Gaveled in 11:17 AM · Albany, New York · 2025–26 session
NEW YORK STATE SENATE
THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
ALBANY, NEW YORK
April 15, 2025
11:17 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION
SENATOR SHELLEY B. MAYER, Acting President
ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
P R O C E E D I N G SACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Senate will come to order.
I ask everyone present to please rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
(Whereupon, the assemblage recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:In the absence of clergy, let us bow our heads in a moment of silent reflection or prayer.
(Whereupon, the assemblage respected a moment of silence.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Reading of the Journal.
THE SECRETARY:In Senate, Monday, April 14, 2025, the Senate met pursuant to adjournment. The Journal of Friday, April 11, 2025, was read and approved. On motion, the Senate adjourned.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Without objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
Presentation of petitions.
Messages from the Assembly.
The Secretary will read. No?
Messages from the Governor.
Reports of standing committees.
Reports of select committees.
Communications and reports from state officers.
Motions and resolutions.
Senator Gianaris.
Good morning, Madam President.
Amendments are offered to the following Third Reading Calendar bills:
By Senator Sanders, page 17, Calendar Number 452, Senate Print 3071;
And by Senator Jackson, page 27, Calendar Number 627, Senate Print 6600.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The amendments are received, and the bills will retain their place on the Third Reading Calendar.
Senator Gianaris.
SENATOR GIANARIS:At this time there will be an immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in Room 332.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:There will be an immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in Room 332.
SENATOR GIANARIS:The Senate stands at ease.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Senate will stand at ease.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease at 11:18 a.m.)
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at 11:25 a.m.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Senate will return to order.
Senator Gianaris.
SENATOR GIANARIS:Madam President, there's a report of the Rules Committee at the desk. Can we take that up, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY:Senator Stewart-Cousins, from the Committee on Rules, reports the following bills:
Senate Print 1718B, by Senator Hinchey, an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
Senate Print 7285, by Senator S. Ryan, an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
Senate Print 7399, by Senator Krueger, an act making appropriations for the support of government.
All bills ordered direct to third reading.
SENATOR GIANARIS:Move to accept the report of the Rules Committee.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:All those in favor of accepting the report of the Rules Committee please signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The report of the Rules Committee is accepted.
Senator Gianaris.
SENATOR GIANARIS:Please take up the supplemental calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Secretary will read.
There is a substitution at the desk.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY:Senator Krueger moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number 7923 and substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 7399, Third Reading Calendar 684.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The substitution is so ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY:Calendar Number 684, Assembly Bill Number 7923, by Assemblymember Pretlow, an act making appropriations for the support of government.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Senator Gianaris.
SENATOR GIANARIS:Is there a message of necessity and appropriation at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:There is a message of necessity and appropriation at the desk.
SENATOR GIANARIS:I move to accept the message.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:All those in favor of accepting the message please signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The message is accepted, and the bill is before the house.
SENATOR LANZA:Lay it aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The bill is laid aside.
Senator Gianaris, that completes the reading of the supplemental calendar.
SENATOR GIANARIS:Let's move on to the controversial calendar, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Secretary will ring the bell.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY:Calendar Number 684, Assembly Bill Number 7923, by Assemblymember Pretlow, an act making appropriations for the support of government.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Senator O'Mara, why do you rise?
SENATOR O'MARA:Yes, thank you, Madam President. I'm wondering if Senator Krueger would yield for a few questions on this extender.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Senator Krueger, do you yield?
SENATOR KRUEGER:Certainly.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Senator yields.
SENATOR O'MARA:Thank you, Senator.
This -- to my understanding, this extender gets us through or gets us until Thursday, anyways. So just two days from today. And it gives appropriation authority for a little bit over $400 million, is that correct?
SENATOR KRUEGER:It provides 6.5 billion in appropriation authority to make payroll costs. And it's an increase of 434 million over the prior extender.
SENATOR O'MARA:Thank you.
Madam President, if the Senator will continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Do you continue to yield?
SENATOR KRUEGER:Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Senator yields.
SENATOR O'MARA:Senator, with this past weekend having been Passover and Palm Sunday, and reading about the Governor having been in New York City seemingly all day yesterday, can you tell us have the three leaders met on this budget since we were here last Thursday? And what are the status of budget negotiations today?
SENATOR KRUEGER:Through you, Madam President. I actually don't know whether the three leaders met over the religious weekend. I think a lot of us were busy with our family events in different religions.
We're going to conference after session today, so I'll probably know more later in the day.
SENATOR O'MARA:Thank you.
Madam President, if the Senator will continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Do you continue to yield?
SENATOR KRUEGER:Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Senator yields.
SENATOR O'MARA:Thank you.
Now, is it your opinion, based on what you know, Senator, that it's still these -- really these three or four main policy issues that are holding up the entire budget?
SENATOR KRUEGER:Through you, Madam President. It is my understanding that the Governor is continuing to take the position that nobody really cares if the budget is done on time. And so she is following her own pattern of what issues she seems to want to prioritize or even talk about.
So it's hard to know how much of the substance of the actual budget is still left to be resolved. And it is frustrating, I think, to all of us in this room, on both sides of the aisle.
I'm not sure I personally agree with her that no one cares whether the budget gets done on time. Although I do think, based on what I'm hearing at home, people are far, far more worried about what's happening in the real world coming out of Washington and the situation. So it may be true that there's only a handful of us who actually seem to care very much about what's going on in Albany right now.
SENATOR O'MARA:Thank you.
Madam President, if the Senator will continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Do you continue to yield?
SENATOR KRUEGER:I do.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Senator yields.
SENATOR O'MARA:Senator, do you have concerns that since there really seem to be no negotiations going on on these major issues, that the Governor could just drop an extender on us with those policy issues in it and you, on your side, either take them or shut down government?
SENATOR KRUEGER:Through you, Madam President. I do think there are continuing discussions about many issues that just have not made it to the leader level where they need to be before we can complete the budget. So there are discussions going on. Our staffs are actually working very hard.
And as far as the Governor throwing other things into extenders, we've asked and she has said, no, just straight extenders. So that's what I know right now.
SENATOR O'MARA:Thank you.
Madam President, if the Senator will continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Do you continue to yield?
SENATOR KRUEGER:Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Senator yields.
SENATOR O'MARA:Senator, can you tell us, aside from these four or so major policy issues that seem to be holding up the budget, what discussions are happening regarding the actual budget part of the budget? And by that I mean dollars and cents -- what they're being appropriated for, what programs are being funded, and the operations of government.
That more important side of the budget, is that resolved?
SENATOR KRUEGER:It's not resolved, Madam President.
But there are substantive discussions on many issues, and they were included in the one-house budget documents of both the Senate and the Assembly. And so there are three-way discussions among staff going on around those issues.
Some of the really big and important ones, of course, are money for housing. There's a separate shortage of affordable housing throughout the State of New York, so there were proposals about housing both in the City of New York and outside of the City of New York.
There's serious discussion going on about commitments for capital funds and operating funds for environmental issues, for public education, Foundation Aid, health concerns -- now, those are added to with the complications of the stories coming out of Washington that they have already or intend to make dramatic cuts in healthcare and environmental funding, in contracts and grants, in education funds.
I mean, there are estimates that the State of New York could lose well over $2 billion in lost education funds if the Trump administration's proposals move forward.
Pretty much everyone in healthcare -- whether it's hospital care, healthcare, preventive care, research at our universities and our major teaching hospitals -- no doubt are reaching out to all of us, saying do you know what we've been told might be happening next?
So there's a great deal of concern out there, particularly in light of the hits the state -- all 50 states could take from the Trump administration. And I know many of us spend a decent part of each day trying to urge our congressional representatives to stand up for our state and make sure that we don't take these hits. And I hope those conversations are taking place on both sides of the aisle.
SENATOR O'MARA:Thank you.
Madam President, if the Senator will continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Do you continue to yield?
SENATOR KRUEGER:I do.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Senator yields.
SENATOR O'MARA:Senator, with regards to all the issues you just went through, have table targets been handed out so that those issues being discussed, they know what parameters of spending they have?
SENATOR KRUEGER:No, Madam President, there are no table targets at this time.
SENATOR O'MARA:Thank you.
Madam President, if the Senator will continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Do you continue to yield?
SENATOR KRUEGER:Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The Senator yields.
SENATOR O'MARA:Senator, it's April 15th today. You know, we all have to have our taxes done by today or we get penalized.
But more importantly than that and our individual concerns with that and meeting that deadline, our school districts a week from today have to have their budgets finalized to be voted on in May.
What can we tell our school districts as far as them putting together their budgets, which actually have to go out to a vote of the citizens in those districts?
SENATOR KRUEGER:Through you, Madam President, I agree that school budgets are probably the one issue each year that is very real in relationship to the time frame of the state budget.
I would urge all of us to reach out to the Governor and urge our communities, our school districts, our boards, our associations of school boards and teachers to be making those exact requests of the Governor.
Because I think we could probably give some level of assurance to the local districts about what the estimated education funds will be even in light of not having a budget completed, but of course we would need to get that information through the Governor.
SENATOR O'MARA:Thank you, Madam President, that's all I have.
Thank you, Senator Krueger.
SENATOR KRUEGER:Thank you.
Thank you, Madam President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Are there any other Senators wishing to be seen and heard?
Seeing and hearing none, debate is closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY:Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY:In relation to Calendar 684, voting in the negative: Senator Weik.
Ayes, 52. Nays, 1.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:The bill is passed.
Senator Gianaris -- who is joined today by his wife Mariana and Zoe and Orla.
Welcome to the Senate chamber.
(Applause.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:That completes the reading of the controversial calendar.
SENATOR GIANARIS:Thank you, Madam President.
This is what passes for a family vacation, since we're stuck here.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR GIANARIS:I think Senator Weik wanted to explain her vote on the last bill, if we can give her that opportunity.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Oh, I'm sorry.
Senator Weik to explain her vote.
SENATOR WEIK:Thank you, Madam President.
This budget that we've got this year is a quarter of a trillion dollars. That's an enormous amount of money. It's billions and billions of dollars more than last year's budget.
Using national issues to pause and to stall and to not have a budget conversation at the state level, it causes so many problems, especially for our school districts. Right now they're struggling to try to put together a budget. And I've had lots of conversations with my superintendents. They need information. They need Albany to be doing their job. And right now stalling is not a good idea. We need to be pushing and making sure.
And using the Governor as an excuse is also not -- this may be her budget. We have a one-house in the Senate, there's a one-house in the Assembly. It's time to start bringing these conversations to the table. Having no table targets is unacceptable, it's irresponsible, and that's why I'm a no.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:Senator Weik to be recorded in the negative.
Senator Gianaris.
SENATOR GIANARIS:Is there any further business at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:There is no further business at the desk.
SENATOR GIANARIS:Move to adjourn until Thursday, April 17th, at 11:00 a.m., with the intervening days being legislative days.
ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER:On motion, the Senate stands adjourned until Thursday, April 17th, at 11:00 a.m., with the intervening days being legislative days.
(Whereupon, the Senate adjourned at 11:37 a.m.)
Highest impact first.
Inspect Older Buildings for Safety
Tax Breaks for Low-Income Homebuyers
Expand Tax Exemption Statewide
Extend State Funding Period
Extend Emergency State Funding
Create School Bus Safety Task Force