, and I will proudly
13 be voting in the affirmative on this legislation.
14 Thank you, Madam President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
16 Bailey to be recorded in the affirmative.
17 Senator Lanza to explain his vote.
18 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you,
19 Madam President.
20 First I want to echo the remarks of
21 Senator Bailey in one respect, which is to once
22 again thank Senator Montgomery for all the work
23 that she, throughout her career, did with respect
24 to this issue.
25 I'm going to be voting in the
4846
1 negative on this legislation, and I want to
2 explain why. I also want to mention that my good
3 friend Senator Bailey's heart is always in the
4 right place, and I respect the work and the
5 passion that he brings to every issue that he
6 brings forward in this chamber.
7 As you might recall,
8 Madam President, I was the sponsor of the
9 Raise the Age bill. I was proud to bring that to
10 the floor in this chamber. We worked long and
11 hard -- Senator Gallivan and myself on this side,
12 many of my colleagues on the other side.
13 Senator Bailey, I worked with. We worked with
14 our colleagues, Republican and Democrat, in the
15 Assembly. We worked with the Governor. And we
16 did that which a lot of people said could not
17 happen.
18 And I think the fact that it was a
19 bipartisan effort, a bipartisan bill -- and
20 because of all the work that that requires when
21 you need two parties or when you have two parties
22 working together, it means that a lot of work
23 happens behind the scenes. And there's a lot of
24 effort and thought and passion and vetting that
25 is necessary whenever a bipartisan bill is going
4847
1 to come to the floor of anybody. And that's what
2 we did.
3 The driving force behind that
4 legislation was precisely what Senator Bailey
5 mentioned, which is that when you're dealing with
6 an offender, a young, a juvenile offender, we in
7 society, in this community, in this state, you
8 have an opportunity that you might not have with
9 an older or another offender. Which is to say
10 that if you get involved early, maybe we can help
11 get that person on the right path. Maybe we can
12 avoid a youthful indiscretion from becoming a
13 lifetime scar.
14 We were careful to carve out --
15 because I think it's important to do so --
16 serious offenses, even murder and other violent
17 crimes. Regardless of whether or not they're
18 committed by a 30-year-old or a 17-year-old, that
19 is something that needs to be seriously dealt
20 with and appropriately dealt with.
21 But we recognize that with youthful
22 offenders, there was this opportunity to make
23 sure that we put that person on the right path.
24 And the other thing driving the
25 issue, and why I think we all came together, was
4848
1 that perhaps in order to seize that opportunity,
2 criminal court, traditional criminal court, might
3 not be the right venue. Democrats especially
4 pushed the idea initially that Family Court was
5 the right place. I bought into that idea. We
6 wrote the legislation as such.
7 And that was really the theme of the
8 Raise the Age legislation, that rather than have
9 someone who has committed a crime at the age of
10 15 go to criminal court, that perhaps if they
11 went to Family Court -- not that anything was
12 being swept under the rug, but that Family Court
13 might be better situated and would be better
14 situated and have the resources to deal with that
15 youthful offender in a better way.
16 And I think it's worked. And the
17 idea in Raise the Age was that there would be
18 services that would help we in this state keep
19 ourselves safe and also to help the offender to
20 make sure that they wouldn't commit another
21 offense. And again, it has worked.
22 The legislation required additional
23 resources to Family Court; the Executive has not
24 come through to the extent that they should have.
25 We need to keep pressing there. But again, the
4849
1 idea first brought forth by Senator Montgomery a
2 long time ago was that Family Court was the place
3 to do this. And we did it. Democrats and
4 Republicans, we did it. And it's worked. From
5 any vantage point, it's worked.
6 The reason I'm voting,
7 unfortunately, against this legislation is
8 because I think it violates exactly that which
9 was the major driving force behind Raise the Age,
10 which is that Family Court is the right place.
11 This bill, if it becomes law, will divert
12 youthful offenders away from Family Court to down
13 the street, to some agency or to some group or to
14 some service that may or may not have the ability
15 to do what is necessary for both the offender and
16 for our community.
17 I still believe and maintain,
18 Madam President, that the right place to deal
19 with these offenses with respect to youthful
20 offenders is in Family Court. They ought to stay
21 there. They can best handle that which I seek to
22 see happen and that which I think Senator Bailey
23 wishes to see happen, which is justice.
24 For that reason, Madam President,
25 I'm going to be voting in the negative.
4850
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
2 Lanza to be recorded in the negative.
3 Announce the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
5 Calendar 1487, those Senators voting in the
6 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
7 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
8 Martucci, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath,
9 Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
10 Ayes, 44. Nays, 19.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
12 is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1508, Senate Print 7018A, by Senator Hinchey, an
15 act authorizing the City of Schenectady to
16 alienate certain parcels of land used as
17 parkland.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There is
19 a home-rule message at the desk.
20 Read the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4851
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
2 the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1519, Senate Print 309A, by Senator Myrie, an act
8 to amend the Election Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
17 Jackson to explain his vote.
18 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
19 Madam President.
20 I rise in order to speak on Calendar
21 Number 1519, which relates to the construction of
22 voting machines and systems. And Senator Myrie
23 is the sponsor of this bill, Senate Bill Number
24 309A.
25 Too many people in this country are
4852
1 still talking about voter fraud and voter machine
2 malfunctions as if they care about the strength
3 of democracy, when it's clear that their concerns
4 are about safeguarding their own political power.
5 The bill before us today actually
6 walks the walk by contributing in a positive way
7 to the security of our elections. And I thank my
8 colleague Zellnor Myrie for his work as the chair
9 of the Elections Committee in the New York State
10 Senate.
11 Voter confidence as a measure of the
12 quality of our elections is essential,
13 Madam President. The threat of hacking the
14 machines we rely on for free, fair and democratic
15 elections is genuine. And we are required to
16 take every reasonable precaution,
17 Madam President, to protect the bedrock of our
18 republic, our right to vote.
19 This bill will help ensure that
20 their vote will count as cast. It is commonsense
21 reform that sets forth some additional system
22 requirements for improving voting machines, a
23 no-brainer that both sides of the aisle should be
24 able to agree upon.
25 And after all, we are protecting the
4853
1 integrity of our electoral process. I highly
2 doubt that any one of us here would not support
3 the action and sense of duty in our obligation.
4 And for those reasons,
5 Madam President, I vote aye. Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
7 Jackson to be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
10 Calendar 1519, those Senators voting in the
11 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
12 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
13 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
14 Palumbo, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
15 Ayes, 44. Nays, 19.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1521, Senate Print 680, by Senator Harckham, an
20 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
24 act shall take effect on the 120th day after it
25 shall have become a law.
4854
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
5 the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar Number 1521, those Senators voting in
8 the negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello,
9 Boyle, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Hinchey,
10 Jordan, Lanza, Mannion, Martucci, Mattera,
11 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Rath, Ritchie, Serino,
12 Skoufis, Tedisco, Stec and Weik.
13 Ayes, 41. Nays, 22.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
15 is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1526, Senate Print 2521B, by Senator Rivera, an
18 act to amend the Public Health Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
22 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
23 shall have become a law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
25 roll.
4855
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Rivera to explain his vote.
4 SENATOR RIVERA: Thank you,
5 Madam President.
6 Now, complicated problems sometimes
7 require complicated bills. I should say
8 complicated problems always require complicated
9 bills.
10 The bill that we passed a bit
11 earlier, as I mentioned, was one of what I hope
12 to be a package of bills to address the concerns
13 around lead poisoning in children.
14 The bill that we have before us now
15 is part of what I hope to be many bills, since it
16 was a bigger and more complicated bill, but it
17 got split up to deal with patient medical debt.
18 I'll take a second to actually both
19 recognize and thank Senator Kevin Thomas, who
20 just yesterday passed a bill, Madam President,
21 that relates specifically to consumer debt but
22 more broadly, because it is consumer debt,
23 includes medical debt. And this was one of the
24 parts of the bill, of the big bill that we
25 thought rightly that Senator Thomas covered in
4856
1 his bill and therefore we said, You go ahead with
2 that, brother, and we'll support you on that one.
3 But there are a couple of other
4 things related to medical debt that we need to
5 deal with, and the bill that is before us deals
6 with something called the facility fee. And
7 simply put, this is something that sometimes
8 slips into a bill without our knowledge, and all
9 of a sudden we have to -- when we go for all
10 sorts of procedures, we might be actually in a
11 hospital, we might be just getting treated for
12 something relatively minor, and those facility
13 fees actually show up.
14 So this bill would actually
15 change -- eliminate a loophole in state law that
16 currently just results in surprise expenses for
17 so many folks around the state.
18 And this is, as I said, one of the
19 hopefully many bills that we will pass to deal
20 with medical debt. So it is certainly an
21 important bill for that reason.
22 There's just one more thing that I
23 wanted to underline, Madam President. So I've
24 spent the last couple of days thankfully coming
25 to the floor and explaining some of the bills
4857
1 that I've been passing that have been -- that a
2 lot of folks have worked a lot of hard hours to
3 make sure that they happen, and I've been
4 mentioning some of my staff.
5 This one is particularly special
6 because it actually was part of -- the large
7 project of dealing with medical debt was actually
8 something that a former staffer was working on.
9 And it was something that she was working on
10 before she passed away from corona in December of
11 last year. A woman who I've spoken about on this
12 floor before who has served the Senate for many,
13 many years. That was Kristin Sinclair. This was
14 the final project that she was working on, this
15 big, beautiful and complicated bill dealing with
16 something that is really a scourge to folks here
17 in New York State, which is medical debt.
18 We will hopefully pass many more
19 bills dealing with this issue because it is not
20 resolved yet. But I wanted to make sure that as
21 we pass this first bill today, Madam President,
22 that I not only thank the Community Service
23 Society who brought it our attention, but
24 specifically to point out that her work and her
25 legacy lives on and that the work that she did
4858
1 consistently to serve New Yorkers is carried on,
2 not only by myself but by the rest of my staff as
3 well.
4 I will thank Michela Paniccia, who
5 is my committee director now and who was
6 essential in figuring out how to work all these
7 different pieces. So I will thank her as well on
8 the record.
9 So Madam President, this is
10 something that not only deals with medical debt
11 but, more importantly, is what I hope to be a
12 first of many bills to continue to talk about
13 Kristin's legacy of serving New Yorkers, and I'm
14 incredibly happy and proud to vote in the
15 affirmative right now.
16 Thank you, Madam President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
18 Rivera to be recorded in the affirmative.
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
21 Calendar 1526, those Senators voting in the
22 negative are Senators Borrello, Gallivan,
23 Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci, Ortt, Tedisco
24 and Weik.
25 Ayes, 54. Nays, 9.
4859
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
2 is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1546, Senate Print 5144B, by Senator Gianaris, an
5 act to amend the Real Property Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
16 Calendar 1546, those Senators voting in the
17 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
18 Gallivan, Gaughran, Griffo, Harckham, Helming,
19 Jordan, Lanza, Mannion, Martucci, Mattera,
20 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Serino,
21 Skoufis, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
22 Ayes, 40. Nays, 23.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
24 is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4860
1 1551, Senate Print 592, by Senator May, an act to
2 amend the State Finance Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
6 act shall take effect June 1, 2022.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
11 the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
13 Calendar 1551, those Senators voting in the
14 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
15 Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci,
16 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie,
17 Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
18 Ayes, 45. Nays, 18.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
20 is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1554, Senate Print 5934, by Senator Parker, an
23 act to authorize Top Community Development
24 Corporation to file an application for a real
25 property tax exemption.
4861
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
6 roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
9 the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
11 Calendar 1554, those Senators voting in the
12 negative are Senators Akshar, Helming and O'Mara.
13 Ayes, 60. Nays, 3.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
15 is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1565, Senate Print 6546A, by Senator Gallivan, an
18 act to amend the Highway Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4862
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
2 the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar Number 1565, voting in the negative:
5 Senator Brisport.
6 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1568, Senate Print 6694, by Senator Harckham, an
11 act to amend the Education Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
13 last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
17 roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
20 the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
23 is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1587, Assembly Print 7713, substituted earlier by
4863
1 Assemblymember Jackson, an act to amend the
2 Penal Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
11 the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1588, Assembly Print 7816, substituted earlier by
17 Assemblymember Morinello, an act to amend the
18 Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4864
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
2 the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1602, Senate Print 7171, by Senator Brisport, an
8 act to amend the Family Court Act.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 13. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Announce the
17 results.
18 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
19 Calendar 1602, those Senators voting in the
20 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
21 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
22 Martucci, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath,
23 Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
24 Ayes, 44. Nays, 19.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
4865
1 is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1603, Assembly Print 7601, substituted earlier by
4 Assemblymember Darling, an act to amend the
5 Family Court Act.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1604, Senate Print 7173, by Senator Bailey, an
20 act to amend the Family Court Act.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
24 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
25 shall have become a law.
4866
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
5 the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar 1604, those Senators voting in the
8 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
9 Gallivan, Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci,
10 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie,
11 Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
12 Ayes, 45. Nays, 18.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1610, Assembly Print 8012, substituted earlier by
17 Assemblymember Meeks, an act making an
18 appropriation to pay to the children of the late
19 David F. Gantt, member of the Assembly from the
20 137th Assembly District.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4867
1 roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
4 the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
7 is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1616, Senate Print 600, by Senator Benjamin, an
10 act to amend the Election Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
12 last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
19 the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
21 Calendar 1616, those Senators voting in the
22 negative are Senators Borrello, Helming, Jordan,
23 Oberacker, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Serino, Stec and
24 Tedisco.
25 Ayes, 53. Nays, 10.
4868
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
2 is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1618, Senate Print 737A, by Senator Biaggi, an
5 act to amend the General Business Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
9 act shall take effect on the 30th day after it
10 shall have become a law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
12 roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
15 the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
17 Calendar 1618, those Senators voting in the
18 negative are Senators Borrello, Gallivan,
19 Helming, Jordan, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ritchie, Stec
20 and Tedisco.
21 Ayes, 54. Nays, 9.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
23 is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1619, Assembly Print 3331, substituted earlier by
4869
1 Assemblymember Hevesi, an act to amend the
2 Social Services Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
11 the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1620, Senate Print 979A, by Senator Gaughran, an
17 act to amend the Real Property Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
21 act shall take effect on the 120th day after it
22 shall have become a law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4870
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
2 the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar 1620, those Senators voting in the
5 negative are Senators Lanza and Ortt.
6 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1621, Senate Print 1603, by Senator Gianaris, an
11 act to amend the Public Housing Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
13 last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
17 roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
20 the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
22 Calendar 1621, those Senators voting in the
23 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
24 Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci,
25 Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath,
4871
1 Stec and Weik.
2 Ayes, 47. Nays, 16.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
4 is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1622, Senate Print 2025, by Senator May, an act
7 to amend the Education Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
12 shall have become a law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
17 the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
20 is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1623, Senate Print 2045, by Senator Tedisco, an
23 act to amend the County Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
25 last section.
4872
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
7 the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
10 is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1625, Senate Print 2630, by Senator Sanders, an
13 act to amend the Correction Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
18 shall have become a law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
23 the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
25 Calendar 1625, those Senators voting in the
4873
1 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
2 Gallivan, Griffo, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci,
3 Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath,
4 Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
5 Ayes, 44. Nays, 19.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
7 is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1626, Senate Print 2743, by Senator Ramos, an act
10 to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
12 last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
19 the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
21 Calendar 1626, those Senators voting in the
22 negative are Senators Boyle and Kavanagh.
23 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
25 is passed.
4874
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1627, Senate Print 2757B, by Senator Ramos, an
3 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
5 last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
9 roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
12 the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar Number 1627, voting in the negative:
15 Senator Felder.
16 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
18 is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1628, Senate Print 2999B, by Senator Harckham, an
21 act to amend the Executive Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
4875
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
5 the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar 1628, those Senators voting in the
8 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
9 Helming, Jordan, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
10 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Stec and Weik.
11 Ayes, 50. Nays, 13.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1629, Senate Print 3080A, by Senator Salazar, an
16 act directing the New York State Energy Research
17 and Development Authority to establish a "Ride
18 Clean" rebate program.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4876
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
2 the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar 1629, those Senators voting in the
5 negative are Senators Felder, Helming and
6 Oberacker.
7 Ayes, 60. Nays, 3.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1630, Assembly Print 735, substituted earlier by
12 Assemblymember Rosenthal, an act to amend the
13 Agriculture and Markets Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
19 roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
22 the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
25 is passed.
4877
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1631, Senate Print 3687A, by Senator Felder, an
3 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
5 last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
7 act shall take effect on the first of April.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
9 roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
12 the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar 1631, those Senators voting in the
15 negative are Senators Borrello, Gallivan, Griffo,
16 Helming, Jordan, O'Mara, Ritchie and Stec.
17 Ayes, 55. Nays, 8.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1632, Assembly Print 3173, substituted earlier by
22 Assemblymember Cook, an act to amend the
23 General Business Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
25 last section.
4878
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
3 shall have become a law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
8 the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
10 Calendar 1632, those Senators voting in the
11 negative are Senators Gallivan and Lanza.
12 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1633, Assembly Print 949, substituted earlier by
17 Assemblymember Zebrowski, an act to amend the
18 Public Service Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4879
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
2 the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1634, Assembly Bill 2202, substituted earlier by
8 Assemblymember Barnwell, an act to amend the
9 General Business Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
14 shall have become a law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
19 the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
22 is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1635, Senate Print 4347A, by Senator Brouk, an
25 act to amend the Education Law and the Social
4880
1 Services Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
3 last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 9. This
5 act shall take effect twelve months after it
6 shall have become a law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
11 the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1636, Senate Print 4367A, by Senator Mayer, an
17 act to amend the Public Officers Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
23 roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
4881
1 the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
4 is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1637, Assembly Print 3034, substituted earlier by
7 Assemblymember McDonald, an act to amend the
8 Real Property Tax Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
17 the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
20 is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1638, Assembly Print 898B, substituted earlier
23 by Assemblymember Woerner, an act to amend the
24 Domestic Relations Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
4882
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
8 the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1639, Senate Print 4486A, by Senator Harckham, an
14 act to amend the Public Health Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
16 last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
23 Harckham to explain his vote.
24 SENATOR HARCKHAM: Thank you,
25 Madam President.
4883
1 I would like to thank our
2 Majority Leader for her focus on this issue and
3 bringing this piece of legislation to the floor
4 for us to discuss today.
5 Back in 2007 when this body created
6 the office of the Medicaid Inspector General, it
7 was designed to root out fraud, abuse and waste,
8 because every dollar lost in the Medicaid system
9 to waste, fraud and abuse was not going to
10 patient care.
11 As time has gone on and staffs have
12 been cut and the original purpose has, shall we
13 say, gone in the rear-view mirror, what has
14 happened is that the Office of the Inspector
15 General has begun to focus on clerical errors and
16 administrative errors, and then extrapolate. And
17 sometimes the results have just defied common
18 sense.
19 And we are in the midst of an opioid
20 crisis. More people died last year from opioid
21 overdose than at any time in recorded history.
22 And yet last year, because of an administrative
23 extrapolation by the Office of the Inspector
24 General, a treatment center for Medicaid-assisted
25 treatment was put out of business and 1500 slots
4884
1 were lost.
2 And for an administrative error, I
3 don't think anybody in this body envisioned that
4 that was the purpose of the law in 2007.
5 So this law will rein in those
6 procedures, and it will end the fatal practice of
7 killing treatment providers in these fatal fines
8 for clerical and administrative errors. Yes, go
9 at them for waste, fraud and crime because,
10 again, that keeps money from patients. But when
11 there are clerical errors and administrative
12 errors in the midst of an opioid crisis, the last
13 thing we should do is be putting these treatment
14 providers out of business.
15 I vote aye.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
17 Harckham to be recorded in the affirmative.
18 Announce the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
21 is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1640, Senate Print 4539, by Senator Kaplan, an
24 act to amend the General Municipal Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
4885
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
8 the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
10 Calendar 1640, those Senators voting in the
11 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
12 Gallivan, Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci,
13 Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Rath, Serino,
14 Stec and Weik.
15 Ayes, 47. Nays, 16.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1641, Assembly Print 6014A, substituted earlier
20 by Assemblymember Magnarelli, an act to amend the
21 Vehicle and Traffic Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect on the first of November.
4886
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
5 the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar Number 1641, voting in the negative:
8 Senator Lanza.
9 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1642, Senate Print 5257C, by Senator Gianaris, an
14 act to amend the Private Housing Finance Law.
15 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Lay it
17 aside.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1643, Senate Print 5488A, by Senator Biaggi, an
20 act to amend the Marshall Plan for Moms
21 interagency task force.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
4887
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
5 Biaggi to explain her vote.
6 SENATOR BIAGGI: Thank you,
7 Madam President.
8 I rise today to proudly vote in
9 favor of this bill, which is a task force created
10 for the Marshall Plan for Moms.
11 It is no surprise to anybody in this
12 chamber or anybody who is listening in New York
13 or really in the entire country that mothers and
14 caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic are one
15 of the populations that have been the hardest hit
16 economically. They have served as this invisible
17 workforce, really being a key to all of the
18 families that they care for and work with and
19 work for, for their economic security and
20 survival.
21 There have been increased demands of
22 childcare we know about, work, remote learning,
23 which has really been one of the challenges, I
24 think, of this time. And it all collectively has
25 taken a really incredible unprecedented toll on
4888
1 mothers and caregivers, forcing 2.4 million
2 women -- predominantly women of color -- to leave
3 the workforce: 2.4 million women have left the
4 workforce. That number is staggering.
5 As New York State is currently
6 reopening and recovering, what we have to do is
7 focus on how to get these women and caregivers
8 back into the workforce, because we cannot afford
9 to leave anybody behind. The Marshall Plan for
10 Moms will create a task force to determine how
11 the state can do that -- by providing direct
12 payments to mothers and caregivers who are
13 experiencing financial instability, something
14 that President Biden actually has already
15 committed to do; return women back to the
16 workforce; address other various policy areas,
17 including childcare, mental health support, paid
18 family leave -- which I know that this state has
19 taken on before, but there are still ways to make
20 more progress in this category -- and other
21 family-supportive workplaces.
22 This task force will also directly
23 address state policies that fail to protect
24 mothers and caregivers overall. 2021, this year,
25 must be the year that the voices of mothers and
4889
1 other caregivers are heard and that their needs
2 are prioritized.
3 In the past decade women in the
4 workplace made monumental advancements. In fact,
5 this chamber has been part of some of those
6 monumental advancements, towards pay equity and
7 other leadership roles. But there is more we can
8 do. And because we know that there is more that
9 we can do, that means that we are responsible to
10 do it.
11 So by creating this task force, it
12 is dedicated to developing a multifaceted series
13 of solutions that we can then act on as a body.
14 And I think it is one of the most responsible
15 things that we can do if we say that we care
16 about mothers and caregivers during this COVID-19
17 pandemic who have been impacted.
18 I proudly vote yes. Thank you.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
20 Biaggi to be recorded in the affirmative.
21 Announce the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
23 Calendar 1643, those Senators voting in the
24 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
25 Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci,
4890
1 Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath,
2 Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
3 Ayes, 46. Nays, 17.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1645, Senate Print 5527, by Senator Brooks, an
8 act to amend the Public Authorities Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
13 shall have become a law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
18 the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
21 is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1646, Senate Print 5722, by Senator Thomas, an
24 act in relation to restricting certain practices
25 from remote supervision by licensed pharmacists.
4891
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
6 roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
9 the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
12 is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1647, Assembly Print 6426, substituted earlier by
15 Assemblymember Thiele, an act relating to
16 authorizing the district superintendent of the
17 Eastport-South Manor Central School District to
18 adjust the improper apportionment of the school
19 tax levy.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
21 last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
25 roll.
4892
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
3 the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
6 is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1648, Senate Print 5988B, by Senator Mattera, an
9 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
18 the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
21 is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1649, Senate Print 6052B, by Senator
24 Reichlin-Melnick, an act to amend Chapter 89 of
25 the Laws of 2016.
4893
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
6 roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
9 Reichlin-Melnick to explain his vote.
10 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Thank
11 you, Madam President.
12 Every child in New York has the
13 right to an excellent education. But for far too
14 long, the children of the East Ramapo School
15 District have been deprived of this right.
16 A district which was once among the
17 best in Rockland County now faces huge financial
18 and educational hurdles. The graduation rate is
19 the lowest in the county, and students have had
20 limited access to school counseling, arts, music,
21 extracurricular activities, and English language
22 learning services for the many children of
23 immigrant families in the district.
24 Last year several thousand students
25 went months without Chromebooks, totally unable
4894
1 to access online learning in the midst of this
2 pandemic. While academics have suffered, the
3 school board has also mismanaged the district's
4 finances so badly that they had to borrow more
5 than $25 million this spring or else they would
6 have run out of money before the end of this
7 school year.
8 East Ramapo has unique demographics,
9 with around 9,000 public school students, mostly
10 children of color, and around 32,000 private
11 school students, nearly all of whom are white.
12 The school board has for years been controlled by
13 members from the private school community, which
14 has left many parents in the public school
15 community feeling that their children's education
16 is not being prioritized.
17 Five years ago my predecessor,
18 Senator Carlucci, working with Assemblyman Ken
19 Zebrowski and former Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee,
20 advanced legislation that placed monitors
21 appointed by the State Education Department in
22 the district. This was an important first step,
23 but unfortunately these monitors lacked effective
24 tools to stand up against bad decisions by the
25 school board.
4895
1 In the years since the appointment
2 of the state monitors, the district has lost a
3 federal voting rights lawsuit brought by the
4 NAACP and New York Civil Liberties Union, and
5 been the subject of several scathing reports by
6 the State Comptroller. A new approach is clearly
7 needed.
8 This bill gives the State Education
9 Department the power to appoint monitors for the
10 East Ramapo School District who will have the
11 authority to overrule decisions of the school
12 board that violate state law and regulations or
13 the district's fiscal and academic improvement
14 plan.
15 Passing this bill is a milestone for
16 the children of this district. It will finally
17 give the parents and students in the public
18 schools in East Ramapo the confidence that
19 New York State is looking out for them and is
20 ready to act to guarantee that the education they
21 receive will set them on the path to a brighter
22 future.
23 I want to thank the Majority Leader
24 for bringing this bill to a vote, thank my
25 colleagues for supporting it. And I also want to
4896
1 acknowledge the tremendous work done by the
2 Assembly sponsor, Ken Zebrowski, who has been
3 championing this issue for years and worked
4 closely with the State Ed Department on the
5 language of this bill. The Assembly will also be
6 passing it before the end of session.
7 I want to thank former Senator
8 Carlucci and former Assemblywoman Jaffee for
9 their work as well. Of course our commissioner,
10 Betty Rosa, who has been a strong supporter of
11 this legislation. And I want to thank the
12 Spring Valley NAACP, New York Civil Liberties
13 Union, the Rockland Clergy for Social Justice,
14 and the countless parents, students and families
15 who have been fighting for this bill.
16 I vote aye, and I am proud to take
17 this vote. Thank you, Madam President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
19 Reichlin-Melnick to be recorded in the
20 affirmative.
21 Senator Mayer to explain her vote.
22 SENATOR MAYER: Thank you,
23 Madam President.
24 I'm so proud to rise and explain my
25 vote in support of this really critical bill that
4897
1 continues the fight for equity for every school
2 district.
3 This bill will enhance state
4 oversight for the operation of programs and
5 services for students in the East Ramapo School
6 District. As chair of the Education Committee,
7 my commitment and our commitment is to advance
8 and support measures designed to ensure all
9 public school students have access to quality
10 education and services throughout the state,
11 regardless of where they live.
12 We are poised today to build upon
13 the current statutory framework and strengthen
14 the monitor process for the delivery of programs
15 for East Ramapo's public school students. Local
16 circumstances in this district, as in several
17 others across the state, have warranted
18 district-specific state action, working closely
19 with the State Education Department.
20 This bill will prevent conflicts of
21 interest and ensure necessary programs are funded
22 and made available to all students. It supports
23 the district's 9,000 public school students while
24 ensuring all voices are heard, including those of
25 families of nonpublic students.
4898
1 The East Ramapo District will
2 receive $7.5 million in an increase in state
3 funding next year under the Foundation Aid
4 formula, and is allocated more than $216 million
5 in federal COVID relief funding.
6 These very substantial funding
7 commitments are meaningful, but we must make sure
8 they are spent well and serve the students of
9 this district, the large majority of whom are
10 poor and families suffering and struggling
11 through the pandemic.
12 We have a responsibility to these
13 children, whether they are public or nonpublic,
14 and this bill addresses that need. There are
15 times when a state has to step in to support
16 individual districts and the students they serve.
17 That is this time.
18 I want to commend my colleague
19 Senator Reichlin-Melnick for his leadership, as
20 well as certainly the State Education Department
21 and our leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, for
22 bringing this most important matter to a
23 conclusion for this year.
24 The time is now to pass it, and I'm
25 proud to vote in the affirmative.
4899
1 Thank you, Madam President.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Mayer to be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar 1649, those Senators voting in the
7 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
8 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
9 Martucci, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath,
10 Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
11 Ayes, 44. Nays, 19.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1650, Assembly Print 3967, substituted earlier by
16 Assemblymember Pretlow, an act to amend the
17 General Municipal Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
23 roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
4900
1 the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
3 Calendar 1650, those Senators voting in the
4 negative are Senators Helming, Jordan, Oberacker,
5 Rath and Skoufis.
6 Ayes, 58. Nays, 5.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1651, Assembly Print 6968, substituted earlier by
11 Assemblymember Magnarelli, an act to amend the
12 Vehicle and Traffic Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
21 the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
24 is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4901
1 1652, Assembly Print 7209, substituted earlier by
2 Assemblymember Thiele, an act to amend the
3 General Municipal Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
5 last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
9 roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
12 Borrello to explain his vote.
13 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
14 Madam President.
15 I rise to speak in favor of this
16 bill. I'd like to first of all thank Senator
17 Gaughran for his sponsorship of this bill.
18 This is a -- it may seem, you know,
19 maybe a little down in the weeds, but as a former
20 local government official, as a county executive,
21 I can tell you how critically important this is
22 to expand investment options for our local
23 governments.
24 These actually have -- these options
25 have been available to New York City for a long
4902
1 time, and now they're being expanded to the rest
2 of the state.
3 As a former county executive and
4 someone who was in charge of the finances of our
5 county, I can tell you that the options are
6 extremely limited, and this becomes a real issue,
7 especially with the variations in interest rates.
8 We're going to see now, likely,
9 inflation increasing across the United States,
10 and that's going to likely lead to higher
11 interest rates. And local governments will
12 likely be stuck, if you will, in investing in
13 bonds that may in the end start to turn negative
14 as far as their market values.
15 This will expand the flexibility and
16 give those options that have been available to
17 New York City for a long time to every local
18 government. And I think it's critically
19 important, especially now, as I mentioned.
20 So thank you again to the sponsor,
21 and thank you to everyone else that has supported
22 this bill that will help -- in the end, help
23 taxpayers by getting a better return on the
24 reserve monies that they have in their taxpayer
25 coffers.
4903
1 Thank you.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Borrello to be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar Number 1652, voting in the negative:
7 Senator Brisport.
8 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
10 is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1653, Assembly Print 7237, substituted earlier by
13 Assemblymember McDonald, an act to amend the
14 Public Authorities Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
16 last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
23 the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
4904
1 is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1654, Senate Print 6516A, by Senator Mannion, an
4 act to amend the Education Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
10 roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
13 Mannion to explain his vote.
14 SENATOR MANNION: Thank you,
15 Madam President.
16 853 schools and 4201 schools are
17 simply that, they are schools. They are schools
18 that serve children with disabilities. These are
19 the appropriate schools for these kids.
20 These schools have struggled, like
21 other schools have, and other institutions, with
22 the challenges of meeting the costs attributed to
23 facing the pandemic of COVID-19. They need our
24 help. They need parity. They need equity. And
25 I am proud to sponsor this legislation, which
4905
1 will assure that.
2 These schools are often referred to
3 as the forgotten schools. We can't forget them.
4 We need legislation to make sure that they are
5 supported equitably, just like every other school
6 and school district in the state.
7 Thank you, Madam President. I
8 proudly vote in the affirmative.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
10 Mannion to be recorded in the affirmative.
11 Senator Mayer to explain her vote.
12 SENATOR MAYER: Thank you,
13 Madam President.
14 I proudly am voting in the
15 affirmative on this bill. And in doing so, I
16 stand with thousands of students and their
17 parents across the state, students who are
18 educated in approved private special education
19 school programs and Special Acts school
20 districts.
21 This year we adopted an
22 unprecedented education budget with funding
23 commitments to ensure equity, adequacy and
24 opportunity for children without regard to where
25 they live or who represents them in government.
4906
1 Under the leadership of our
2 Majority Leader, my colleagues and I fulfilled a
3 legal promise made more than a decade ago to
4 properly fund our public schools. Today we have
5 the opportunity and in fact the responsibility to
6 extend this commitment and make the same promise
7 to our students with special needs in
8 state-approved private schools and Special Acts
9 school districts.
10 The legislation before us extends
11 the same level of funding to private approved
12 special ed schools and Special Acts school
13 districts that we did approve for public schools
14 every year. The measure will assure program
15 providers that they can count on the same
16 percentage increase in funding through the rate
17 setting process.
18 In doing so, we provide the schools
19 with financial stability and predictability, help
20 to stabilize programs, avoid closures, and
21 maintain their future viability. It gives
22 parents comfort knowing their children can
23 continue in settings that are appropriate,
24 familiar and necessary for their development.
25 It makes a promise to children --
4907
1 after all, that's what we're about -- those with
2 special needs, that their education matters and
3 they will have the opportunities to succeed.
4 I want to thank my colleague Senator
5 Mannion for his leadership in sponsoring this
6 important legislation initiated by the State
7 Education Department. And I want to thank
8 Commissioner Betty Rosa and Chancellor Lester
9 Young for their steadfast commitment to children
10 with special needs in advancing this proposal,
11 together with our Majority Leader and my Senate
12 colleagues.
13 I vote in the affirmative.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
15 Mayer to be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Announce the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1655, Senate Print Number 6537, by
22 Senator Reichlin-Melnick, an act to amend the
23 Education Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
25 last section.
4908
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
7 the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
10 is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1656, Assembly Print 7240, substituted earlier by
13 Assemblymember Gottfried, an act relating to a
14 review of reimbursement rates for ambulette
15 transportation.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
21 roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
24 the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
4909
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
2 is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1657, Assembly Print 7520A, substituted earlier
5 by Assemblymember McDonald, an act to amend the
6 Real Property Tax Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
8 last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
12 roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
15 the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
18 is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1660, Assembly Print 7038A, substituted earlier
21 by Assemblymember Galef, an act to amend the
22 Village Law and the Public Officers Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4910
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
6 the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1661, Senate Print 6664, by Senator May, an act
12 to amend the Public Health Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
16 act shall take effect January 1, 2022.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
21 the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
24 is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4911
1 1663, Senate Print 6738, by Senator Jordan, an
2 act to amend the Highway Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
11 the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
13 Calendar Number 1663, voting in the negative:
14 Senator Brisport.
15 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1664, Senate Print 6777, by Senator Salazar, an
20 act to amend the Executive Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4912
1 roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
4 the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar 1664, those Senators voting in the
7 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
8 Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Mattera, Oberacker,
9 O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Stec and
10 Tedisco.
11 Ayes, 48. Nays, 15.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1665, Assembly Print 7564, substituted earlier by
16 Assemblymember Burke, an act to amend the
17 Education Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
21 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
22 shall have become a law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4913
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
2 the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar 1665, those Senators voting in the
5 negative are Senators Akshar, Felder and Lanza.
6 Ayes, 60. Nays, 3.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1666, Senate Print 6822, by Senator Palumbo, an
11 act in relation to granting Kevin Moriarty
12 Tier IV status in the New York State Teachers'
13 Retirement System.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
19 roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
22 the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
25 is passed.
4914
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1667, Assembly Print 7567A, substituted earlier
3 by Assemblymember McMahon, an act to amend the
4 Agriculture and Markets Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
8 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
9 shall have become a law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1668, Senate Print 6875, by Senator Persaud, an
20 act to amend the Social Services Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
24 act shall take effect October 1, 2022.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4915
1 roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
4 the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar 1668, those Senators voting in the
7 negative are Senators Borrello and Oberacker.
8 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
10 is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1669, Assembly Print 4587A, substituted earlier
13 by Assemblymember Thiele, an act to amend the
14 General Obligations Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
16 last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
23 the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
4916
1 is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1670, Senate Print 6962, by Senator Ryan, an act
4 to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
10 roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
13 the results.
14 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
15 Calendar 1670, those Senators voting in the
16 negative are Senators Lanza and Ortt.
17 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1672, Assembly Print 3516, substituted earlier by
22 Assemblymember McDonald, an act to amend the
23 Insurance Law.
24 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Lay it
4917
1 aside.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1673, Assembly Print 7870A, substituted earlier
4 by Assemblymember Santabarbara, an act to amend
5 the Town Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1674, Senate Print 7106A, by Senator Mannion, an
20 act to amend the Social Services Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4918
1 roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
4 the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
7 is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1675, Senate Print 7136, by Senator Serino, an
10 act to amend the Highway Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
12 last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
19 the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
22 is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1676, Senate Print 7139, by Senator Palumbo, an
25 act to amend the Highway Law.
4919
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
6 roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
9 the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
12 is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1678, Senate Print 7150, by Senator Gianaris, an
15 act to amend Chapter 17 of the Laws of 2012.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
21 roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
24 the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4920
1 Calendar 1678, those Senators voting in the
2 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
3 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
4 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
5 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
6 Weik.
7 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1679, Senate Print 7163, by Senator Boyle, an act
12 authorizing the West Babylon Church of God of
13 Prophecy, Inc., to file an application for
14 retroactive real property tax exemption.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
16 last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
23 the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
25 Calendar 1679, those Senators voting in the
4921
1 negative are Senators Akshar and O'Mara.
2 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
4 is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1680, Senate Print 7179, by Senator Persaud, an
7 act to amend the Family Court Act and the
8 Executive Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
17 the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
19 Calendar 1680, those Senators voting in the
20 negative are Senators Gallivan, Oberacker and
21 Ortt.
22 Ayes, 60. Nays, 3.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
24 is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4922
1 1681, Senate Print 7190, by Senator Thomas, an
2 act to amend the General Municipal Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
11 the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1682, Senate Print 7191, by Senator Ryan, an act
17 to amend the Election Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
23 roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
4923
1 the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
3 Calendar 1682, those Senators voting in the
4 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
5 Gallivan, Gaughran, Griffo, Helming, Jordan,
6 Lanza, Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara,
7 Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec,
8 Tedisco and Weik.
9 Ayes, 42. Nays, 21.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1683, Senate Print 7197, by Senator Skoufis, an
14 act to amend Chapter 704 of the Laws of 1991.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
16 last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
23 the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
4924
1 is passed.
2 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
3 reading of today's calendar.
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: Okay, we're
5 going to move to the controversial calendar,
6 Madam President, beginning with -- if I can find
7 the right calendar number -- Calendar 1642.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
9 Secretary will ring the bell.
10 The Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1642, Senate Print 5257C, by Senator Gianaris, an
13 act to amend the Private Housing Finance Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
15 Weik.
16 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you,
17 Madam President. Madam President, through you,
18 will the sponsor yield for questions.
19 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
21 sponsor yield?
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
24 sponsor will yield.
25 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you very much.
4925
1 This is an important topic, it's a serious
2 matter. Homelessness is something that I see on
3 the rise in my district as well as throughout
4 New York State, so I'm very interested in
5 figuring out how this program actually works.
6 Is it limited to cities or does
7 it -- is it applicable to suburbs?
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: This bill would
9 have statewide application.
10 SENATOR WEIK: I'm sorry?
11 SENATOR GIANARIS: It would have
12 statewide application. It applies throughout the
13 state.
14 SENATOR WEIK: Okay, so --
15 Madam President, through you.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
17 sponsor yield?
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
20 sponsor will yield.
21 SENATOR WEIK: Is there a limit to
22 the number of individuals in the area, or is it
23 applicable to rural areas and suburban areas
24 alike?
25 SENATOR GIANARIS: Once again, it
4926
1 has application throughout the State of New York.
2 SENATOR WEIK: Okay.
3 Madam President, through you, will the sponsor
4 continue to yield.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
6 sponsor yield?
7 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
9 sponsor yields.
10 SENATOR WEIK: I am very glad to
11 hear that, because I am from a suburban area and
12 we do have a rise in homelessness. And so I'm
13 just curious, how does this program work? If,
14 for example, my town wanted to convert eligible
15 hotels into affordable housing, how would they
16 access the program?
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: Well, currently
18 the program is funded with $100 million we've had
19 in the State Budget we passed earlier this year.
20 There is some hope that we will also be able to
21 access federal funds that have come through.
22 Now, in terms of how it works,
23 the -- it's the Housing Trust Fund Corporation
24 that will be administering this on behalf of the
25 state, and they would identify properties that
4927
1 qualify and then either purchase them on behalf
2 of the state or contract with a nonprofit to
3 operate the properties.
4 SENATOR WEIK: Madam President,
5 through you, will the sponsor continue to yield.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
7 sponsor yield?
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
10 sponsor yields.
11 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you,
12 Senator Gianaris. And that was stated in your
13 bill. However, it doesn't clarify the question I
14 was looking for.
15 So if my municipality wanted to
16 access this fund, what steps would they take in
17 order to proceed?
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: This is a
19 program administered by the state through the
20 Housing Trust Fund Corporation. So the
21 municipality could be in touch with the agency
22 and collaborate with them if they have a specific
23 property in mind.
24 SENATOR WEIK: Great, thank you
25 very much.
4928
1 Madam President, through you, will
2 the sponsor continue to yield.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
4 sponsor yield?
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
7 sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR WEIK: So these properties
9 shall be owned, operated and managed by
10 appropriate nonprofit organizations through the
11 use of government agency funding to acquire the
12 property. Will they be the owners on the deed?
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yeah, the
14 nonprofit that operates the property would be the
15 owner on the deed.
16 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you, sir.
17 Madam President, through you, will
18 the sponsor continue to yield.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
20 sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
23 sponsor yields.
24 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you.
25 So as the nonprofit is now the owner
4929
1 on the deed, will they continue to receive
2 funding from the state in order to maintain that
3 property, and will they be subject to property
4 taxes?
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: Okay, the -- I'm
6 informed that the nonprofits would enter into a
7 regulatory agreement with either the state or a
8 local agency. That often includes provisions for
9 how they would handle property taxes. And they
10 would also be free to access other funds, not
11 specifically in this program, to continue to
12 maintain the property going forward.
13 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you.
14 Madam President, through you, will
15 the sponsor continue to yield.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
17 sponsor yield?
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
20 sponsor yields.
21 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you so much.
22 And I appreciate your time for this.
23 Just to clarify, so that nonprofit
24 would still be responsible for paying property
25 taxes on that location, is that correct?
4930
1 SENATOR GIANARIS: It all depends
2 on what agreement they reach with the appropriate
3 agencies. Oftentimes these things are negotiated
4 in the form of PILOTs or other agreements that
5 don't require them to pay the full freight on
6 property taxes.
7 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you, Senator,
8 I appreciate that.
9 Madam President, through you, will
10 the sponsor continue to yield.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
12 sponsor yield?
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
15 sponsor yields.
16 SENATOR WEIK: I apologize for the
17 detail of these questions, but it does affect the
18 community. So my question to you is, if there
19 are individuals or students who are living in
20 these housing units and they're not paying
21 property taxes, it does impact the community, as
22 they would have to make up the difference if they
23 are a tax-exempt entity or if there is a lack of
24 funding.
25 Are most of these properties -- do
4931
1 you anticipate that they would be tax-exempt? Or
2 do you expect that they would be participating in
3 paying school taxes?
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: It would be up
5 to the locality whether they choose to enter into
6 such an agreement or not. And so all of this
7 would be with local input and approval, I would
8 imagine, so whatever a individual case requires
9 or is seen as an appropriate agreement by the
10 administering agencies, that will be the case.
11 So in some instances a locality may
12 decide to not require or reduce the amount of
13 taxes required; in other cases, they may not do
14 that. But we're not dictating that in this bill.
15 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you, sir, I
16 appreciate that.
17 Madam President, will the sponsor
18 continue to yield.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
20 sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
23 sponsor yields.
24 SENATOR WEIK: So how much funding
25 has been dedicated for the Housing Our Neighbors
4932
1 with Dignity Act? Do we have an exact number?
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes. In the
3 State Budget it was $100 million.
4 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you very much,
5 Senator.
6 Madam President, will the sponsor
7 continue to yield.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
9 sponsor yield?
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
12 sponsor yields.
13 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you very much.
14 Under this program, do all regions
15 of the state have parity in trying to convert
16 vacant properties into affordable housing?
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes. There is
18 no preference amongst the different regions of
19 the state.
20 To clarify, counsel here informs me
21 that the $100 million that has already been
22 allocated is specified for usage within New York
23 City, but it is expected that that will be a tiny
24 fraction of the total monies in the program
25 because we're anticipating as much as $2 billion
4933
1 in federal money that will end up flowing through
2 this program.
3 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you.
4 Madam President, through you, will
5 the sponsor continue to yield.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
7 sponsor yield?
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
10 sponsor yields.
11 SENATOR WEIK: So with that federal
12 funding, do you anticipate that that's going to
13 be an ongoing thing, or is this going to be a
14 one-time funding, as with most of the COVID money
15 that we've received from the federal government?
16 Or is this -- is it short term?
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: Well, we always,
18 as we do every year, enact a State Budget that
19 evaluates ongoing needs. But the money we're
20 discussing currently is specifically to deal with
21 a situation that has been exacerbated by COVID.
22 So there are a number of properties
23 that are in distressed condition and up for sale
24 or available in different ways because of the
25 fact that hotels and other commercial properties
4934
1 are in disuse through the pandemic. And the idea
2 was to provide this funding at this time when
3 those properties are available for purchase for
4 affordable -- permanent affordable housing and
5 supportive housing.
6 If you're talking about not the
7 purchase but just the ongoing operation and
8 maintenance of these programs, then that's
9 something that will be subject to appropriation
10 in future budget years.
11 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you, sir.
12 Madam President, through you, will
13 the sponsor continue to yield.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
15 sponsor yield?
16 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR WEIK: So that brings me to
20 my next question. Of course taking these
21 properties, some of them being commercial real
22 estate, changing them into a livable space is
23 going to be quite costly.
24 Out of the funds that have been
25 allocated, how many housing units do you
4935
1 anticipate being able to have after renovating
2 and making these properties suitable for living?
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: So it's about
4 280 units, we anticipate, with the $100 million
5 that was already allocated. But if you multiply
6 that by 20, if we think $2 billion in federal
7 money will be available, then what would that be?
8 Twenty-eight hundred times two, about 5600 units.
9 But that obviously depends on where
10 the property's located, what the cost of
11 purchasing it is, et cetera.
12 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you, sir.
13 Madam President, through you, will
14 the sponsor continue to yield.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
16 sponsor yield?
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
19 sponsor yields.
20 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you very much,
21 sir. And I appreciate your time. I do expect
22 this will probably be my last question.
23 But are these provisions that ensure
24 that distressed hotels and commercial property
25 are actually converted into affordable housing as
4936
1 opposed to luxury housing?
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: I'm sorry, can
3 you repeat that? I missed --
4 SENATOR WEIK: Sure. Are there
5 provisions that ensure that the distressed hotels
6 and commercial property are actually converted
7 into affordable housing as opposed to luxury
8 housing?
9 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes, there are
10 specific conditions and requirements in the
11 legislation that ensures it cannot and will not
12 be used for luxury housing. The AMI percentage
13 that is required is 80 percent or lower, which is
14 certainly not luxury housing.
15 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you very much.
16 Madam President, through you, will
17 the sponsor continue to yield.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
19 sponsor yield?
20 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
22 sponsor yields.
23 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you, Senator.
24 I'm sorry, I faked you out, that was not my last
25 question.
4937
1 (Laughter.)
2 SENATOR WEIK: I actually -- how
3 much community input will be permitted in the
4 allowing of these housing units? How much
5 community input is going to be permitted?
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: First of all,
7 let me just say I appreciate the Senator's
8 politeness, but we are here to answer questions
9 and engage in debate, so feel free to ask away.
10 There was much discussion in the
11 drafting of this bill about what we would do
12 relative to local zoning ordinances. And left
13 intact was the local zoning regulations. So a
14 locality, if the zoning is nonconforming to the
15 current zoning, it would have to approve any
16 changes.
17 SENATOR WEIK: Okay.
18 Madam President, through you, will the sponsor
19 continue to yield.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
21 sponsor yield?
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
24 sponsor yields.
25 SENATOR WEIK: So does that -- is
4938
1 that to imply that communities would not have the
2 opportunity to have an input whether or not a
3 property that pops up in their community is now
4 going to be turned into affordable housing or
5 homelessness -- a shelter for homelessness? Or
6 will they have the opportunity to have a say in
7 that?
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes. No, it's
9 not meant to imply that at all.
10 The point I was trying to make, and
11 maybe I was inarticulate in doing so, is that
12 there are local zoning ordinances in place that
13 regulate these properties. So if a place is
14 zoned commercial, then you have a commercial
15 building there.
16 If you wanted to purchase that
17 building and turn it into residential use, you
18 would need a change in zoning, and the locality
19 government and the residents of that locality
20 would have the opportunity for their input at
21 that point.
22 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you very much.
23 Madam President, through you, will
24 the sponsor continue to yield.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
4939
1 sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: Yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR WEIK: I faked you out
6 again; that was my last question. I apologize.
7 (Laughter.)
8 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you so much
9 for your help today.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: No problem.
11 Thank you.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
13 you.
14 Are there any other Senators wishing
15 to be heard?
16 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
17 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
18 Read the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
20 act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
25 Jackson to explain his vote.
4940
1 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
2 Madam President.
3 I rise in support of this bill by
4 Senator Gianaris, Bill Number S5257C, which is
5 called the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity
6 Act, or HONDA.
7 We have a unique opportunity,
8 Madam President, to provide deeply affordable,
9 permanent housing to our lowest-income and
10 formerly homeless neighbors by converting
11 distressed commercial properties like hotels.
12 As you heard in the discussion,
13 there's $100 million set aside right now, and
14 more will become available for the state to
15 purchase these properties across New York State
16 so that responsible nonprofits or community land
17 trusts can give some of our most vulnerable
18 community members a dignified home.
19 Make no mistake about it, there are
20 not -- these are not like the temporary shelters
21 that's sprung up in part of my district during
22 COVID-19 out of necessity. These would be homes
23 where people can live and enjoy.
24 The surrounding neighborhoods will
25 have a say over the disposition and any zoning
4941
1 changes to make these conversions possible. And
2 that's a good thing, Madam President, to provide
3 robust community evaluation to ensure that this
4 new housing becomes part of the community.
5 And by focusing on people who have
6 experienced homelessness and people with an
7 income average of 50 percent of the area median
8 income, we are focusing on people with the
9 highest need for stable housing. Providing
10 dignified housing for them will address mental
11 health concerns, criminal justice involvement,
12 family stability and much more.
13 My thanks to Housing Justice For All
14 and Senator Gianaris for getting this important
15 piece of legislation across the finish line.
16 Passing HONDA today is a great move towards
17 housing justice in New York State.
18 Madam President, I proudly vote aye.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
20 Jackson to be recorded in the affirmative.
21 Senator Gianaris to explain his
22 vote.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you, Madam
24 President.
25 I am thrilled we are getting this
4942
1 important program rolling. We have an affordable
2 housing crisis in New York that predates the
3 pandemic but has been made much worse. And we
4 simultaneously have a problem with commercial and
5 hotel properties that have been vacant for
6 months, and many of which are available for sale
7 as a result.
8 This is a commonsense solution which
9 marries those two problems. With appropriate
10 funding we will be able to purchase some of these
11 properties that are on the market, turn them into
12 residential use so that the people who are
13 housing-stressed can have a place to go, have a
14 place to live permanently, affordable, and in
15 many cases with supportive services on-site, and
16 at the same time helping these commercial
17 properties and hotels be relieved of the burden
18 of staying open with nobody in attendance.
19 And so 100 million is a start, but
20 it is by no means enough. We are hoping to
21 access federal monies. And as the program keeps
22 rolling, I'm sure we'll have this conversation in
23 next year's budget. But this is the way that
24 housing opportunities should be created, not just
25 thrown to the market for more luxury units to be
4943
1 built, but genuine affordability.
2 And when we say affordable, truly
3 affordable housing -- a lot of times we say
4 "affordable" and the income levels are set at
5 unaffordable levels regardless. This is truly
6 affordable opportunities for people in need, and
7 I'm thrilled that we're passing it today. I
8 thank my colleagues for supporting it.
9 I vote yes.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
11 Gianaris to be recorded in the affirmative.
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar 1642, those Senators voting in the
15 negative are Senators Borrello, Gallivan, Griffo,
16 Jordan, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
17 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
18 Ayes, 49. Nays, 14.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
20 is passed.
21 Senator Gianaris.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Okay, thank you.
23 Madam President, next we're going to move to
24 Calendar 788.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
4944
1 Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 788, Senate Print 4730, by Senator Krueger, an
4 act to amend the State Finance Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
6 Palumbo. Sorry -- Senator Stec.
7 SENATOR STEC: That's all right,
8 Madam President. I've been called worse.
9 (Laughter.)
10 SENATOR STEC: Good afternoon,
11 Madam President. If the sponsor wouldn't mind
12 yielding for a couple of questions, please,
13 Senator Krueger.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
15 sponsor yield?
16 SENATOR KRUEGER: Of course I will
17 yield to Senator Lanza.
18 (Laughter.)
19 SENATOR KRUEGER: Senator Stec.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
21 sponsor yields.
22 SENATOR STEC: I hope we're not
23 trying to say that all of us Republicans look the
24 same.
25 (Laughter.)
4945
1 SENATOR STEC: All right. Thank
2 you, everybody.
3 Senator Krueger, if you wouldn't
4 mind yielding for a couple of questions.
5 The first, the purpose of the bill,
6 please.
7 SENATOR KRUEGER: Of course I will
8 yield.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
10 Senator yields.
11 SENATOR STEC: If you wouldn't
12 mind, Senator, the purpose of this bill, please?
13 SENATOR KRUEGER: Oh, sorry. Thank
14 you. Excuse me, I didn't hear you completely.
15 The purpose of this bill is to fix a
16 loophole in the existing tax law. When we put
17 through the False Claims Act for taxes about
18 11 years ago, we I believe unintentionally left
19 out the situation where if people fail to file a
20 tax return at all, we don't have any mechanism
21 for going after them. While if they file a false
22 document, we can bring false claims.
23 So it's simply adding to the
24 existing law a Paragraph H so that if you were
25 knowingly and intentionally not filing taxes,
4946
1 then that is also a category that we can use
2 false claims challenges to.
3 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
4 Madam President. If the sponsor would continue
5 to yield.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
7 sponsor yield?
8 SENATOR KRUEGER: Yes.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
10 sponsor yields.
11 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
12 Madam President.
13 Senator, has the Department of Tax
14 and Finance identified this themselves as an
15 issue that they want resolved, and are they
16 supportive of this legislation?
17 SENATOR KRUEGER: The Department of
18 Tax and Finance currently doesn't have a
19 commissioner. And they rarely comment on bills
20 until they pass both houses and are asked to do
21 so by the Governor.
22 I will say that the person who
23 worked with me to draft this legislation had a
24 full career at Tax and Finance and then retired
25 and has joined us in the Senate.
4947
1 So I think I pretty much used the
2 most qualified person I could find to help me
3 draft the bill, from the perspective of New York
4 State Tax and Finance.
5 SENATOR STEC: All right, thank
6 you. Madam President, if the sponsor would
7 continue to yield.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
9 sponsor yield?
10 SENATOR KRUEGER: Yes.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
12 sponsor yields.
13 SENATOR STEC: Thank you very much,
14 Madam President.
15 So isn't Tax and Finance the party
16 that would decide if a return is required? And
17 assuming so, wouldn't claims -- couldn't claims
18 be made under the False Claims Act while Tax and
19 Finance is reviewing a return?
20 SENATOR KRUEGER: I apologize, I
21 just need to ask you to repeat that. I'm having
22 a little hearing problem with the system here.
23 SENATOR STEC: Sure. Shouldn't Tax
24 and Finance be the party that decides if a return
25 is required or not?
4948
1 SENATOR KRUEGER: So the catch-22
2 with this situation is if you file a false tax
3 return, Tax and Finance is looking at it and
4 making their own evaluation of what level of
5 investigation is required, and follow-up.
6 If you never file a tax return, it's
7 exceptionally difficult for Tax and Finance to be
8 the first entity discovering that something has
9 gone wrong.
10 So the logic is if you're allowing
11 whistleblowers to come forward and say, I believe
12 this company has not filed their correct taxes,
13 Tax and Finance can then start investigation and
14 they can coordinate with the Attorney General's
15 office on follow-up, which is pretty much exactly
16 what's happened for the 11 years we've had the
17 False Claims Act and cases have been brought. I
18 don't believe the AG has handled any cases that
19 weren't in coordination with Tax and Finance.
20 But again, it's very hard to picture
21 Tax and Finance starting the process when there
22 is no paper trail for them to be exploring.
23 SENATOR STEC: Madam President, if
24 the sponsor would continue to yield.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
4949
1 sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR KRUEGER: Yes,
3 Madam President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
5 sponsor yields.
6 SENATOR STEC: Thank you.
7 Just so that I'm clear, because
8 perhaps I wasn't, so the purpose of this bill is
9 to go after people who have just failed to file a
10 tax return.
11 SENATOR KRUEGER: Correct.
12 I don't know about you, Senator, it
13 infuriates me when some people don't pay the
14 taxes that they legally owe us, because that
15 means somebody else is going to end up having to
16 pay more taxes. And if it's in a corporate
17 structure, it means the companies that are
18 following the laws and paying their taxes are
19 ending up at a competitive disadvantage with
20 those companies who decide maybe they can get
21 away without paying their taxes.
22 So I think this is actually a
23 crucial, good public policy and moral issue for
24 the State of New York. We want to make sure it's
25 an even playing field for everyone. We want to
4950
1 make sure the laws are followed by everyone. And
2 when people aren't paying us the taxes that we
3 are owed, trust us, we'll end up coming up with a
4 new tax for somebody else to have to pay to get
5 us that money.
6 So that is the intention of this
7 bill.
8 SENATOR STEC: All right. Thank
9 you, Madam President. Thank you for answering my
10 questions, Senator Krueger. That's all.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
12 you, Senator.
13 Are there any other Senators wishing
14 to be heard?
15 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
16 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
17 Read the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
21 roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
24 the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4951
1 Calendar 788, those Senators voting in the
2 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Helming,
3 Jordan, Martucci, Oberacker, O'Mara, Serino,
4 Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
5 Ayes, 52. Nays, 11.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
7 is passed.
8 Senator Gianaris.
9 SENATOR GIANARIS: Next let's go to
10 Calendar 791, please.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
12 Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 791, Senate Print Number 5560A, by
15 Senator Reichlin-Melnick, an act to amend the
16 Public Health Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
18 Palumbo.
19 SENATOR PALUMBO: Well, good
20 afternoon, Madam President. Would the sponsor
21 yield for a few questions, please.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
23 sponsor yield?
24 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Yes.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
4952
1 sponsor will yield.
2 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
3 Senator. How are you?
4 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Good,
5 thank you.
6 SENATOR PALUMBO: I have a few
7 questions, if I may, regarding what this bill
8 does regarding changing existing law.
9 But first, on page 2, Section 2, it
10 makes reference to Section 2807-s of the Public
11 Health Law. And can you tell me what that
12 reference means or what that section is? Is that
13 something commonly referred to as the covered
14 lives assessment? And can you explain to us what
15 that is, please?
16 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Through
17 you, Madam President, the covered lives
18 assessment is a program which is essentially a
19 tax on health insurance companies around the
20 state that already exists. It funds a number of
21 services. And we are proposing in this bill to
22 make sure that there is an additional $40 million
23 appropriated -- or not appropriated, but through
24 this covered lives assessment, which will be used
25 to pay these critical early intervention claims
4953
1 that are so important for families to make sure
2 that their kids get the services they need in a
3 timely way.
4 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you.
5 Through you, Madam President, will
6 the sponsor continue to yield.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
8 sponsor yield?
9 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Yes, I
10 do.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
12 sponsor yields.
13 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
14 Senator.
15 So you indicate it's a tax on health
16 insurance companies. So this will be an
17 additional $40 million in taxes that would be
18 implemented by this bill?
19 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Through
20 you, Madam President, my understanding is that
21 the covered lives is currently about $1.1 billion
22 that is being paid by insurance companies in this
23 state, and has been for a number of years.
24 So this would add less than
25 3 percent to that total in order to make sure
4954
1 that families of children who need these services
2 to avoid significant developmental delays are
3 able to get them covered as soon as they possibly
4 can, and without the long delays that could have
5 far worse outcomes and then cost far more both
6 for the families and the insurance companies down
7 the line.
8 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
9 continue to yield, please.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
11 sponsor yield?
12 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Yes, I
13 do.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
15 sponsor yields.
16 SENATOR PALUMBO: So if I'm
17 understanding it right, Senator, because of
18 course these individuals with disabilities -- not
19 that we should fund this, we must. And I think
20 we're absolutely in agreement.
21 So this bill just shifts those
22 expenses and costs from municipalities to the
23 insurance carriers? Am I accurate in saying
24 that?
25 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Through
4955
1 you, Madam President, that's my understanding, is
2 that we think the current system is not working,
3 it's not working for families.
4 It's not really working for the
5 insurance companies either, because they are
6 having to deny and process a lot of these claims.
7 The data we have show that less than
8 20 percent of claims are accepted, which then
9 leaves families having to find other ways to get
10 their expenses paid for.
11 It's a huge fiscal burden on
12 counties. That's why the New York Association of
13 Counties has made this one of their top-priority
14 bills, with an estimated $20 million savings to
15 counties and county property taxpayers around the
16 state.
17 So I think that this is a bill that
18 will I think more appropriately put the costs
19 where they belong, and not leave it to our local
20 governments to pick up the costs for these
21 critical services.
22 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
23 continue to yield.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
25 sponsor yield?
4956
1 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Yes,
2 gladly.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
6 Senator.
7 So I'm clear -- and I think that
8 you've outlined it so that I get it pretty
9 specifically. These claims are always ultimately
10 paid either by the carriers if they accept the
11 claim. If they reject it and say, for example,
12 it's not medically necessary, then the counties
13 would have to bear the burden.
14 They would still pay the claim; it's
15 not as if they weren't getting the services.
16 This is just a matter of who pays, and now the
17 pendulum, so to speak, is swinging toward the
18 health insurance plans, is that accurate?
19 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Through
20 you, Madam President, that is basically accurate,
21 except that although it is the case that claims
22 are ultimately paid, in the meantime there can be
23 long delays in getting the services.
24 And because of the delays in paying
25 practitioners, we've seen the number of
4957
1 practitioners who perform these services drop
2 over the last several years in this state because
3 they face delays getting reimbursement, and it's
4 harder and harder for them to stay in business.
5 And so what we hear is that more and
6 more families are waiting to get these services.
7 And again, the longer they wait, the more
8 complications there may be for the children.
9 And so just to cite a couple of
10 things here, in Franklin County, up by the
11 Canadian border, agencies have shut down in 2016
12 because of inadequate reimbursement rates,
13 leaving dozens of children and families without
14 services. Two years later, approximately half
15 the children eligible for EI services in
16 Franklin County were on a waitlist for services.
17 In Monroe County, 319 children,
18 representing 20 percent of county children
19 identified as needing EI services, were on a
20 waitlist for at least 30 days between January and
21 July, 2017. And in the past year, two of the
22 largest providers of these services in
23 Monroe County, who served more than 400 children,
24 have stopped providing service coordination.
25 And similar statistics from around
4958
1 the state. So the delay in payment really does
2 have consequences.
3 And we think this is a more
4 streamlined system to get payment to
5 practitioners quickly and make sure that there's
6 no delays for families who need service.
7 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
8 Senator. Would you continue to yield, please.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
10 sponsor yield?
11 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Yes,
12 gladly.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
14 sponsor yields.
15 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you.
16 Through you, Madam President, is the
17 sponsor at all concerned about -- in light of the
18 fact now that insurance carriers will be paying
19 these additional costs, that that will just
20 simply be passed through premiums down to the
21 insured individuals? So the insureds now
22 obviously would have to pay an increase in
23 premium because of this additional $40 million in
24 tax that this bill would implement.
25 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Through
4959
1 you, Madam President. Of course it is the case
2 with insurance generally that all of us pay in
3 some ways for services we may not use. You know,
4 if we pay -- and we hope never to use insurance
5 services. And so every service that we cover
6 would in some small sense perhaps be trickled
7 down through a premium.
8 We think the actual increase on this
9 would be extremely small, because we're talking
10 over the entire state, $40 million. And keep in
11 mind that insurers are currently paying about
12 $13 million on these claims each year in the
13 state, which they no longer will be required to
14 do. So we're actually looking at only about
15 $26 million to $27 million, spread out over every
16 policyholder in the state.
17 Even if they really did try to pass
18 100 percent on, which we certainly hope and
19 expect they would not do, we are not talking
20 about a significant increase, and we are talking
21 about something that is going to make a
22 meaningful difference in the lives of thousands
23 of kids around New York, and their families, in
24 getting them services they need in a quick and
25 timely manner.
4960
1 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you again,
2 Senator. Would you continue to yield, please.
3 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Yes,
4 gladly.
5 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you.
6 So does this bill also completely
7 eliminate claims-based type of coverage and
8 reimbursement? Is this done basically, now that
9 it's covered lives, everyone under the plan is
10 covered, the primary payer will always be the
11 health plan, and now they can't even evaluate
12 whether or not a particular service is
13 necessarily medically necessary and fits within
14 the criteria under the plan contract?
15 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Through
16 you, Madam President, the insurers would no
17 longer be reviewing the claims at all. They are
18 simply -- they are out of the business of having
19 to process these claims.
20 These claims will be reviewed and
21 processed by the state fiscal agent, who already
22 has a role, but now we will make sure that that's
23 where they're going specifically. And the
24 insurers no longer need to use their manpower to
25 review the claims for these services.
4961
1 SENATOR PALUMBO: Through you,
2 Madam President, will the sponsor continue to
3 yield.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
5 sponsor yield?
6 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Yes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
8 sponsor yields.
9 SENATOR PALUMBO: So in that
10 regard, there basically is no claims evaluation
11 process, they just have to pay all claims that
12 come through, is that accurate?
13 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Through
14 you, Madam President. Currently, as Senator
15 Palumbo noted earlier, all of the claims for
16 these services ultimately do get paid. The only
17 question is whether it's the insurers that are
18 paying or the state and local governments.
19 So that will not change. Claims
20 will continue to be paid. The only question is
21 whether we continue to waste people's time and
22 drive down reimbursement rates by submitting them
23 to insurance companies who then will deny 85 or
24 so percent of these claims and kick them back to
25 the state and the county.
4962
1 And I think by cutting insurance
2 companies out of this and simply having the
3 claims directly reviewed by the fiscal agent,
4 we're going to get these -- we're going to get
5 reimbursement sooner to the practitioners and
6 we're going to get services sooner to the
7 families that need them.
8 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
9 Senator. And one last topic. I won't say one
10 last question. But would you continue to yield?
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
12 sponsor yield?
13 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Yes,
14 Madam President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
16 sponsor yields.
17 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you. And I
18 see that you have another bill, S7996, on this
19 same issue. And just very briefly, that
20 involves, to my understanding, the surplus from
21 the claimed lives assessment.
22 Is there any reason why you wanted
23 to bring this one forward instead of that one,
24 instead of adding a new tax to the health plans?
25 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Through
4963
1 you, Madam President, I believe the approach that
2 we are taking in the bill on the floor is a
3 better approach.
4 I'm always open to different
5 approaches to solve a problem. That's one reason
6 I was willing to introduce a second bill as well,
7 which takes a different approach.
8 But I think this is a better
9 approach. The State Association of Counties
10 thinks this is a better approach. And many of
11 the practitioners in the field feel that this is
12 going to more effectively help them get the money
13 that they need in order to stay in business and
14 keep providing these services.
15 SENATOR PALUMBO: Terrific. Thank
16 you, Senator.
17 On the bill, please,
18 Madam President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
20 Palumbo on the bill.
21 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
22 Senator. That -- and I do appreciate your time
23 and that exchange.
24 And this is a tough -- this is a
25 tough situation here, because obviously I have
4964
1 been and always will be all for removing mandates
2 on counties and municipalities, reducing the
3 costs. However, these claims will get paid.
4 This has nothing to do with the extent of the
5 payments, because these individuals with
6 developmental disabilities, they absolutely need
7 these services. We're all in agreement. So this
8 is just a bill regarding who pays what.
9 And when it comes down to it, my
10 concern is that we have a pool that is better
11 suited to pay for our developmentally disabled;
12 individuals' care in a larger municipality,
13 versus just those who are paying premiums into a
14 plan. Because that plan, as it becomes more
15 expensive, those families who have young children
16 with these disabilities that need the services
17 have no choice. They are going to have that
18 insurance regardless of cost. They'll forgo food
19 on their table to make sure that they can get
20 proper services for their beloved child.
21 So that's the dichotomy here.
22 That's the wrinkle that I'm dealing with. And I
23 originally was yea on this, and on my sheet it
24 may be that way. But, Madam President, I'm going
25 to go down on this, I'm going to be nay just for
4965
1 that reason, because those services are paid for
2 either way.
3 And this is a laudable goal, and I
4 get it. And Senator Reichlin-Melnick certainly
5 is addressing this issue head-on, and that's very
6 much appreciated, because this needs to be dealt
7 with. However, simply taking the cost, adding --
8 and as we've said it, on consent, it's a tax.
9 It's another $40 million in taxes. In the
10 overall scheme of things, it's not a huge
11 percentage of that entire plan, but these are
12 numbers that are always just eventually going to
13 be passed off to the consumer.
14 So my concern is for the insureds
15 and to striking that proper balance. So this is
16 a laudable goal, and I'm glad to hear that the
17 Senator is willing to continue to discuss this.
18 I just don't know if this is the means or the way
19 that we can achieve it.
20 Thank you, Madam President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
22 you, Senator.
23 Are there any other Senators wishing
24 to be heard?
25 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
4966
1 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
2 Read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 13. This
4 act shall take effect January 1, 2022.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
6 roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
9 Reichlin-Melnick to explain his vote.
10 SENATOR REICHLIN-MELNICK: Thank
11 you, Madam President.
12 Let's just all imagine for a second
13 being a new parent and experiencing this
14 incredible joy holding your newborn child. You
15 get back from the hospital and after a few
16 months, you begin to notice that your child isn't
17 hitting milestones or doing the same tasks as
18 other similarly aged children.
19 Imagine the questions that would
20 race through your mind. The fear that you've
21 done something wrong or that you're a bad parent.
22 Scared and anxious, you take a trip to the
23 pediatrician and you find out that your child has
24 a delay.
25 Thankfully, there are therapies that
4967
1 can help, and your doctor gives a referral for
2 early intervention services. Early intervention
3 services can have a massive impact on the
4 long-term learning capabilities of children
5 because the first three years of a child's life
6 is when the brain is growing the fastest. And
7 research has shown that high-quality early
8 intervention programs can reduce the incidence of
9 future problems in learning.
10 Armed with this knowledge, filled
11 with hope, you sit down at your computer and you
12 begin researching early intervention service
13 providers. You call up an office and you're told
14 that unfortunately they're not taking any new
15 patients. You call a second office, and a third,
16 even one that's located an hour away, but nothing
17 is available.
18 Imagine this fear and this
19 hopelessness that parents in our state are
20 finding and that comes with knowing that there's
21 a therapy that can help your child, but you can't
22 find anywhere to get it. Knowing that each
23 passing moment your child doesn't receive this
24 therapy could have dire implications on their
25 brain function and their performance for the rest
4968
1 of their life.
2 And now imagine one more thing.
3 Imagine that the reason you can't find a provider
4 is because the state government has failed to
5 hold the health insurance industry accountable
6 and has passed the buck on to local counties, and
7 in the shuffle the therapists who once provided
8 these services in your community have shut their
9 doors because they couldn't get paid.
10 This is a problem created by the
11 state, and we have a responsibility to solve it.
12 My bill will create a statewide early
13 intervention pool that will use the covered lives
14 assessment to contribute to the state and county
15 costs of the early intervention program. This
16 bill will provide savings to state and county
17 governments who currently pay the costs of denied
18 service reimbursement by third-party payers.
19 Of the $20 million in savings to
20 counties, Rockland County is expected to save
21 over $214,000 and Westchester County would save
22 close to $2 million. Those are counties that I
23 represent.
24 And more importantly, this bill will
25 help support the Early Intervention Program and
4969
1 its providers by addressing significant changes
2 made back in 2013 to the manner in which early
3 intervention providers were paid, requiring that
4 they directly bill third-party insurers and then,
5 after denied claims, submitting them to the state
6 fiscal agent for them to collect from commercial
7 insurers.
8 Nine years later, however,
9 commercial payers still deny claims at incredibly
10 high rates, more than 85 percent, which leaves
11 county and state governments paying higher costs
12 for these services, and has resulted in a steady
13 decline in the number of early intervention
14 providers across the state.
15 This bill is a step in the right
16 direction to bolstering the Early Intervention
17 Program while providing relief for our county
18 governments. I want to thank the Majority Leader
19 for bringing it to a vote, thank our cosponsor
20 Senator Brouk for her leadership in the
21 Mental Health Committee, and so many others who
22 have supported this bill.
23 I proudly vote aye.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
25 Reichlin-Melnick to be recorded in the
4970
1 affirmative.
2 Announce the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar 791, those Senators voting in the
5 negative are Senators Akshar, Boyle, Gallivan,
6 Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Ortt, Palumbo and
7 Stec.
8 Ayes, 53. Nays, 10.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
10 is passed.
11 Senator Gianaris.
12 SENATOR GIANARIS: Next we're going
13 to move to Calendar 1356, please.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
15 Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1356, Assembly Print 6970A, by Assemblymember
18 Walker, an act to amend the Election Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
20 Borrello.
21 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
22 would the sponsor yield for a question.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
24 Myrie, do you yield?
25 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
4971
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: Yes, thank you,
4 Senator Myrie. Appreciate it. Good to see you.
5 So this bill deals with someone
6 being able to file an electronic application for
7 an absentee ballot, but it's not required for
8 them to have a signature with that application
9 that's coming through -- I'm assuming email or
10 through a Board of Elections portal.
11 So with that in mind, how will the
12 Board of Elections know that the request is
13 actually coming from the registered voter?
14 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
15 Madam President, I would note that through
16 COVID-19 we actually passed legislation that
17 would allow for these sorts of applications for
18 an absentee ballot without a signature. We did
19 that throughout the 2020 election without
20 incident.
21 But I would also note that the bill
22 doesn't require that there not be a signature.
23 In most instances, you can provide an electronic
24 signature. But voters who apply for absentee
25 ballots also have their signatures stored either
4972
1 in the DMV or the Board of Elections or another
2 state agency. This bill calls for the State
3 Board of Elections to access the signature
4 already on file should they not be able to
5 provide it.
6 Now, if they still do not have a
7 signature present, the bill calls for that
8 individual to, at the time of signing their
9 absentee ballot -- which is the signature that is
10 incredibly important. I'll remind folks that
11 this is just for the application -- that they
12 would then have to provide their signature along
13 with that.
14 And so there are many available
15 opportunities for individuals to provide the
16 signature.
17 There has been no reports here in
18 the State of New York of people falsely providing
19 signatures. And the bill also states that
20 individuals would do so at the penalty of
21 perjury. You know, I've said this before on the
22 floor -- we like to think that our constituents
23 love us, but not enough for them to go to jail
24 for. And so I think it's important for us to
25 recognize those penalties in the bill.
4973
1 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
2 will the sponsor continue to yield.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
4 sponsor yield?
5 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
7 sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR BORRELLO: So I guess I'm
9 unclear. You're saying that we have signatures
10 on file, like at the DMV or Social Services. And
11 I understand that. But there is no signature
12 required to make that request via email or a web
13 portal.
14 So I understand there's a signature
15 on file, but that really doesn't matter, right?
16 How do we know that the person that has sent that
17 email, that the person that has submitted that
18 application through a Board of Elections web
19 portal, is actually the voter? That doesn't
20 answer the question.
21 SENATOR MYRIE: So through you,
22 Madam President, I want to clarify again that the
23 bill does require a signature.
24 But in the instance where that is
25 not available or where they cannot find that on
4974
1 the state records, there are provisions on how
2 you can provide that signature.
3 And should your signature not be
4 available in any DMV record or any of the state
5 agency records, under the penalty of perjury you
6 would be required to submit that or upload that
7 or send it via email. And there have not been --
8 I will remind us that this is the status quo
9 right now, and there have not been instances of
10 fraud where an individual is submitting a
11 signature that does not belong to them.
12 But more importantly, the signature
13 for the application is important, but the
14 signature on the absentee ballot is the one that
15 counts for the vote. And so, you know, I want to
16 distinguish between the application and the
17 absentee ballot. If you have not been able to
18 provide a signature for the application, you
19 certainly can provide it when you are signing the
20 absentee ballot.
21 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
22 will the sponsor continue to yield.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
24 sponsor yield?
25 SENATOR MYRIE: Absolutely.
4975
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: Well, first of
4 all, Senator, I think that we certainly know that
5 we did some extraordinary things in an
6 extraordinary time during this pandemic, a lot of
7 things that we did out of necessity.
8 But I'll point out that we really
9 have no way to prove whether or not we had any
10 instances of fraud, because we didn't have a
11 signature to compare it to.
12 So you can say it didn't happen, but
13 it's because we lowered the standard -- and I'll
14 give an example later -- which basically removes
15 the check and balance of a signature from a
16 ballot application to the actual ballot itself.
17 But -- so I'll ask my question a
18 different way, because I don't think I'm getting
19 to the answer. What's stopping someone from
20 requesting a ballot on behalf of someone else?
21 If you're going to go to the Board of Elections
22 website, you're going to fill out an application
23 and a ballot will be sent to you because of that
24 request, how do we know the person that's
25 entering that information on the BOE website is
4976
1 actually the voter?
2 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
3 Madam President. So I think I understand the
4 question correctly. The question on whether we
5 are submitting fraudulent ballots I think is an
6 important one, but I have to again go back to the
7 point that for comparison purposes, the signature
8 on the absentee ballot -- not the application, on
9 the ballot, is what's important.
10 So in your hypothetical, assuming
11 that there are scores of people that are
12 requesting absentee ballots for other folks, you
13 still have to sign that ballot when you submit it
14 to the State Board of Elections. And they still
15 have to compare it to the records.
16 And that again, I would emphasize,
17 is not disturbed by this bill.
18 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
19 Madam President, will the sponsor
20 continue to yield.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
22 sponsor yield?
23 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
25 sponsor yields.
4977
1 SENATOR BORRELLO: So I'm looking
2 at the bill and the amendments that you've made,
3 and I draw your attention to line 19 that
4 essentially says the voter consents to use an
5 electronic copy of the individual's manual
6 signature that is in the custody of the
7 Department of Motor Vehicles, the State Board of
8 Elections, and so on and so forth, as an
9 individual's absentee ballot exemplar signature,
10 or -- and that's the key word -- or provides such
11 a signature by direct upload in a manner that
12 complies with the New York State Electronic
13 Signature and Records Act, and so on.
14 So what we're basically saying is
15 you don't have to submit a signature. You're
16 stating that we have to have a signature.
17 However, because of the word "or," we don't. Why
18 wouldn't you just have them submit and upload a
19 wet signature so we have that security? Why
20 would you give that option?
21 SENATOR MYRIE: So through you,
22 Madam President, this process -- I would go back
23 and say that we currently have done that, there
24 has been no wet signature requirement for the
25 absentee ballot applications for the 2020
4978
1 elections, and there were not incidents.
2 I know you have said we don't know
3 if there have been incidents, and I think it's
4 hard for us to sort of go through that conjecture
5 analysis trying to prove a negative.
6 But the current status quo does not
7 require a wet signature. This is actually a more
8 secure process than what we have now, because it
9 does require some verification through that
10 uploading of the signature or provision in person
11 or otherwise.
12 If you look at the sort of statutory
13 construction here, it comes after -- that "or"
14 provision comes after what we are asking the
15 voters to do. And so this is -- in most
16 instances, voters are going to take part in that
17 first piece and just uploading it -- I'm sorry,
18 not uploading, filling out the application as
19 they have for the past elections.
20 This is a really I think unique
21 instance, when the individual does not have a
22 signature on record, that we will provide them an
23 opportunity to apply for the ballot.
24 Had we not done that, you can
25 imagine a scenario in which, through no fault of
4979
1 their own, it's through a clerical error by the
2 Board of Elections, clerical error by the DMV,
3 that their signature is not available. Now, that
4 person, if we don't pass this, would not have the
5 opportunity to apply for a ballot. Through no
6 fault of their own, through a clerical error by a
7 state agency.
8 This is providing -- that "or"
9 clause is providing them an opportunity to
10 provide a signature in the instance that none is
11 on record.
12 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
13 will the sponsor continue to yield.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
15 sponsor yield?
16 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR BORRELLO: So I guess what
20 you're saying is is that if for some reason we
21 don't have that person's signature on file, then
22 they can provide it. Well, why wouldn't we just
23 have them provide it and not have to worry about
24 whether or not it's on file with another agency
25 that has absolutely nothing to do and no relation
4980
1 to the Board of Elections? Why wouldn't we just
2 have them require a signature?
3 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
4 Madam President, there is a signature requirement
5 on the ballot. You have to submit that. This is
6 not removing a signature requirement.
7 We are talking about the application
8 for an absentee ballot. And so I hate to keep
9 repeating that point, but it's not that we are
10 removing a signature requirement. What is most
11 important, that ballot submission, still requires
12 you to sign.
13 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
14 will the sponsor continue to yield.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
16 sponsor yield?
17 SENATOR MYRIE: Absolutely.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
19 sponsor yields.
20 SENATOR BORRELLO: And I understand
21 we're talking about the application. I
22 understand that.
23 But, I mean, let's just assume for a
24 moment that I applied for a credit card and I
25 gave my signature on the application. And then
4981
1 when my credit card came, based on your example
2 here, that when I go to the store to use the
3 credit card, I shouldn't have to sign the credit
4 card or the bill of sale because they already
5 have my signature on file. Wouldn't that lead to
6 fraud?
7 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
8 Madam President, I'm not sure if I follow the
9 analogy.
10 But I would note that we of course
11 are not talking about your ability to purchase a
12 nice tie for your father on Father's Day, we are
13 talking about a person's ability to exercise
14 their constitutional right and to get access to
15 the ballot.
16 And this is, as has been done for
17 the past year -- many New Yorkers have become
18 accustomed to this absentee ballot process. In
19 fact, it was somewhere in the order of four times
20 the amount of people utilized this option than
21 they did in the previous presidential election.
22 And I would note, again, that we did not have
23 reported instances of fraud.
24 And so, you know. This is a more
25 secure version of what we've been doing to cope
4982
1 with the COVID-19 emergency and is really about
2 giving individuals the easiest access to the
3 ballot.
4 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
5 Madam President, would the sponsor
6 continue to yield.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
8 sponsor yield?
9 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
11 sponsor yields.
12 SENATOR BORRELLO: So we're talking
13 about the application and the fact that we don't
14 have to require a signature. And you just said
15 essentially that they shouldn't have to provide
16 that signature on the application because it is
17 their constitutional right to cast a vote.
18 With that logic, then, would you
19 then agree then you wouldn't have to put your
20 signature, say, on a pistol permit application to
21 exercise your Second Amendment rights?
22 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
23 Madam President. Respectfully, this bill does
24 not remove a signature requirement. It still
25 requires you to submit a signature on the
4983
1 application, but provides that in the event that
2 the signature is not on record with any of the
3 state agencies, that you have a pathway to still
4 receive a ballot in order to participate in your
5 democracy.
6 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
7 will the sponsor continue to yield.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
9 sponsor yield?
10 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
12 sponsor yields.
13 SENATOR BORRELLO: I know you keep
14 saying that the signature is required on the
15 application unless we have one on file. So the
16 signature is not required on the application,
17 it's just required that somewhere in the vastness
18 of state government we have your signature. Is
19 that what you're saying?
20 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
21 Madam President, that is not what I'm saying.
22 SENATOR BORRELLO: Okay. Madam
23 President, will the sponsor continue to yield.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
25 sponsor yield?
4984
1 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
3 sponsor yields.
4 SENATOR BORRELLO: So we know now
5 that the ballot itself, the live ballot that the
6 person is casting, what are your thoughts -- you
7 know, based on what we're seeing now, we're
8 removing -- we're kind of lowering the bar,
9 lowering the bar, is it your intent at some point
10 to have to remove the signature requirement on
11 the ballot envelope itself?
12 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
13 Madam President, that is not the intent of the
14 legislation, neither implicitly or explicitly.
15 There is still a signature requirement on this
16 application, even in the instance when it's not
17 on record.
18 We're not saying that you can just
19 apply without having to verify with a signature.
20 We're just providing an opportunity, should there
21 not be one on record, for you to do so along with
22 a signature on the absentee ballot. And so it is
23 not our intent at all to remove the signature.
24 But, you know, I think you're
25 perhaps suggesting that we are trying to make our
4985
1 elections less secure, and that of course is just
2 not true. We have taken many steps in this
3 Majority to open up access to the ballot. We
4 have seen the response from voters in the State
5 of New York who have come out in overwhelming
6 numbers because it has been easier to vote, and
7 have done so without reported instances of fraud.
8 And I would note that we earlier
9 today proposed a bill that would help secure our
10 voting machines, and many folks on your side
11 voted against that bill, one that would make our
12 elections more secure. So it's just a curious
13 posture to me that you would view this as somehow
14 making our elections less secure.
15 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President
16 Will the sponsor continue to yield.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
18 sponsor yield?
19 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
21 sponsor yields.
22 SENATOR BORRELLO: Senator Myrie,
23 my last question. Unlike my colleagues, this
24 really is my last question, so -- I promise.
25 You know, I'm very concerned about
4986
1 ballot harvesting, which is the unethical
2 practice that many people engage in. So will
3 this bill essentially encourage more ballot
4 harvesting?
5 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
6 Madam President, I'm not aware of current ballot
7 harvesting that is taking place, so this will not
8 add to that.
9 But, you know, I do share my
10 colleague's concern about the integrity of our
11 elections. That of course is paramount to us
12 having trust in our government. And I believe
13 that the integrity of the elections in New York
14 have been sound, and there is no data that
15 implicates otherwise.
16 And so we will continue to make it
17 easier for folks to participate so that they can
18 take advantage of a right that is enshrined in
19 this Constitution.
20 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
21 on the bill.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
23 Borrello on the bill.
24 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you, Madam
25 President.
4987
1 Senator Myrie, thank you very much
2 for this engagement. I agree, I think we both
3 are looking for the integrity of our elections.
4 But you mentioned that here in
5 New York State we have had secure elections.
6 Well, I would beg to differ, unfortunately.
7 First and foremost, I can tell you
8 that the Heritage Foundation has done an
9 exhaustive list of confirmed cases of election
10 fraud, and there are thousands of them across the
11 nation. And New York has been the victim of them
12 as well. And in fact, the chosen tool, the
13 number-one tool of those that are committing
14 election fraud is actually absentee ballots.
15 And my concern is the fact that we
16 are making this an easier and easier thing for
17 criminals to engage in election fraud, which is a
18 very serious offense, I think we can all agree.
19 The integrity of our elections is the foundation
20 of our democracy and our republic.
21 So let me point out the 2014
22 86th Assembly District election. Mr. Hector
23 Ramirez, who actually committed election fraud.
24 And what happened? Well, several people in his
25 campaign collected absentee ballots and then
4988
1 fraudulently put signatures on those ballots.
2 Now, the only reason he got caught was because we
3 had a signature to compare it to on the ballot
4 application.
5 He initially won the election. In a
6 city as big as New York, he initially won the
7 election by I think it was 14 votes. And then
8 during a recount, he lost by three. So
9 Mr. Ramirez was four votes, four fraudulent
10 absentee ballot votes away from being a member of
11 the New York State Legislature.
12 Well, think about that. For those
13 of you that think we don't have any documented
14 cases, that's one. And as I said before,
15 Madam President, although many of our colleagues
16 have left here as criminals, this guy would have
17 come here by becoming a criminal. That's a very
18 serious issue.
19 There are many examples like this.
20 But the bottom line is we have essentially
21 created a situation where we are going to make
22 our elections less and less secure. Now, you
23 might say -- and I will disagree with you -- you
24 might say there are not any documented cases, but
25 there's one very serious example, one of many
4989
1 thousands, in fact.
2 But this is about the people's
3 confidence in our election process. If they lack
4 confidence -- because we can sit here and we can
5 debate, Republican versus Democrat, liberal
6 versus conservative. But at the end of the day,
7 the people of New York and the people of the
8 United States of America up until recently felt
9 that when Election Day came, they had confidence
10 that their vote counted. And now, we are
11 continuing to lower the bar more and more on that
12 level of confidence. That is what concerns me.
13 This is about the integrity of our
14 elections. And making it easier for someone to
15 do ballot harvesting is going to be a major
16 problem. I mean, think about this. With this
17 bill, someone could go online, fill out an
18 application on behalf of somebody else, and have
19 it sent to that person's house. Now, that could
20 be a parent filling it out for an adult child
21 that no longer lives there. The ballot comes to
22 that mailing address. It could be an elderly
23 parent or family member who filled it out on
24 their behalf. It could be an employer who says:
25 Ladies and gentlemen that work for me, that I pay
4990
1 you, I have just filled out applications on your
2 behalf for ballots. I really hope that you
3 participate in the process. And by the way,
4 here's who I think you should vote for.
5 Those are the type of intimidation
6 tactics and that borderline fraud -- and fraud
7 straight-up -- that will be encouraged by bills
8 like this.
9 The integrity of our elections is
10 number one. I know you want to say it's about
11 access. And it is about access, as long as
12 people think that that is fair and that their
13 vote truly counts. And for a guy like Hector
14 Ramirez to be four fraudulent ballots away from
15 being a member of this Legislature tells me that
16 we need to strengthen these things, not weaken
17 them.
18 That's why I'll be a no on this.
19 Thank you, Madam President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Are
21 there any other Senators wishing to be heard?
22 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
23 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
24 Read the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
4991
1 act shall take effect January 1, 2022.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
6 Myrie to explain his vote.
7 SENATOR MYRIE: Thank you,
8 Madam President.
9 And thank you, Senator Borrello, for
10 our exchange.
11 I just wanted to put on the record
12 that all studies on fraud in elections have said,
13 I think unequivocally, that this is not an issue
14 that comes up. And I want to point to one
15 instance, specifically Oregon, that has sent over
16 a hundred million mail-in ballots over the past
17 20 years and has had a .0000012 percent instance
18 of fraud. That is a 1200-millionth of a percent
19 of instances of fraud.
20 And so this is really about making
21 it as accessible as possible for people to
22 participate in their democracy. We've done a lot
23 in this Majority to continue to do that, and I
24 look forward to us doing a lot more, particularly
25 in a climate in the nation where we are calling
4992
1 into question things that we have not called into
2 question in the past.
3 So I'll be voting in the
4 affirmative, and I encourage all my colleagues to
5 do the same. Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
7 Myrie to be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
10 Calendar 1356, those Senators voting in the
11 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
12 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
13 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
14 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
15 Weik.
16 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
18 is passed.
19 Senator Gianaris.
20 SENATOR GIANARIS: Next,
21 Madam President, we're going to move to Senate
22 Calendar 1672.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
24 Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4993
1 1672, Assembly Print 3516, by Assemblymember
2 McDonald, an act to amend the Insurance Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
4 Palumbo.
5 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
6 Madam President. Would the sponsor yield for a
7 few questions, please.
8 SENATOR BRESLIN: Yes, the sponsor
9 yields.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
11 sponsor yields.
12 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
13 Senator Breslin.
14 I won't keep you long because a
15 little birdy told me that today was your
16 birthday. So happy birthday, Senator. We wish
17 you many, many more.
18 (Applause.)
19 SENATOR BRESLIN: The first
20 applause I've ever received on this floor.
21 (Laughter.)
22 SENATOR PALUMBO: And now I'm going
23 to get tough with you, so no more Mr. Nice Guy.
24 Senator, would you mind just telling
25 us -- I mean, it adds two words to the Insurance
4994
1 Law, right, "or pharmaceutical," this change.
2 Could you please tell us generally
3 what this bill does and the reason for it to
4 be -- the reason why it's necessary?
5 SENATOR BRESLIN: Sure. It's
6 really an explanation of benefits for
7 pharmaceuticals. If you go into a pharmacy or
8 you have drugs sent to you from a pharmacy, you'd
9 like to know how the pharmacy got them, how much
10 they paid for them, how much your plan paid for
11 them, and how much you're paying for them.
12 Right now it does include -- on the
13 little bag you get, it has a little price, what
14 you're paying for it. Which you generally know,
15 because you know how much money you took out of
16 your pocket.
17 We just want the explanation of
18 benefits to be expanded a little bit to give the
19 consumer, the patient, more knowledge about what
20 he is paying for through benefits he receives
21 from the government or benefits he receives
22 through a paid insurance plan.
23 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
24 Senator. Would you continue to yield for another
25 question, please.
4995
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
2 sponsor yield?
3 SENATOR BRESLIN: The sponsor
4 yields.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
6 sponsor yields.
7 SENATOR PALUMBO: So, Senator,
8 under current law, then, if you receive
9 pharmaceuticals in a facility -- a hospital,
10 nursing home or otherwise -- that is currently
11 outlined on your explanation of benefits, is that
12 accurate? Am I understanding that correctly?
13 That you get the explanation of benefits for your
14 stay because you don't actually pay for anything,
15 and they describe what your carrier paid and what
16 you would pay, if anything.
17 SENATOR BRESLIN: I didn't hear
18 him. I can't -- I can't -- Senator, it's not
19 your fault, it's mine. I can't hear you. If you
20 could speak up a little.
21 SENATOR PALUMBO: Oh, certainly,
22 I'll repeat it.
23 Under current law, as far as
24 explanation of benefits, when they are provided,
25 if someone were to stay in a facility like a
4996
1 hospital or nursing home, your expenses and what
2 your carrier pays regarding pharmaceuticals
3 administered in the facility, that's already part
4 of your explanation of benefits, is that
5 accurate?
6 SENATOR BRESLIN: That's correct.
7 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you. And
8 would you continue to yield, please.
9 SENATOR BRESLIN: I continue to
10 yield.
11 SENATOR SERRANO: The sponsor
12 yields.
13 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
14 Senator. So this would only apply to those real
15 transactions where you're at a pharmacy, is that
16 fair to say?
17 SENATOR BRESLIN: That's correct.
18 Through you, Madam President.
19 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
20 Senator.
21 And through you, Madam President,
22 would the sponsor continue to yield.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
24 sponsor yield?
25 SENATOR BRESLIN: The sponsor
4997
1 yields.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
3 sponsor yields.
4 SENATOR PALUMBO: So as far as the
5 purchase of prescriptions, would this bill apply
6 and require an explanation of benefits for
7 multiple prescriptions? Say I buy two or three a
8 week. Is an EOB required for every one of those
9 transactions to be provided to the insured?
10 SENATOR BRESLIN: It provides that
11 every one of those transactions, you would have
12 to give an accounting, which would include an
13 explanation of the benefits. And if the pharmacy
14 was such that they couldn't coordinate your
15 prescriptions, then in fact there would be
16 additional paperwork that would be supplied to
17 the patient, the purchaser.
18 SENATOR PALUMBO: Would the sponsor
19 continue to yield.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
21 sponsor yield?
22 SENATOR BRESLIN: The sponsor
23 yields.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
25 sponsor yields.
4998
1 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you.
2 And, Senator, do you know how many
3 commercial prescription drug claims are made in
4 New York State a year, roughly?
5 SENATOR BRESLIN: Millions.
6 SENATOR PALUMBO: Would the sponsor
7 continue to yield.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
9 sponsor yield?
10 SENATOR BRESLIN: The sponsor
11 yields.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
15 Senator.
16 I have here, from the Kaiser Family
17 Foundation from 2019: 119,867,278. So about 120
18 million drug prescriptions were filed at
19 pharmacies under commercial plans in 2019.
20 So my question to you is, do you
21 have any concern that these increased costs now
22 for providing these documents, 120 million new
23 explanations of benefits that will have to be
24 produced by our insurance carriers? Does the
25 sponsor have any concern regarding those costs?
4999
1 Because of course those costs will just be passed
2 along to insureds.
3 SENATOR BRESLIN: I certainly have
4 a concern for any additional expense. But I also
5 have concern for what has gone on in the pharmacy
6 chain of pharmaceuticals. I have tremendous
7 concern.
8 I want to know, as a legislator and
9 as a patient, what the pharmacy is paying for a
10 particular drug, what the plan is paying, and --
11 so I can make some conclusions on was there any
12 degree of fraud involved or if I look to see if
13 I'm paying less or more at a national pharmacy
14 than I might be at an independent pharmacy.
15 So there's a lot of information for
16 that short period that you can collect that is
17 important to make sure we have more transparency.
18 We've just recently gone through the
19 passage of a pharmacy benefit bill which shines
20 light on the industry. This is another smaller
21 bill that shines light -- and when it shines
22 light, it's less likely to have fraud or
23 corruption involved, which we have seen over the
24 years in that chain.
25 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
5000
1 Senator Breslin, for your candor. And would you
2 please yield for just another couple of
3 questions.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
5 sponsor yield?
6 SENATOR BRESLIN: The sponsor
7 yields.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
9 sponsor yields.
10 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
11 Senator.
12 So in that regard, do you think that
13 it might be more efficient and less costly to the
14 insureds in increased premiums, now, that will
15 result from that extra work, to just create some
16 sort of a discovery device or some sort of other
17 means to require pharmacies to make those
18 disclosures instead of getting it through an
19 explanation of benefits?
20 SENATOR BRESLIN: I'm more than
21 open to any suggestions that will make the
22 process more efficient and also serve the needs
23 of that consumer to have the proper information.
24 This bill has been around for a
25 number of months. There has been total silence
5001
1 from those people who might have had an
2 opportunity to say isn't there a different way.
3 We've heard none of that.
4 SENATOR PALUMBO: Understood. And
5 I appreciate that candor as well.
6 Thank you, Senator. Happy birthday.
7 On the bill, please,
8 Madam President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
10 Palumbo on the bill.
11 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
12 Madam President. And I think that's really the
13 crux of my concerns, that this was going to cost
14 money to the insureds.
15 And as far as the payer, you pay
16 right there. It's a retail transaction. You go
17 in, and as the Senator I believe admitted on
18 debate, you know what you get. You get a receipt
19 on your bag, you make your $6, $20 copayment
20 right there, and you get your medication. That's
21 the end of it. There's no need for further
22 inquiry and investigation on the consumer side.
23 Maybe there is -- and I certainly
24 understand the Senator's concerns regarding fraud
25 or abuse or other issues that we've been dealing
5002
1 with in this Legislature. But this is actually
2 putting the burden and the costs of that
3 information on the insured.
4 So that's the wrinkle here, that you
5 get all the information you need from going up to
6 the counter and buying your prescriptions,
7 because this only applies to pharmacies.
8 As far as other medical services,
9 those are unknown and they absolutely are
10 appropriately on an explanation of benefits,
11 because when you go to a hospital, you pretty
12 much pay nothing. And you get a bill, and you
13 need to see what services, labs, any diagnostics
14 that were done. That is absolutely appropriate,
15 and I think we're all in agreement.
16 But just adding those two words to
17 this section of the Insurance Law is going to
18 open a floodgate of costs: 120 million
19 additional explanations of benefit.
20 So I certainly appreciate that the
21 Senator has an open mind and is willing to listen
22 to other means of doing this. And unfortunately,
23 I will be no on this piece of legislation for
24 now, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
25 Thank you, Madam President.
5003
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
2 you.
3 Are there any other Senators wishing
4 to be heard?
5 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
6 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
7 Read the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
16 Calendar 1672, those Senators voting in the
17 negative are Senators Borrello, Boyle, Gallivan,
18 Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci,
19 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie,
20 Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
21 Ayes, 45. Nays, 18.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
23 is passed.
24 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
25 reading of the controversial calendar.
5004
1 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
2 Madam President.
3 At this point we are going to stand
4 at ease for a while, while there are party
5 conferences. We are going to be coming back to
6 take up a supplemental calendar. I want to give
7 the Minority an opportunity to brief their
8 members on the bills that we're going to take up.
9 So we will encourage our members to
10 check their emails for Zoom links for our
11 Majority conference.
12 And Senator Lanza, do you have an
13 announcement?
14 SENATOR LANZA: Yes, thank you,
15 Senator Gianaris.
16 Madam President, there will be an
17 immediate meeting of the Republican Conference in
18 Room 315 of the Capitol Building.
19 SENATOR GIANARIS: And with that,
20 Madam President, the Senate will stand at ease
21 until 6:30.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
23 Senate will stand at ease until 6:30.
24 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
25 at 4:45 p.m.)
5005
1 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
2 6:46 p.m.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
4 Senate will return to order.
5 Senator Gianaris.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
7 at this time let's take up the supplemental
8 calendar in a noncontroversial fashion.
9 (Pause.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
11 Gianaris.
12 SENATOR GIANARIS: I'm told we're
13 going to take up substitutions from the Assembly
14 first, and then proceed to the calendar from
15 there.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
17 Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Weik moves
19 to discharge, from the Committee On rules,
20 Assembly Bill Number 7975 and substitute it for
21 the identical Senate Bill 7175, Third Reading
22 Calendar 1718.
23 Senator Sanders moves to discharge,
24 from the Committee on Health, Assembly Bill
25 Number 783 and substitute it for the identical
5006
1 Senate Bill 577, Third Reading Calendar 1662.
2 Senator Krueger moves to discharge,
3 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
4 4257A and substitute it for the identical Senate
5 Bill 1277A, Third Reading Calendar 1686.
6 Senator Hoylman moves to discharge,
7 from the Committee on Energy and
8 Telecommunications, Assembly Bill Number 6193 and
9 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 5325,
10 Third Reading Calendar 1692.
11 Senator Brouk moves to discharge,
12 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
13 7405A and substitute it for the identical Senate
14 Bill 6431, Third Reading Calendar 1698.
15 Senator Palumbo moves to discharge,
16 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
17 5461B and substitute it for the identical Senate
18 Bill 6590A, Third Reading Calendar 1700.
19 Senator Stavisky moves to discharge,
20 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
21 7491A and substitute it for the identical Senate
22 Bill 6600A, Third Reading Calendar 1701.
23 Senator Gounardes moves to
24 discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
25 Assembly Bill Number 7464 and substitute it for
5007
1 the identical Senate Bill 6690, Third Reading
2 Calendar 1702.
3 Senator Breslin moves to discharge,
4 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
5 7843 and substitute it for the identical Senate
6 Bill 6922, Third Reading Calendar 1704.
7 Senator Brouk moves to discharge,
8 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
9 Number 5979A and substitute it for the identical
10 Senate Bill 6957, Third Reading Calendar 1705.
11 Senator Thomas moves to discharge,
12 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
13 Number 7908A and substitute it for the identical
14 Senate Bill 7110A, Third Reading Calendar 1710.
15 Senator Brooks moves to discharge,
16 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
17 Number 7366A and substitute it for the identical
18 Senate Bill 7121, Third Reading Calendar 1711.
19 Senator Mayer moves to discharge,
20 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
21 Number 2658 and substitute it for the identical
22 Senate Bill 7125, Third Reading Calendar 1712.
23 Senator Kennedy moves to discharge,
24 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
25 Number 7734 and substitute it for the identical
5008
1 Senate Bill 7129, Third Reading Calendar 1713.
2 Senator Persaud moves to discharge,
3 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
4 Number 6522 and substitute it for the identical
5 Senate Bill 7152, Third Reading Calendar 1714.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:
7 Substitutions so ordered.
8 The Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1662, Assembly Print 783, substituted earlier by
11 Assemblymember Cahill, an act to amend the
12 Public Health Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
21 the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
24 is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5009
1 1686, Assembly Print 4257A, substituted earlier
2 by Assemblymember Epstein, an act to amend the
3 Election Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
5 last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
9 roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
12 the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
15 is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1688, Senate Print 1834A, by Senator Skoufis, an
18 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
22 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
23 shall have become a law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
25 roll.
5010
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
3 the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
5 Calendar 1688, those Senators voting in the
6 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
7 Griffo, Jordan, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
8 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
9 Weik.
10 Ayes, 47. Nays, 16.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
12 is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1689, Senate Print 4441, by Senator Gounardes, an
15 act to amend the Retirement and Social Security
16 Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There is
18 a home-rule message at the desk.
19 Read the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
23 roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
5011
1 the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
4 is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1690, Senate Print 4554, by Senator Bailey, an
7 act to amend the Family Court Act and the
8 Judiciary Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
12 act shall take effect January 1, 2022.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
17 the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
19 Calendar 1690, those Senators voting in the
20 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
21 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
22 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
23 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
24 Weik.
25 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
5012
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
2 is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1691, Senate Print 5246A, by Senator Kennedy, an
5 act to amend the Banking Law.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Lay it aside for
7 the day.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
9 will be laid aside for the day.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1692, Assembly Print 6193, substituted earlier by
12 Assemblymember Gonzalez-Rojas, an act to amend
13 the Public Service Law and the General Business
14 Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
16 last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
18 act shall take effect on the 30th day after it
19 shall have become a law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
21 roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
24 the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
5013
1 Calendar 1692, those Senators voting in the
2 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
3 Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci,
4 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie,
5 Serino, Stec and Tedisco.
6 Ayes, 46. Nays, 17.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1693, Senate Print 5489, by Senator Brouk, an act
11 to amend the Education Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
13 last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
17 roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
20 the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
23 is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1695 --
5014
1 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside for
2 the day.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
4 will be laid aside for the day.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1696, Senate Print 6289A, by Senator Gaughran, an
7 act to amend the Education Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect July 1, 2022.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
16 the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1698, Assembly Print 7405A, substituted earlier
22 by Assemblymember Bronson, an act to amend the
23 Education Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
25 last section.
5015
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
7 Stavisky to explain her vote.
8 SENATOR STAVISKY: Yes. This is
9 6431?
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Yes,
11 Senator.
12 SENATOR STAVISKY: This is a
13 one-year extension for employees who work at
14 various state agencies: The Department of Mental
15 Hygiene, SOFA, the O agencies -- quite a few
16 agencies. And it permits them to practice a
17 profession without a license, as mental health
18 care practitioners, as social workers,
19 psychologists. And that includes the contractors
20 whom they hire to provide services.
21 And very briefly, Madam President,
22 the exemption was granted in 2002 and extended
23 six times -- six times. This is the last time I
24 am going to vote for an extension. It is time
25 that the O agencies and the other agencies
5016
1 subscribe to the Laws of 2018, and that is the
2 final extension.
3 I vote aye this time, and I want to
4 put the agencies on notice this is time for them
5 to fix the problem.
6 Thank you, Madam President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
8 you, Senator.
9 Senator Stavisky to be recorded in
10 the affirmative.
11 Announce the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
13 Calendar 1698, those Senators voting in the
14 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Martucci,
15 Oberacker and Tedisco.
16 Ayes, 58. Nays, 5.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
18 is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1699, Senate Print 6497A, by Senator Parker, an
21 act to amend the Public Service Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
5017
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
5 the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1700, Assembly Print 5461B, substituted earlier
11 by Assemblymember Thiele, an act in relation to
12 authorizing the Flanders, Riverside and
13 Northampton Community Association, Inc., to file
14 an application for a partial exemption from real
15 property taxes.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
21 roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
24 the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
5018
1 Calendar Number 1700, voting in the negative:
2 Senator Akshar.
3 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1701, Assembly Print 7491A, substituted earlier
8 by Assemblymember Glick, an act to amend the
9 Education Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
18 the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
20 Calendar 1701, those Senators voting in the
21 negative are Senators Borrello, Jordan, Lanza and
22 Oberacker.
23 Ayes, 59. Nays, 4.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
25 is passed.
5019
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1702, Assembly Print 7464, substituted earlier by
3 Assemblymember Abbate, an act to amend the
4 Administrative Code of the City of New York.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
10 roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
13 the results.
14 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
15 Calendar Number 1702, voting in the negative:
16 Senator Boyle.
17 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1704, Assembly Print 7843, substituted earlier by
22 Assemblymember McDonald, an act authorizing the
23 State of New York Bond Bank Agency to provide
24 municipal relief to the City of Albany.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
5020
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
8 the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1705, Assembly Print 5979A, substituted earlier
14 by Assemblymember Walker, an act to amend the
15 Public Health Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
21 roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
24 the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
5021
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
2 is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1706, Senate Print 7011, by Senator Sepúlveda, an
5 act to amend the Executive Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
16 Calendar 1706, those Senators voting in the
17 negative are Senators Jordan, Oberacker, O'Mara
18 and Ortt.
19 Ayes, 59. Nays, 4.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
21 is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1707, Senate Print 7015, by Senator Addabbo, an
24 act to amend the Penal Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
5022
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
8 the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
10 Calendar Number 1707, voting in the negative:
11 Senator Helming.
12 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1709, Senate Print 7082, by Senator Breslin, an
17 act to amend the Public Authorities Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 10. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
23 roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
5023
1 the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
3 Calendar 1709, those Senators voting in the
4 negative are Senators Gallivan, Griffo, Helming,
5 Martucci, Oberacker, Ortt, Palumbo and Rath.
6 Ayes, 55. Nays, 8.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1710, Assembly Print 7908A, substituted earlier
11 by Assemblymember Montesano, an act in relation
12 to authorizing the Town of Oyster Bay to grant
13 Sai Mandir USA a real property tax exemption.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
19 roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
22 the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
24 Calendar 1710, those Senators voting in the
25 negative are Senators Akshar and O'Mara.
5024
1 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
3 is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1711, Assembly Print 7366A, substituted earlier
6 by Assemblymember Abbate, an act defining the
7 term "first responder in communications."
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
16 the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1712, Assembly Print 2658, substituted earlier by
22 Assemblymember Sayegh, an act to amend the
23 County Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
25 last section.
5025
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
7 the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
10 is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1713, Assembly Print 7734, substituted earlier by
13 Assemblymember Pheffer Amato, an act to create a
14 temporary "commission to prevent childhood
15 drowning."
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
19 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
20 shall have become a law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
25 the results.
5026
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
3 is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1714, Assembly Print 6522, substituted earlier by
6 Assemblymember Stern, an act to amend the
7 Penal Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
11 act shall take effect on the first of November.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
16 the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
18 Calendar 1714, those Senators voting in the
19 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
20 Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci,
21 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Rath, Ritchie, Serino,
22 Stec and Tedisco.
23 Ayes, 47. Nays, 16.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
25 is passed.
5027
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1715, Senate Print 7154, by Senator Skoufis, an
3 act to authorize Gina Kehoe of the Town of
4 Montgomery to take the competitive civil service
5 examination.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There is
7 a home-rule message at the desk.
8 Read the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
12 roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
15 the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
18 is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1716, Senate Print 7167, by Senator Kaplan, an
21 act to amend the Retirement and Social Security
22 Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There is
24 a home-rule message at the desk.
25 Read the last section.
5028
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
7 the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
10 is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1717, Senate Print 7169, by Senator
13 Reichlin-Melnick, an act to authorize the Town of
14 Orangetown to offer a certain retirement option
15 to Orangetown police officers.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There is
17 a home-rule message at the desk.
18 Read the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
20 act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
25 the results.
5029
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
3 is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1718, Assembly Print 7975, substituted earlier by
6 Assemblymember Ramos, an act providing for the
7 appeal and review of certain real property tax
8 exemption applications.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
17 the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
19 Calendar Number 1718, voting in the negative:
20 Senator Akshar.
21 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
23 is passed.
24 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
25 reading of today's supplemental calendar.
5030
1 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there any
2 further business at the desk?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There is
4 no further business at the desk.
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: In that case, I
6 move that we adjourn until tomorrow, June 10th,
7 Thursday, at 11:00 a.m.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: On
9 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
10 Thursday, June 10th, at 11:00 a.m.
11 (Whereupon, at 7:05 p.m., the Senate
12 adjourned.)
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