5013
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 May 21, 2026
11 11:17 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR SHELLEY B. MAYER, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
20
21
22
23
24
25
5014
1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The Senate
3 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 MAYER: 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 MAYER: Reading of
14 the Journal.
15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
16 Wednesday, May 20, 2026, the Senate met pursuant
17 to adjournment. The Journal of Tuesday, May 19,
18 2026, was read and approved. On motion, the
19 Senate adjourned.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Without
21 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
22 Presentation of petitions.
23 Messages from the Assembly.
24 Messages from the Governor.
25 Reports of standing committees.
5015
1 Reports of select committees.
2 Communications and reports from
3 state officers.
4 Motions and resolutions.
5 Senator Gianaris.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Good afternoon,
7 Madam President.
8 On behalf of Senator Krueger, I wish
9 to call up Senate Print 2436, recalled from the
10 Assembly, which is now at the desk.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
12 Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 216, Senate Print 2436, by Senator Krueger, an
15 act to amend the Administrative Code of the City
16 of New York.
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to
18 reconsider the vote by which that bill was
19 passed.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
21 Secretary will call the roll on reconsideration.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
25 is restored to its place on the Third Reading
5016
1 Calendar.
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: I offer the
3 following amendments.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
5 amendments are received.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: On behalf of
7 Senator Cleare, I wish to call up Senate Print
8 7160, recalled from the Assembly, which is now at
9 the desk.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
11 Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 494, Senate Print 7160, by Senator Cleare, an act
14 to amend the Elder Law.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to
16 reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
18 Secretary will call the roll on reconsideration.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
22 is restored to its place on the Third Reading
23 Calendar.
24 SENATOR GIANARIS: I offer the
25 following amendments.
5017
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
2 amendments are received.
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: On behalf of
4 Senator Myrie, on page 43 I offer the following
5 amendments to Calendar 884, Senate Print 9960,
6 and ask that said bill retain its place on the
7 Third Reading Calendar.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
9 amendments are received, and the bill will retain
10 its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
11 Senator Gianaris.
12 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's now take
13 up previously adopted Resolution 1984, by
14 Senator Brisport, read that resolution's title,
15 and recognize Senator Brisport.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
17 Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 1984, by
19 Senator Brisport, congratulating Madeline Wilson
20 upon the occasion of celebrating her
21 100th Birthday.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
23 Brisport on the resolution.
24 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
25 Madam President.
5018
1 I rise today to celebrate an
2 extraordinary resident of Brooklyn, New York, a
3 woman who has blessed this world with her
4 presence, her wisdom, and her love for exactly
5 one century.
6 I am incredibly honored to announce
7 that we are joined today by the woman of the hour
8 herself, Ms. Madeline Wilson, who recently
9 celebrated her milestone 100th birthday.
10 We are also joined by her family,
11 including someone very familiar to this chamber,
12 one of her brilliant grandchildren, Nikki Jones,
13 who works right here with us in the Senate.
14 I know Ms. Wilson is incredibly
15 proud of her, as she still affectionately calls
16 Nikki her "skeeterbug."
17 Madam President, Ms. Wilson's
18 journey is the story of the American spirit.
19 Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, she
20 graduated from Norfolk High School and made the
21 brave journey north to New York City in 1949.
22 She arrived here as a young mother
23 carrying her two babies, Maxine, who was just a
24 year old, and Deborah, who was only six months.
25 Think about that courage, moving to
5019
1 a bustling metropolis to build a foundation for
2 her family. She anchored that foundation on two
3 bedrock principles, unwavering faith and an
4 unstoppable work ethic.
5 Upon arriving, she rooted her life
6 in the community, joining St. Paul's Church of
7 Christ, Disciples of Christ, where her own
8 mother, Sadie Williams, was a longtime member.
9 Over the decades, Ms. Wilson was a
10 vital pillar of the congregation. She became a
11 leader in the choir, the usher board, and the
12 mothers board, dedicating her life to ministry
13 and serving others.
14 She raised seven children. When
15 corporate office hours threatened to keep her
16 away from home too late, she pivoted and started
17 her own path, cleaning doctors' and dentists'
18 offices so she could ensure she was always home
19 to raise, protect, and guide her family.
20 Through that tireless dedication,
21 she taught her seven children, her 17
22 grandchildren, and her 18 great-grandchildren how
23 to work hard. She showed them what it looks like
24 to live a life of profound purpose.
25 When people look at her incredible
5020
1 legacy and ask how she did it all, she always
2 points back to her favorite quote: "I've learned
3 how to lean and depend on Jesus."
4 Ms. Wilson, your life is a master
5 class in grace, resilience, and love. You have
6 enriched the fabric of our community for decades.
7 Today, Madam President, I ask this
8 entire legislative body to pause in its
9 deliberations to officially honor Ms. Wilson. We
10 say thank you for a century of leadership, a
11 century of faith, and a century of building a
12 beautiful legacy that continues to make New York
13 a better place.
14 Welcome to your State Senate,
15 Ms. Wilson. And from the bottom of our hearts,
16 "Happy Birthday to Ya" (singing).
17 Thank you.
18 (Singing from the chamber.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
20 Senator Brisport and my colleagues, for their
21 song.
22 (Laughter.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: And to our
24 incredible guest, Ms. Wilson, on your
25 100th birthday -- who told me that her secret is
5021
1 prayer -- congratulations.
2 We honor you today. We celebrate
3 your achievements and your legacy. We're so
4 pleased you could join us. Congratulations.
5 Will we all please stand and
6 recognize Ms. Wilson.
7 (Standing ovation; Ms. Wilson
8 stands, and the standing ovation continues.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
10 resolution was previously adopted on May 5th.
11 Senator Gianaris.
12 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
13 Madam President.
14 As we continue to work through the
15 resolutions, we're going to simultaneously call a
16 meeting of the Finance Committee in Room 332.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: There will
18 be an immediate meeting of the Finance Committee
19 in Room 332, while we continue with the
20 resolutions.
21 Senator Gianaris.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: And now let's
23 take up previously adopted Resolution 2071, by
24 Senator Myrie, read that resolution's title and
25 call on Senator Myrie.
5022
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
2 Secretary will read.
3 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 2071, by
4 Senator Myrie, honoring the life and legacy of
5 Marilyn D. Mosley, distinguished citizen,
6 respected leader, and devoted member of her
7 community.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
9 Myrie on the resolution.
10 SENATOR MYRIE: Thank you,
11 Madam President.
12 I rise to commemorate and celebrate
13 the life and legacy of Marilyn Mosley, known to
14 many of us in this chamber, many of us in
15 Brooklyn and New York City and throughout this
16 state, affectionately as "Mama Mosley."
17 I am honored to bring this
18 resolution on a day where we are joined by her
19 living legacy, the Secretary of New York State,
20 Walter Mosley, who has patiently waited with us
21 here in session.
22 And everyone has a Mama Mosley
23 story. Mine is when I was trying to be a leader
24 in the community and someone was introducing me
25 to Mama Mosley, she didn't even look at me
5023
1 directly. She looked at the person that was
2 introducing us and said, "He ain't ready."
3 (Laughter.)
4 SENATOR MYRIE: But when I was
5 ready, Mama Mosley was all in. She put her name,
6 her credibility, her service on the line.
7 And it wasn't just for me. For so
8 many leaders -- local, state, federal -- she has
9 done the same thing, poured into us her entire
10 life -- and was an amazing public servant
11 herself.
12 It is a testament to her that her
13 son, a former member of the Assembly, has risen
14 to be Secretary of State. That she has so many
15 leaders throughout the legislatures. We all owe
16 a debt of gratitude to Marilyn Mosley.
17 So I urge all of my colleagues to
18 not only support this resolution, but to tell
19 your Mama Mosley story to as many people as
20 possible. May her legacy continue to live
21 through all of the people that she has invested
22 in.
23 And we are proud to present this
24 resolution to Secretary Mosley today.
25 I proudly vote aye.
5024
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
2 Brisport on the resolution.
3 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
4 Madam President.
5 I wish to start by sharing my deep
6 condolences with Secretary Mosley and with
7 Ms. Mosley's entire family. This is a loss for
8 all of New York. But I know above all it is a
9 loss for you, who knew her best. My thoughts are
10 with you in this painful time.
11 Ms. Marilyn D. Mosley, Mama Mosley,
12 as she is known around Brooklyn, truly was an
13 extraordinary woman. Her light shone so brightly
14 and changed so many lives.
15 When she took the time to talk with
16 me just a few months ago, I remember how much the
17 warmth and kindness she showed me turned my day
18 around. Her positivity, encouragement and
19 passion were a superpower that brought out the
20 best in everyone blessed enough to experience
21 them.
22 For that reason, perhaps, Ms. Mosley
23 is often talked about in association with the
24 many, many powerful people she worked with or
25 helped empower. But for me, when I think of
5025
1 Ms. Mosley, I think of the students she devoted
2 so much of her life to. Their names may not be
3 the ones in newspapers, but Ms. Mosley knew that
4 even in their tweens and teens, each of them
5 mattered.
6 As a former Brooklyn public school
7 teacher myself, I can tell you it's no small task
8 to show up every day with hearts and hope when it
9 feels like the deck is so stacked against your
10 students. But Ms. Mosley not only gave decades
11 as an educator, she also donated her own
12 resources to New York City public schools to help
13 combat those injustices.
14 When students wanted to go to
15 college but couldn't afford it, she worked to
16 help them access grants and scholarships that
17 would open those doors for them.
18 In her role as the director of the
19 citywide Task Force on Pregnant and Parenting
20 Teens, she advocated for resources to ensure
21 young mothers could still get access to an
22 education and a stable future.
23 In this moment, I can't help
24 imagining the future New York could have if all
25 of us fought as hard as Ms. Mosley to ensure
5026
1 every student in New York could get an equitable,
2 quality education.
3 I hope that we will not only
4 remember her with words, but also through our
5 actions to carry forward her dedication to that
6 goal.
7 May you rest in power, Mama Mosley.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you.
9 Senator Sanders on the resolution.
10 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you,
11 Madam President.
12 I must admit when I first met her, I
13 thought she was a Queens power broker. I thought
14 that the influence was simply in Queens. And I
15 learned later that, for whatever reason, she
16 decided that Brooklyn was a place that she would
17 put her emphasis.
18 (Laughter.)
19 SENATOR SANDERS: So I just wanted
20 to take this moment to put a Queens part of it
21 back in and not let Brooklyn share all of the
22 power of this force of nature, your mother.
23 Thank you. Thank you very much.
24 I vote aye.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
5027
1 Senator Sanders.
2 To our very honorable guest,
3 Secretary of State Walter Mosley, we appreciate
4 you for being here today. We are deeply in debt
5 to your mother for her service, for her
6 leadership, for her mentorship of our colleagues,
7 for all that she did for the community.
8 We are pleased to have this
9 resolution in her honor, and we welcome you, as
10 always, to this house and extend the privileges
11 and cordialities to you, our former colleague.
12 Thank you for being here. And in
13 her honor, please rise and be recognized.
14 (Standing ovation.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
16 resolution was previously adopted on May 19th.
17 Senator Gianaris.
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please call on
19 Senator Ashby for an introduction.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
21 Ashby for an introduction.
22 SENATOR ASHBY: Thank you,
23 Madam President.
24 Columbia Kicks Cancer was named the
25 Blood Cancer United 2026 Student Visionaries of
5028
1 the Year at its grand finale in March. The
2 Columbia Kicks Cancer team is a completely
3 student-run organization within the East
4 Greenbush Central School District. It is
5 comprised of 20 team members who raised a
6 record-breaking $239,237.
7 This marks the sixth year in a row
8 that East Greenbush's team has raised the most
9 money for the entire region.
10 Natalie Krisanda and Brady Martyn
11 were both named 2026 Albany Student Visionaries
12 of the Year, and Ty Baron was the top individual
13 fundraiser.
14 All money will be donated to
15 Blood Cancer United, formerly known as Leukemia &
16 Lymphoma Society, for blood cancer research,
17 treatment and care.
18 Natalie and Brady led the Team of
19 18 other Columbia students to organize
20 fundraisers over the course of seven weeks that
21 included raffles, Dine to Donate events,
22 Valentine's Day flower sales, youth sports
23 clinics, and a bottle drive in a district-wide
24 Wear Red Day.
25 The team doesn't just fundraise,
5029
1 they spread awareness and make an incredible
2 impact on the fight against blood cancer.
3 Joining us today are seniors
4 Natalie Krisanda and Brady Martyn, Caidyn Albano,
5 Ryan Asenbauer, Ty Baron, Katerina Christakis,
6 Keira Cook, Timmy Donnelly, Sophia Galligan,
7 Lincoln Gibson, Thomas Herkenham, Helen Ketzer,
8 Sophia Laquidara, Yash Mansharamani,
9 Ascher Melino, Andrew Mocerine,
10 Charlotte Mueller, Hannah Ortiz, Riley Sheehan,
11 and Carson Wasbes.
12 Please congratulate them on their
13 amazing work and give them all the cordialities
14 and privileges of the house.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
16 Senator Ashby.
17 To our guests from Columbia Kicks
18 Cancer, thank you for your work. Thank you for
19 your successful fundraising and education
20 activities. Thank you for your volunteerism and
21 participation.
22 We welcome you on behalf of the
23 Senate. We extend the privileges and
24 cordialities of the house.
25 Please rise and be recognized.
5030
1 (Standing ovation.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
3 Gianaris.
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
5 there's a report of the Finance Committee at the
6 desk. Can we take that up, please.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
8 Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Krueger,
10 from the Committee on Finance, reports the
11 following bill:
12 Senate Print 9005C, Budget Bill, an
13 act to amend Chapter 268 of the Laws of 1996.
14 The bill reports direct to third
15 reading.
16 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to accept
17 the report of the Finance Committee.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: All those
19 in favor of accepting the report of the
20 Finance Committee please signify by saying aye.
21 (Response of "Aye.")
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Opposed,
23 nay.
24 (Response of "Nay.")
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The report
5031
1 of the Finance Committee is accepted.
2 Senator Gianaris.
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please take up
4 the supplemental calendar.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
6 Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1317, Senate Print 9005C, Budget Bill, an act to
9 amend Chapter 268 of the Laws of 1996.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there a
11 message of necessity at the desk?
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: There is a
13 message of necessity at the desk.
14 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to accept
15 the message of necessity.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: All those
17 in favor of accepting the message please signify
18 by saying aye.
19 (Response of "Aye.")
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Opposed,
21 nay.
22 (Response of "Nay.")
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
24 message is accepted, and the bill is before the
25 house.
5032
1 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
3 is laid aside.
4 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
5 reading of the supplemental calendar.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's now take
7 up the controversial calendar.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
9 Secretary will ring the bell.
10 The Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1317, Senate Print 9005C, an act to amend
13 Chapter 268 of the Laws of 1996.
14 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
15 let me remind my colleagues once again that we
16 are asking members of the Minority to identify
17 the parts that they intend to debate so we can
18 assign the debate to the appropriate member.
19 And as it relates to Part LL, if
20 they can identify the subpart, that would also be
21 helpful. Thank you.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Good
23 afternoon, Senator Murray. Why do you rise?
24 SENATOR MURRAY: Mr. President,
25 would the sponsor yield for some questions
5033
1 regarding Part LL? I guess we'll start at
2 Subpart A.
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
4 that would be -- this would be a Murray-Myrie
5 debate.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY:
7 Murray-Myrie.
8 Senator Myrie, do you yield?
9 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
11 Senator yields.
12 SENATOR MURRAY: Thank you.
13 Through you, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator.
14 When we're talking about the
15 limitations as far as cooperation and 287(g)
16 agreements, things of that nature, what type of
17 cooperation is now being prohibited under this
18 bill?
19 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
20 Mr. President, 287(g) agreements, what is
21 commonly referred to as IGSA agreements, and both
22 of those formally and informally.
23 SENATOR MURRAY: Mr. President,
24 would the sponsor continue to yield.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
5034
1 sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR MURRAY: Thank you.
6 Now, when you say, Senator, formally
7 or informally, can you define what that means?
8 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
9 Mr. President. On -- I think on page 46, lines
10 50 through 53, we outline just any formal or
11 informal agreement. There is no further
12 definition beyond that.
13 SENATOR MURRAY: Thank you,
14 Mr. President. On the bill.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
16 Murray on the bill.
17 SENATOR MURRAY: So what we're
18 looking at here is a bill that continues what
19 seems to be a pattern, and that is almost
20 vilifying law enforcement.
21 These are the people that are here
22 to protect us. It's in the title: law
23 enforcement. They're enforcing laws. And we
24 have law enforcement on many levels -- local,
25 county, state, and federal. And many times it
5035
1 takes cooperation among them to keep us safe.
2 And yet we're doing everything we
3 can in this bill to limit or get rid of
4 cooperation that would do just that.
5 I'm going to give you an example.
6 I'm going to give you actually a couple of
7 examples of how this cooperation is absolutely
8 necessary.
9 So late last year, I believe it was,
10 in my district, in the school district, there was
11 a 22-year-old Guatemalan national who was here
12 illegally, Wilmer Castille-Garcia, who thought it
13 would be a good idea to sell THC-infused gummies
14 and drugs to middle school children, sending a
15 dozen of them to the emergency room.
16 Well, he was arrested, thank
17 goodness. The children were released. In case
18 you were wondering, they ended up okay. But it
19 could have been much worse.
20 But Garcia was arrested. But
21 because, of course, of our bail reform laws, he
22 wasn't held and was released. Not surprising, he
23 fled Long Island right away. He was caught a
24 little while later trying to flee the country
25 over the Canadian border.
5036
1 Well, it was cooperation with ICE
2 and Border Patrol that caught him and brought him
3 back. And because of that crime, they are
4 holding him without bail now.
5 But had we not had that cooperation,
6 where else would he be? What other children
7 would he be harming?
8 Speaking of harming children,
9 there's another horrible, horrible situation that
10 occurred in my district recently. And if this
11 bill were the law when this happened, it would
12 have had a much different ending.
13 So on February 1st of 2026, the
14 mother of a 5-year-old victim, she went to work
15 and she left her little 5-year-old daughter to be
16 babysat by a Guatemalan national here illegally,
17 Aguilar Reynoso.
18 Well, when she got home, Reynoso was
19 no longer there, but her 5-year-old baby was
20 there. And in a lot of pain, damaged. Damaged
21 so badly, bleeding, the 5-year-old had been
22 abused and repeatedly raped by Reynoso. He fled.
23 So they take the baby to a
24 specialized children's hospital in New York City.
25 And when they did, they did forensic
5037
1 examinations, getting DNA.
2 Here's the problem. The next day
3 they actually caught Reynoso. The locals caught
4 Reynoso, local police. But at the time, because
5 it was a 5-year-old child who couldn't identify
6 him and couldn't help the police at that time --
7 mainly because the 5-year-old was recovering from
8 the emergency surgery to help repair her -- they
9 could hold him but they could only charge him
10 with endangering the welfare of a child. Which,
11 again, is not a bailable offense. So they knew
12 he was going to be released.
13 So even if they gave an
14 appearance -- so even if this happened, he would
15 have fled, and they knew that. He would have
16 been gone.
17 So the DA, using his cooperation,
18 using his relationship with federal ICE
19 officials, reached out to them and said, Listen,
20 here's what we're going to do. We're going to
21 give him an appearance ticket, he's going to go
22 to court. When he steps out of the court -- of
23 course because of the laws we passed already,
24 they couldn't be in the courthouse. But once he
25 steps out, I need you to nab him.
5038
1 So that's what they did. And ICE
2 managed to grab him. They held him long
3 enough -- because had they not, we wouldn't have
4 had enough time to do the DNA testing from the
5 kit, the rape kit that they did, and they
6 wouldn't have been able to identify him. He
7 would have been long gone. But because of the
8 cooperation, they were able to hold him long
9 enough so they could get the results.
10 In doing so, it proved he was
11 responsible. He was arrested then. We were able
12 to get this animal off the streets and not have
13 him somewhere else in the country or in the
14 world, raping and harming children.
15 That's what happened with the
16 cooperation with ICE, with law enforcement
17 working together.
18 I'm going to add a footnote here.
19 The mother and the 5-year-old child were also
20 here illegally. The district attorney, because
21 of his relationship with ICE, asked them:
22 They've been through enough; please don't do
23 anything. And ICE agreed. And it was because of
24 that cooperation.
25 But we're going to eliminate that.
5039
1 We're going to eliminate that here today.
2 I think we forget what the purpose
3 is. We're supposed to be -- you know, later on
4 in here there's a section called, what is it,
5 New York for All? Can I remind you, "all" means
6 New Yorkers, too. We're supposed to be
7 protecting them. We're supposed to be helping
8 them. Us, New Yorkers. We're supposed to be
9 doing all we can to help law enforcement to help
10 keep us safe, to help get animals like Reynoso
11 off the streets.
12 And what we're doing with this bill
13 is the exact opposite. We're making it harder on
14 law enforcement. We're making it harder for them
15 to keep us safe.
16 I don't know why anyone would get
17 into the law enforcement profession these days,
18 not with the way we treat them. And that's just
19 wrong. Or at least not in New York.
20 That's all I have on this bill.
21 Thank you, Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
23 you, Senator Murray.
24 Senator Myrie, why do you rise?
25 SENATOR MYRIE: On the bill,
5040
1 Mr. President.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
3 Myrie on the bill.
4 SENATOR MYRIE: And I want to thank
5 my colleague and my colleagues to come that I'm
6 sure will be expressing I think important and
7 passionate feelings on this issue and things that
8 have happened in their districts.
9 I want to be very clear about what
10 we are doing today, not just in this subpart but
11 in total. We believe, it is our legislative
12 intent, to allow for the federal government to
13 carry out its responsibility on immigration
14 enforcement, particularly as it relates to civil
15 immigration enforcement. That is the full
16 province of the federal government, and we
17 respect that. That is important.
18 The Constitution, however, does not
19 require neither this state nor any state in the
20 union to help the federal government do that job.
21 There are instances where it is
22 appropriate for them to work together. We do not
23 ban any instance of cooperation in this bill. An
24 informal or formal agreement suggests that there
25 is a pattern, whether formally or informally, of
5041
1 cooperation. That is not what we are doing in
2 this bill.
3 And I think it's important for us to
4 remain grounded in that principle that we have,
5 in fact, carved out law enforcement for
6 information-sharing purposes in later subparts in
7 this bill.
8 There are things that we are asking
9 our state employees and our municipal employees
10 to not do, because that's fully within the
11 province and power of the State of New York.
12 But we have exempted from those two
13 requirements police officers and peace officers,
14 a recognition that there is some public safety
15 component to this that needs to continue.
16 But I want to be absolutely clear on
17 what we are doing in this bill today in not
18 trying to regulate the federal government or to
19 ban cooperation wholesale. We are saying that
20 the federal government has a duty to carry out
21 immigration enforcement. New York will allow for
22 them to carry out that duty.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
24 Rhoads, why do you rise?
25 SENATOR RHOADS: Mr. President,
5042
1 will the sponsor yield to a question?
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
3 sponsor yield?
4 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
6 sponsor yields.
7 SENATOR RHOADS: Thank you,
8 Senator Myrie.
9 Through you, Mr. President. Do you
10 believe that someone who enters the country
11 illegally has broken the law?
12 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
13 Mr. President. That is not a matter of my belief
14 or your belief. It is the law.
15 SENATOR RHOADS: And will the
16 sponsor yield to another question.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
18 sponsor yield?
19 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
21 sponsor yields.
22 SENATOR RHOADS: Through you,
23 Mr. President. Though I am asking you your
24 personal belief, Senator.
25 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
5043
1 Mr. President, I have taken an oath to uphold the
2 Constitution and to uphold our laws. I believe
3 in our laws. It is breaking the law to enter
4 unlawfully into the country.
5 SENATOR RHOADS: And through you,
6 will the sponsor yield to another question?
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
8 sponsor yield?
9 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
11 sponsor yields.
12 SENATOR RHOADS: And through you,
13 Mr. President, do you believe that local law
14 enforcement should help federal law enforcement
15 agents detain and deport illegal immigrants?
16 SENATOR MAYER: Through you,
17 Mr. President, just say that last part again? I
18 didn't hear it.
19 SENATOR RHOADS: Sure. Do you
20 believe that local law enforcement should help
21 federal law enforcement agents detain and deport
22 illegal immigrants?
23 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
24 Mr. President, local law enforcement isn't
25 capable of deporting anyone. That is the full
5044
1 province of the federal government.
2 But there are instances where there
3 is cooperation between local law enforcement and
4 the federal government. I think that that is
5 appropriate.
6 SENATOR RHOADS: And through you,
7 Mr. President, will the sponsor yield to another
8 question?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
10 sponsor yield?
11 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR RHOADS: Do you believe
15 that we should abolish ICE?
16 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
17 Mr. President. On the bill before the house is
18 statutory construction around the levels of
19 cooperation, if any, the conduct of state and
20 local employees, if any.
21 And I don't think that that is
22 relevant, my beliefs on whether the federal
23 government should continue -- in fact, I was very
24 clear on the outset of this debate that I do
25 believe that the federal government has the
5045
1 constitutional power to regulate immigration
2 enforcement.
3 SENATOR RHOADS: On the bill.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
5 Rhoads on the bill.
6 SENATOR RHOADS: I think part of
7 the issue -- and I thank Senator Myrie for
8 answering those couple of questions. And I think
9 it provides a valuable insight that really all
10 New Yorkers should pay attention to.
11 You know, this Subpart A is entitled
12 "Local cops, local crimes." And I think what the
13 sponsor of the bill and what I think the Majority
14 continues to ignore is that local crimes do
15 involve immigration enforcement. Many crimes
16 that are being committed in our local communities
17 are being committed by individuals who are in the
18 country illegally.
19 And so the attempt, as is done
20 through this bill, to separate the two, to
21 handcuff law enforcement's ability, both federal
22 and local, to protect us is counterintuitive.
23 The purpose of law enforcement is to
24 enforce the law, whether it is federal, whether
25 it is state, whether it is local. And to tell
5046
1 law enforcement agencies that they are unable to
2 work together with each other is insanity.
3 Now, will the sponsor continue to
4 yield.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
6 Myrie, will you yield?
7 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
9 Senator yields.
10 SENATOR RHOADS: Through you,
11 Mr. President.
12 How will local police identify and
13 remove dangerous criminal offenders from
14 communities if cooperation with ICE is limited?
15 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
16 Mr. President. If I'm understanding the question
17 correctly, I don't think that those two things
18 are necessarily related.
19 You are asking whether law
20 enforcement will be able to continue to do its
21 job in preventing local crime, and then you add
22 whether that requires them to work with the
23 federal government.
24 I've said repeatedly that there are
25 instances where that may be true. But
5047
1 constitutionally, the state is not required to do
2 that. And that is what this bill is trying to
3 clarify, that there are instances where there
4 will be cooperation. There are formal and
5 informal instances where we do not believe that
6 that should be the case. And that is what this
7 bill is establishing.
8 SENATOR RHOADS: Will the sponsor
9 continue to yield.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
11 sponsor yield?
12 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
14 sponsor yields.
15 SENATOR RHOADS: Well, it gets back
16 to -- through you, Mr. President, it gets back to
17 my earlier question.
18 If we acknowledge that violations of
19 the immigration law and that someone entering the
20 country illegally has broken the law, and if
21 local law enforcement takes an oath to uphold the
22 law -- not just local law, not just state law,
23 but also takes an oath to defend, to protect
24 against all laws -- why are we interfering with
25 police's ability to do that at all?
5048
1 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
2 Mr. President. I think we have a fundamental
3 difference or disagreement on what carrying out
4 law enforcement duties may be.
5 Local law enforcement will not be
6 hindered in any way in this bill from continuing
7 to keep our communities safe. There is nothing
8 in this bill that will prevent them for
9 continuing to carry out their duties, to continue
10 to fight crime, to continue to keep people safe.
11 I think it is my colleague's belief
12 that every law enforcement agency in this state
13 is also required to do federal immigration
14 enforcement. That is a philosophical difference
15 that we have.
16 That is not a constitutional
17 grounded opinion. The state is not required to
18 do federal immigration enforcement. And in fact,
19 the federal immigration enforcement body is
20 well-resourced and well-funded to do that.
21 This is saying that we should allow
22 for them to continue to do that job, for the
23 local law enforcement to continue to do their
24 job. And if there are instances where they have
25 to cooperate, they will do so. But there should
5049
1 be no formal agreement where taxpayers from
2 New York are carrying out and paying for the
3 federal immigration enforcement apparatus to do
4 its job.
5 SENATOR RHOADS: On the bill,
6 Mr. President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
8 Rhoads on the bill.
9 SENATOR RHOADS: We do have a
10 fundamental disagreement about what the role of
11 law enforcement is.
12 The sponsor seems to feel as
13 though -- as does, I suspect, most of the
14 Majority -- that law enforcement gets to pick and
15 choose which laws they like, which laws they
16 don't like, and they get to enforce the ones that
17 they feel comfortable enforcing.
18 They don't have -- local law
19 enforcement does not have an obligation, a
20 responsibility, a duty to enforce federal law.
21 They have a moral responsibility to enforce
22 federal law. The reality is the purpose of law
23 enforcement is to enforce all of the laws.
24 And what this legislation does is it
25 creates an artificial separation limiting local
5050
1 law enforcement's ability to communicate with
2 Immigration and Customs Enforcement, limiting
3 state officials and state employees from
4 cooperating with Immigration and Customs
5 Enforcement, limits public officials and public
6 officers and in fact gives them civil liability
7 in instances where there's cooperation between
8 those officials and federal law enforcement.
9 To what purpose? I thought the
10 purpose of us serving in this body is to make
11 sure that government's one responsibility is to
12 keep the people of the State of New York safe.
13 Who does this legislation keep safe?
14 Who does this legislation protect? It protects
15 the criminal. It protects the illegal alien. It
16 protects the individuals who are breaking the law
17 and who are making us less safe.
18 How does it benefit the public? How
19 does it benefit any law-abiding citizen for state
20 employees not to cooperate with Immigration and
21 Customs Enforcement in their attempt to enforce
22 federal law, federal immigration law? Which we
23 all agree, including the sponsor, that it's a
24 violation of the law to come into the country
25 illegally.
5051
1 How does it benefit the public? How
2 does it benefit the people of the State of
3 New York not to have state officials cooperate?
4 How does it benefit the people of the State of
5 New York for law enforcement agencies, local law
6 enforcement agencies who have made the decision
7 that they want to enter into these cooperative
8 agreements with ICE -- how does it benefit the
9 safety of the residents, the law-abiding
10 residents of the State of New York, not to permit
11 that to happen?
12 In Nassau County, for example, we
13 allow our Nassau County Correctional Center to be
14 used to hold those who have detainers from
15 Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Why is that
16 done? Because if we don't do that, Immigration
17 and Customs Enforcement activities take place
18 inside your neighborhood instead of taking place
19 inside the jail.
20 How does prohibiting that make any
21 sense from a public safety standpoint? It
22 doesn't.
23 And this is a pattern. Because when
24 we talk about things like cashless bail or
25 criminal justice reform or Raise the Age or elder
5052
1 parole or Less Is More, any one of -- and the
2 list goes on of the measures that have been
3 passed or have been considered by this
4 Legislature and signed by this Governor -- it's
5 always about putting the rights of criminals
6 above the rights of law-abiding citizens.
7 And this legislation is no
8 different. It's not about protecting
9 New Yorkers, it's about protecting the people who
10 have broken the law.
11 Let's talk about some.
12 Jorge Piero Cantero {ph}, picked up
13 on a sexual offense. Priors: Rape in the second
14 degree, endangering the welfare of a minor,
15 forcible touching, attempted assault 2, menacing
16 2nd with a weapon, criminal possession of a
17 weapon.
18 Walter Acorto Sanchez {ph}.
19 Criminal sexual act in the second degree, the
20 victim under the age of 15. Sexual abuse in the
21 second degree. Victim less than 14 years old.
22 Endangering the welfare of a minor. Sexual
23 misconduct.
24 Luis Hernandez. Rape 1. Sexual
25 conduct against a child 2, felony DWI. Grand
5053
1 larceny.
2 Osmon Espinoza {ph}. Sexual conduct
3 against a child in the first degree. Aggravated
4 family offense. Criminal contempt in the first
5 degree. Endangering the welfare of a minor.
6 Criminal contempt in the second degree. Criminal
7 obstruction of breathing.
8 Mario Lenzuela {ph}. Twelve prior
9 arrests. Criminal possession of a weapon.
10 Resisting arrest. Menacing. Assault in the
11 third degree. Strangulation. Criminal
12 obstruction of breathing.
13 Roger Martinez. Making terroristic
14 threats. Assault 2. Criminal possession of a
15 controlled substance.
16 Ivan Troshkin {ph}. Assault 2.
17 All of these individuals -- and the
18 list goes on. All of these individuals are
19 people who were picked up by Immigration and
20 Customs Enforcement at the Nassau County Jail
21 instead of being released back into our
22 communities for ICE to try and hunt them down
23 while they have a chance to commit more crimes.
24 This legislation is not about
25 protecting law-abiding New Yorkers. This
5054
1 legislation is about protecting them.
2 That is not the responsibility of
3 this Legislature. That is not upholding the oath
4 that we swore as legislators -- not just law
5 enforcement -- to support the Constitution of the
6 United States, to support the Constitution of the
7 State of New York, and our moral obligation to
8 protect the citizens of the State of New York.
9 This is an affront to that
10 responsibility. And those who will be supporting
11 this legislation today should be ashamed to do
12 so.
13 Thank you, Mr. President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
15 Borrello, why do you rise?
16 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
17 will the sponsor yield for a question on Part LL,
18 Subpart A.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
20 sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes. Well, let --
22 if I may, Mr. President, I will answer my
23 colleagues' question. I have to respond
24 briefly on --
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
5055
1 Myrie on the bill.
2 One second, Senator Borrello.
3 SENATOR MYRIE: Forgive me.
4 It's troubling that the horrific,
5 despicable acts that were just listed by my
6 colleague -- which we all agree are horrific and
7 should never occur and people should bear the
8 full consequence for committing those acts -- it
9 is regretful that my colleague would use that
10 pain and would use those horrifying instances to
11 support a political point. Because it most
12 certainly is not a policy point.
13 For every crime listed, those
14 individuals could and would be prosecuted under
15 state law. This bill does not change that one
16 bit.
17 In fact, the state, after those
18 individuals have been convicted, has a right to
19 be made whole. We have heard from district
20 attorneys, from law enforcement officials, from
21 victims who want to see local justice be done
22 before the federal consequence kicks in.
23 My colleagues are suggesting that
24 local law enforcement should be doing the local
25 job and the federal job. That's not how the
5056
1 Constitution works.
2 We want our local law enforcement
3 focused on preventing those horrifying crimes
4 from happening. This bill changes nothing -- I
5 want to be clear to the people of New York, this
6 bill changes nothing on their ability to do that.
7 And if we examine, under this
8 current federal administration or federal
9 administrations prior, and we look at the arrests
10 and the criminal records of those who were
11 subject to immigration enforcement, it in fact
12 tells a different story than what we're hearing
13 from my colleagues.
14 So I suspect I'm going to have to
15 continue to clarify as we go on. So I appreciate
16 Mr. President and my colleagues for indulging me
17 on the bill.
18 I do yield to Senator Borrello.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
20 you, Senator Myrie.
21 Senator Borrello, the sponsor has
22 yielded.
23 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
24 Through you, Mr. President.
25 So we have counties in New York
5057
1 State that have agreements with the federal
2 government to -- again, in a safe, organized
3 manner -- be able to transfer people that are in
4 their custody to federal immigration authorities.
5 So why should -- shouldn't counties
6 be able to decide for themselves whether or not
7 that is something they can do, that they can do
8 safely within their communities -- versus, you
9 know, these informal agreements you're talking
10 about?
11 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
12 Mr. President, I just want to clarify.
13 Are you referring to 287(g)
14 agreements or the agreements allowing for the
15 detention for immigration purposes of people by
16 local law enforcement?
17 SENATOR BORRELLO: Through you,
18 Mr. President, 287(g).
19 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
20 Mr. President. I understand that the -- this is
21 probably the policy difference that we have, that
22 you and others feel that localities should have
23 full control over what agreements they sign into
24 the federal government.
25 It is our belief and our intent that
5058
1 the state also has a role in how that
2 relationship is managed. That is a
3 constitutional grounded policy choice that the
4 state can control, the locality's relationship
5 with the federal government.
6 This is an instance where we have
7 made the choice, will make the choice as a
8 Legislature that these agreements with the
9 federal government should no longer advance.
10 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
11 will the sponsor continue to yield?
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
13 sponsor yield?
14 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
16 sponsor yields.
17 SENATOR BORRELLO: I believe
18 earlier in the debate you made some reference
19 that this doesn't bar all agreements. Are we
20 talking about informal agreements?
21 I mean, I guess the question is if a
22 local sheriff, you know, has someone in custody
23 that is obviously in violation of the law and
24 they choose to turn that person over without a
25 287(g) agreement to federal authorities, would
5059
1 this bill prohibit that?
2 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
3 Mr. President. I think you may have misheard me
4 earlier. I didn't say that the agreements may
5 vary.
6 The bill defines -- or the bill
7 states, rather, informal and formal agreements.
8 What I indicated earlier was that there may be
9 instances where there is cooperation that may not
10 rise to a pattern that would suggest there is
11 some sort of informal agreement absent a
12 contract.
13 I think the answer, in short, is it
14 depends. There may be one-off instances of
15 cooperation that don't suggest an informal
16 agreement. There may be other circumstances
17 where this does appear to be an informal
18 agreement. And that's what we are referencing
19 here in this bill.
20 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
21 will the sponsor continue to yield?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
23 sponsor yield?
24 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
5060
1 sponsor yields.
2 SENATOR BORRELLO: Okay. Well, you
3 know, law enforcement is not in the business of
4 "it depends." We have laws that we are supposed
5 to enforce. I realize that, you know, we've
6 loosened those things a little bit here in
7 New York State. But "it depends" is not a good
8 answer.
9 So for local law enforcement, county
10 police, sheriff's departments, who is going to
11 determine whether or not this is an informal
12 agreement versus a one-off?
13 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
14 Mr. President. We have, later on in the statute,
15 several ways to enforce this entire Part LL. The
16 Attorney General's office, the Governor's office,
17 the Inspector general's office, a new office that
18 will be created within the Attorney General's
19 office that can receive complaints from the
20 public or other officials and will have subpoena
21 power, will have court order power, will have
22 investigatory power, so that the facts contained
23 within that circumstance would help determine.
24 I don't think law enforcement is in
25 the business of "it depends" either, and it's
5061
1 probably why we should have a uniform policy
2 across the state instead of what we have existing
3 now, which is a patchwork of some counties that
4 have 287(g)s and IGSAs and other counties that
5 don't.
6 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
7 will the sponsor continue to yield?
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
9 sponsor yield?
10 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
12 sponsor yields.
13 SENATOR BORRELLO: There's a part
14 of this that essentially says that, you know,
15 resources cannot be expended, you know, including
16 pay, so forth.
17 So if a county is going to be
18 turning over someone, a dangerous criminal,
19 whatever it might be, to federal authorities,
20 where the person was being paid -- you know, a
21 member of law enforcement -- is that pay now --
22 essentially, they're not allowed to be paid for
23 taking that action?
24 Because you're saying that no
25 resources can be expended whatsoever. That
5062
1 includes pay, benefits. That includes resources
2 like the facility with which they're transferring
3 this person. There's all kinds of things that
4 would be involved that could be prohibited by
5 this bill, no?
6 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
7 Mr. President. If I'm understanding correctly, I
8 think that would depend on whether there was a
9 determination made if this was an informal or
10 formal agreement or any action or agreement
11 prohibited by what's in the statute.
12 If it had been found that they were
13 using resources or they themselves were breaking
14 the law, then that would be -- there would be a
15 consequence for that. But there would have to be
16 a factual determination.
17 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
18 will the sponsor continue to yield?
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
20 sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
23 sponsor yields.
24 SENATOR BORRELLO: So basically
25 you're saying right now, whether it's a 287(g)
5063
1 agreement or it's a situation where local law
2 enforcement is working with federal authorities,
3 that it is now going to be essentially the
4 Attorney General's responsibility and duty, in
5 fact, to go after a local law enforcement if they
6 feel that they have been in violation.
7 You don't think that would lead to
8 maybe some political witch-hunts of local law
9 enforcement by our Attorney General? Because,
10 you know, she's pretty good at political
11 witch-hunts.
12 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
13 Mr. President, I will not address the last
14 sentence there by my colleague.
15 But I will say that there is an
16 attempt in this bill to account for the
17 Attorney General's dual role in representing
18 state employees and potentially having to
19 investigate or enforce the law against those
20 state employees as well.
21 The Office of Immigration Trust will
22 be screened off in the Attorney General's office
23 such that if there are state actors that are
24 running afoul of the law, that the
25 Attorney General can continue to defend while the
5064
1 Office of Immigration Trust can investigate.
2 Local law enforcement, as it relates
3 to information sharing, is exempt from this bill.
4 They are not included -- specifically, local
5 police officers and peace officers as defined in
6 our statutes. That was an intentional choice by
7 the Legislature.
8 This section that we are talking
9 about relates to the agreements. And that is not
10 an individual officer determination. And so the
11 Attorney General's role is more likely than not
12 going to often occur not against local law
13 enforcement, but against state employees.
14 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
15 on the bill.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
17 Borrello on the bill.
18 SENATOR BORRELLO: You know, I
19 think that we all know that cooperation and
20 communication are important things. But we're
21 talking about the act of actually taking
22 dangerous people out of our neighborhoods and
23 getting them out of New York, because they are
24 not citizens of this state -- in most cases, not
25 the United States. They are not people that
5065
1 should be afforded the protection of the people
2 of New York State.
3 So now we're saying that in addition
4 to protecting people who are not citizens, who
5 are not here legally, we're going to take our
6 state resources, in the form of the
7 Attorney General's office, and turn them
8 against -- weaponize them against law
9 enforcement.
10 Sharing information is one thing.
11 We're not talking about sharing information.
12 We're talking about taking dangerous people, like
13 the people that my colleagues have described, off
14 the streets. Getting them out of New York.
15 I just don't understand how this is
16 something that we should be doing when our
17 number, number-one role is to protect
18 New Yorkers. This is not protecting New Yorkers.
19 We're making it vague. It depends. I heard "it
20 depends" twice. It doesn't depend. It depends
21 that our law enforcement officials have to have
22 confidence? No, it does not depend. We have to
23 have confidence that the letter of the law is
24 being enforced.
25 And when it runs afoul of the
5066
1 politics, that's what we're talking about here.
2 So that -- Mr. President, I'm
3 wondering if I can ask on LL Part C, New York for
4 All. Subpart C?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Subpart
6 C? Presumably Senator Myrie.
7 Senator Myrie, do you yield?
8 SENATOR MYRIE: Part C.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Part C,
10 excuse me.
11 SENATOR BORRELLO: Subpart C.
12 New York for All?
13 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
14 Mr. President. This is the second time our
15 colleagues have referenced New York for All.
16 That is nowhere in this bill and is not what we
17 are passing today. So I just want to correct
18 that for the record.
19 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President, I
20 guess a clarification. Is there not a bill
21 called New York for All that essentially has the
22 same wording as to this section, Part C?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
24 Borrello, I would not be able to inform you of
25 that, but Senator Myrie has indicated such.
5067
1 Are you asking him to yield for a
2 question?
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: I'll ask a
4 question, then.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
6 Myrie, do you yield?
7 SENATOR MYRIE: I do yield.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
9 sponsor yields.
10 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
11 I think it's just a pretty broad
12 question. Do you believe that noncitizens,
13 people who are not citizens of New York and the
14 United States in general, should be afforded the
15 same rights and privileges and the same, I guess,
16 entitlements as a legal citizen of New York
17 State?
18 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
19 Mr. President. That is not the case right now.
20 And let me speak a bit to why we're
21 doing some of what we're doing today.
22 I've heard a lot about whether we're
23 keeping the community safe and how this is
24 walking back what we have done and there is going
25 to be unfettered chaos by what we are doing
5068
1 today. But what we have seen over the course of
2 the past two years, has itself been chaotic, has
3 itself depended on what color your skin is.
4 You guys hate "it depends"? It
5 depends on what language you speak. It depends
6 on what neighborhoods you're in, where we have
7 seen travesties on citizen and noncitizen alike.
8 What we are trying to do today is to
9 help mitigate that impact, taking an important
10 first step in saying you should not be in the
11 business of having to do federal immigrant
12 immigration enforcement, and you shouldn't have
13 the power to violate people's protections.
14 That is a worthwhile fight. And I
15 don't cede to anyone that we care less about the
16 safeties of our communities than you do. We care
17 just as much. And we are within our power as a
18 legislative body to direct our state employees,
19 to direct municipal employees, to say we want you
20 to do the job you were hired for. Not
21 immigration enforcement, we want you to do your
22 state job. We want you to do your city job.
23 That is what this subpart is
24 referencing.
25 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
5069
1 on the bill.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
3 Borrello on the bill.
4 SENATOR BORRELLO: You know, I
5 think there is a very basic difference between
6 what we believe, there's no doubt about it.
7 I believe that the hardworking,
8 tax-paying citizens of New York deserve, first
9 and foremost, protection. That protection
10 involves a consistent communication, cooperation,
11 whether it's with federal authorities or
12 neighboring jurisdictions. But it requires
13 clarity.
14 You want to talk about chaos? We're
15 seeing that in areas where they don't have those
16 agreements, where they don't have that ability to
17 cooperate and communicate.
18 You want to take a situation right
19 now where dangerous criminals, who are not
20 entitled to anything in this state, are being
21 transferred peacefully -- because it happens here
22 in New York State frequently -- between local law
23 enforcement and federal officials. And there's
24 nothing in the paper about it, because it
25 happens. And dangerous people that don't belong
5070
1 here are removed from this state.
2 But the idea here is, let's change
3 that. That's going to open the door to some very
4 dangerous situations, situations like you've seen
5 in other parts of the country, perhaps. If
6 that's the political motivation behind this, I'm
7 not for that.
8 I'm for doing the right thing that
9 we're supposed to do, the number-one job, which
10 is to protect our citizens, our citizens of
11 New York State. The people that make this place
12 the great place that it has been for a long time.
13 So I'm not in favor of this. I
14 don't think anybody with common sense should be.
15 But we'll see. We'll see what happens next.
16 I'll yield, thank you.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
18 you, Senator Borrello.
19 Senator Walczyk, why do you rise?
20 SENATOR WALCZYK: Mr. President,
21 would the sponsor yield on Part LL, Subpart E.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
23 Myrie, is that your section?
24 Senator Myrie, do you yield?
25 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
5071
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
4 Mr. President. And actually just a little bit on
5 the last discussion, because I was hearing some
6 of your thoughts on the role of local law
7 enforcement in enforcing some of the statutes
8 that there are federally. And I just want to
9 understand your mindset and your intent here.
10 So if someone robs a bank in the
11 State of New York, which is federally against the
12 law, would you anticipate that local law
13 enforcement shouldn't respond to a bank robbery
14 because that's not their job?
15 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
16 Mr. President, that's also a state crime.
17 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
18 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
19 yield.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
21 sponsor yield?
22 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
24 sponsor yields.
25 SENATOR WALCZYK: But if it was
5072
1 only federally prohibited, if it was just a
2 federal crime, you wouldn't want to see that
3 coordination with local police or to see them
4 support federal action there?
5 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
6 Mr. President. If you're posing a hypothetical
7 on whether robbing a bank is only federal --
8 again, it is not. It is also a state crime.
9 But for only federal offenses in the
10 criminal context, I think that all officers have
11 a duty to keep the public safe. Immigration
12 enforcement has several procedures put in place
13 when it veers into the criminal context. You
14 can't just bust down somebody's door, even if
15 they are here unlawfully; you have to get a
16 judicial warrant for that. There is a process.
17 There are certain exceptions if
18 there are exigent circumstances and you feel
19 something, a crime, is literally about to happen.
20 But nothing in this bill and certainly not in
21 this subpart would prevent local law enforcement
22 from responding to danger as they see it
23 immediately.
24 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
25 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
5073
1 yield?
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
3 sponsor yield?
4 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
6 sponsor yields.
7 SENATOR WALCZYK: But in this
8 subpart there are some prohibitions on areas of
9 the State of New York in which federal law
10 enforcement could do their job, as you've
11 enumerated. And I think we have some
12 disagreements, probably philosophically, about
13 the rights of noncitizens in the State of
14 New York.
15 Do you think there will be a large
16 number of noncitizens showing up at polling
17 locations this fall?
18 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
19 Mr. President. Let me also clarify what this
20 part says before I answer the question.
21 This is for entry into nonpublic
22 areas in these designated locations. It is not
23 that they are wholly prohibited from entering
24 those nonpublic locations. It is, first, that
25 they cannot enter those nonpublic locations
5074
1 absent a warrant. You can get a warrant. You
2 can go to court, you can get a judicial warrant
3 issued by an Article 3 judge in order to enter
4 private property. That is a very well known
5 concept in our legal system.
6 But this doesn't even ban that
7 outright. This actually says you are allowed, if
8 you are a sensitive location, to adopt a policy
9 in order to determine what will happen when they
10 show up without a warrant in a nonpublic area.
11 That is what this section is doing specifically.
12 One of those areas is polling
13 locations, which I think is what you're
14 referencing. And what we're doing in this
15 subpart is simply matching what the federal
16 government has already said is allowable at
17 polling locations.
18 We have about three federal statutes
19 that reference the ability for federal agents to
20 be at polling locations, as you know. The
21 enforcement of election law is not a federal
22 duty, it is a state duty. And so there are
23 regulations in our federal statutes that prevent
24 federal agents from being at our polling
25 locations. This is speaking to that.
5075
1 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
2 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
3 yield?
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
5 sponsor yield?
6 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
8 sponsor yields.
9 SENATOR WALCZYK: But I notice that
10 that was specifically enumerated. Do you
11 anticipate that there will be a large number of
12 noncitizens at polling locations in New York?
13 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
14 Mr. President. As with all of the other
15 sensitive locations outlined here, it is the
16 judgment of this legislative body that we should
17 clarify what is allowable and what is not
18 allowable. And that is why we have included
19 polling locations.
20 And I will also add that neither I,
21 nor this body, suggested that there will be
22 federal agents at polling locations. It was
23 Steve Bannon and others who said "We should send
24 federal agents to polling locations."
25 And so I think that it is frankly,
5076
1 in our estimation, important for us to clarify
2 what the law already is on regulation of federal
3 presence at polling locations.
4 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
5 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
6 yield?
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
8 sponsor yield?
9 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
11 sponsor yields.
12 SENATOR WALCZYK: Why would you
13 assume that there would be federal immigration
14 agents at polling locations in New York State?
15 What would their motivation be for being in those
16 locations?
17 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
18 Mr. President, that is not my assumption.
19 SENATOR WALCZYK: Mr. President, on
20 the bill.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
22 Walczyk on the bill.
23 SENATOR WALCZYK: And yet this bill
24 makes polling sites sanctuary locations for
25 people that are noncitizens and who may be here
5077
1 illegally. Why?
2 It prohibits state employees and
3 local government employees from asking someone if
4 they're a citizen or sharing information with the
5 federal government. Under threat, as was pointed
6 out earlier, from the Attorney General,
7 Tish James.
8 This bill also blocks sheriffs from
9 coordinating with federal law enforcement to
10 deport people that are here found illegally, in
11 violation of federal statute.
12 This bill violates the
13 Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which
14 everyone in this house swore an oath to uphold.
15 You know, on 9/11 -- I'm of the 9/11
16 generation -- there was a commission that came
17 out that showed that we need better communication
18 between local and federal and state
19 law enforcement.
20 It seems as though some members in
21 this body have forgotten how devastating the
22 impacts can be from policies like you're
23 proposing today to block those coordinating
24 agreements and that critical communication.
25 And this bill bends over backwards
5078
1 to undermine border protection. I have a
2 Canadian border across my district, and
3 immigration enforcement. It's already tough
4 enough for the laws that you've already passed
5 for those agencies to try and coordinate to get
6 criminality out of my communities. Read the
7 headlines about the problems across our border.
8 You're making it worse with this proposal.
9 You know, New York for All was
10 brought up. That's the proposal behind a lot of
11 the language here. And I'm left feeling, what
12 about New Yorkers? Why not New York citizens?
13 Why not legal residents? Why not people that
14 have been paying their tax bills, trying to raise
15 a family, trying to make their life affordable in
16 this state as we bend over backwards -- for the
17 all? The rest of the world? Many of which that
18 came here illegally?
19 What about crime victims, as my
20 colleague from Long Island pointed out. You
21 know, the impact of some of the policies that you
22 have proposed and are proposing today has a very
23 real impact on New Yorkers. There is no
24 victimless crime. This bill blocks law
25 enforcement -- and we'll talk about it in a
5079
1 little bit. It actually restricts constitutional
2 rights for New Yorkers while it bends over
3 backwards for the "all" -- for the others that
4 have come into New York State, many illegally,
5 against federal law, and then many committing
6 crimes in New York State after they've already
7 violated federal statutes.
8 Thank you, Mr. President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
10 you, Senator Walczyk.
11 Senator Palumbo, why do you rise?
12 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
13 Mr. President.
14 I wonder if the sponsor would yield,
15 Senator Myrie, for some questions on Part LL. I
16 guess kind of general ones. They're really on
17 Part A, to start with.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
19 sponsor yield?
20 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
22 sponsor yields.
23 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
24 Senator Myrie. Good afternoon.
25 SENATOR MYRIE: Good afternoon.
5080
1 SENATOR PALUMBO: There were some
2 questions earlier regarding the 287(g)
3 agreements, that it does not prohibit law
4 enforcement from cooperating with ICE unless they
5 have an informal or formal written agreement
6 under 287(g). Is that accurate?
7 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
8 Mr. President, yes.
9 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
10 continue to yield?
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
12 sponsor yield?
13 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
15 sponsor yields.
16 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you.
17 And through you, Mr. President.
18 However, the other parts of it,
19 there are very significant restrictions on
20 civilian cooperation -- for example, if you are
21 an employee of a school, a state agency or a
22 municipality as well. Is that accurate?
23 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
24 Mr. President. In a separate subpart, yes.
25 SENATOR PALUMBO: Yes. And so just
5081
1 generally on that, will the sponsor continue to
2 yield?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
4 sponsor yield?
5 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
7 sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
9 Senator.
10 And so just generally, just for
11 clarification, really for legislative intent
12 purposes, that is not intended to have any sort
13 of effect necessarily on law enforcement who
14 don't have 287(g) agreements, who are basically
15 voiding them all at this point. But it will have
16 an effect on those civilian populations from
17 cooperating with ICE, subject to prosecution by
18 the Office of Immigrant Trust.
19 Is that all accurate?
20 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
21 Mr. President, almost.
22 Just civilian as it relates to
23 employment either by the state or by locality. I
24 want to make sure that we're clear on that point.
25 SENATOR PALUMBO: Got it.
5082
1 So will the sponsor continue to
2 yield.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
4 sponsor yield?
5 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
7 sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR PALUMBO: And I know that
9 there's -- we're going to talk about that
10 Office of Immigrant Trust in a minute.
11 But I guess those subsections that
12 are within there, it's municipal employees, state
13 employees, county employees, as well as -- what
14 am I missing -- school employees. Is that
15 accurate?
16 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
17 Mr. President, yes.
18 And let me just clarify. You
19 mentioned prosecution. And there are not
20 criminal penalties attached for violations here.
21 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
22 continue to yield?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
24 sponsor yield?
25 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
5083
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
4 Senator Myrie. And that's why I said prosecution
5 for the purposes of prosecuting a civil action
6 against them for either injunction.
7 And in that regard, are there any
8 damages available in the event someone violates
9 these provisions?
10 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
11 Mr. President, not in this subpart.
12 There is another subpart relating to
13 constitutional violations, where damages are
14 available. But that is not for -- that's not in
15 this subpart.
16 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
17 continue to yield.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
19 sponsor yield?
20 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
22 sponsor yields.
23 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
24 Senator.
25 And that would ultimately -- that
5084
1 part just generally, I'm just going to ask one
2 pretty general question on it. That just creates
3 essentially a new cause of action for deprivation
4 of rights, along the lines of maybe a local
5 1983-type charge for violation of constitutional
6 rights, is that accurate?
7 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
8 Mr. President. Yes, that is accurate.
9 I'm going to spend a minute here
10 just to clarify and ensure that this is on the
11 record.
12 Our intent here is to uphold the
13 protection of constitutional rights, whoever it
14 is that violates that. So in the Bivens Act, as
15 it is called here in this bill, whether that is a
16 federal, state or local official, if they are
17 violating a New Yorker's constitutional rights,
18 they will have a cause of action created by this
19 bill for damages. And it ranges on what damages
20 may be available.
21 I think this is an important place
22 for us to express clearly that this is not about
23 regulating the federal government, this is about
24 creating equality between the federal, state and
25 local officials on accountability.
5085
1 Right now you can use a federal
2 cause of action to go after a state or local
3 official and get damages if they violate your
4 constitutional rights. That same federal
5 statute, the 1983 that you referenced, Senator,
6 is not available for federal agents, and that is
7 what this bill would do to create equality. Not
8 to discriminate against the federal officials,
9 but to ensure that no matter what badge you're
10 wearing, if you violate a New Yorker's
11 constitutional rights, there should be some
12 measure of accountability.
13 SENATOR PALUMBO: Would the sponsor
14 continue to yield?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
16 sponsor yield?
17 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
19 sponsor yields.
20 SENATOR PALUMBO: So when you say
21 "New Yorkers," Senator, that those constitutional
22 rights are violated, is that all New Yorkers or
23 is that just undocumented New Yorkers?
24 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
25 Mr. President. Any New Yorker that has a
5086
1 constitutional right that is violated.
2 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
3 continue to yield?
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
5 sponsor yield?
6 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
8 sponsor yields.
9 SENATOR PALUMBO: I'd like to move
10 on to Subpart F, if I may, which is the masking
11 section. We just talked about -- you just
12 indicated you weren't looking to --
13 (Overtalk.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
15 Palumbo, are you asking Senator Myrie to yield on
16 that subject?
17 SENATOR PALUMBO: Would you
18 continue to yield?
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
20 sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
23 sponsor yields.
24 SENATOR PALUMBO: I'm sorry, I
25 thought he did yield again. He yielded like
5087
1 multiple times. As many times as you'd like to
2 yield, I appreciate it.
3 SENATOR MYRIE: I yield. I yield.
4 I yield.
5 SENATOR PALUMBO: And just to get
6 my question out, to give a little background that
7 we were just discussing, possibly regulating
8 federal agencies. And under this part, this
9 subpart now regulates federal agencies as well as
10 all local law enforcement agencies from wearing
11 masks, except for reasons that are enumerated
12 within the statute itself. Is that accurate?
13 SENATOR MYRIE: That's correct.
14 Thank you, Mr. President, that's correct.
15 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
16 Senator. Would you continue to yield?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
18 sponsor yield?
19 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
21 sponsor yields.
22 SENATOR PALUMBO: Now, there is a
23 similar masking legislation, the No Vigilantes
24 Act. And just recently, in the United States
25 versus the State of California, there was a
5088
1 Ninth Circuit opinion that struck down that
2 provision. And -- here they are. I'm trying to
3 find my glasses.
4 And if I could just read from that.
5 The Ninth Circuit, lawyer to lawyer,
6 Senator Myrie, you know is not the most
7 conservative circuit in the country. They
8 basically said that it violated the
9 Supremacy Clause because it attempts to directly
10 regulate the United States in its performance of
11 governmental functions.
12 Does that cause you any concern with
13 respect to this mask provision and subpart within
14 this Part LL?
15 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
16 Mr. President. And I appreciate my colleague
17 referencing the Ninth Circuit litigation.
18 I think that we have crafted this
19 particular bill with the 10th Amendment in mind,
20 with corrections that were on the District Court
21 level in that same case that said that you can't
22 just target federal officials. This is
23 applicable to every official.
24 So we think that we're on sound
25 constitutional ground. The Ninth Circuit
5089
1 disagreed with California's law. But it is our
2 belief that we are on good constitutional ground
3 here.
4 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
5 continue to yield?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
7 sponsor yield?
8 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
10 sponsor yields.
11 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
12 Senator. And I certainly appreciate your
13 optimism. That severability clause might come in
14 handy on this statute that we're talking about
15 right now.
16 But just to read one more section of
17 it, if maybe you could try and distinguish it for
18 me. (Reading.) Under the intergovernmental
19 immunity component of the Supremacy Clause of the
20 United States Constitution, states may not
21 directly regulate the federal government's
22 operations, referencing Blackburn vs. The United
23 States. When the framers split the atom of
24 sovereignty, they put the federal government
25 under the control of the people without
5090
1 collateral interference by the states, which
2 have, quote, no power, reserved or otherwise,
3 over the exercise of federal authority within its
4 proper sphere, with citing some other
5 United States Supreme Court cases.
6 So that is of no concern.
7 If there's any way you can
8 distinguish this mask mandate from California's
9 mask mandate, because to me it seems identical.
10 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
11 Mr. President, I think we might just have a
12 different reading of our statute as it relates to
13 California's.
14 There are a lot of similarities. I
15 do think that this is going to be a live question
16 on the constitutionality.
17 We believe that we are within the
18 bounds of the 10th Amendment, primarily because
19 we are regulating everyone -- not just the
20 federal government, but local and state law
21 enforcement as well.
22 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
23 Senator.
24 Will the sponsor continue to yield?
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
5091
1 sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR PALUMBO: One last section,
6 if I may, Subpart G. This is the Office of
7 Immigrant Trust that's being created. Senator,
8 this will be a division of the Attorney General's
9 office, is that accurate?
10 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
11 Mr. President, yes.
12 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
13 continue to yield.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
15 sponsor yield?
16 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR PALUMBO: And when I get a
20 little further into that section, I see in
21 paragraph 4 -- Section 4, rather, upon receipt
22 and review of complaint deemed credible of a
23 violation under Article 15-AA -- which is really
24 state agencies or state employees -- that in the
25 event of a credible complaint, they have to
5092
1 transmit a request for the referral regarding
2 such credible complaint to the Governor, and then
3 the Governor shall review such request and make a
4 determination on whether or not to refer the
5 matter to the office for investigation. And upon
6 such referral back to the office, the office will
7 investigate and, if warranted, commence a civil
8 action.
9 Is there any particular reason why
10 the Governor gets to be the gatekeeper when it
11 comes to a state agency's violation of this act?
12 (Pause.)
13 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
14 Mr. President. So a couple of things.
15 One, the I think overall principle
16 undergirding the creation of this office -- I
17 think I mentioned this earlier -- is to firewall
18 within the Attorney General's office the
19 responsibility to defend state employees and the
20 potential of having to bring an action against a
21 state employee for violating the law.
22 But as it relates to the referral,
23 if there's a state employee that has been alleged
24 to have broken this law, the referral to the
25 Governor is intended to allow the Governor an
5093
1 opportunity to issue corrective action over an
2 agency under her or his control.
3 That can be done without a referral
4 back to the Office of Immigration Trust or, if
5 the Governor makes the determination that
6 executive corrective action is not enough, it
7 will then refer it to the office.
8 SENATOR PALUMBO: If the sponsor
9 would continue to yield.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
11 sponsor yield?
12 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
14 sponsor yields.
15 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
16 Senator.
17 Can you just reconcile for me, then,
18 why in Section 6, upon receipt of a complaint
19 deemed credible of a violation of Section 3201B
20 of the Education Law -- and this is the section
21 regarding school employees -- this new division
22 can just proceed with a civil action and not make
23 such a referral to the commissioner of State Ed?
24 So we have the Governor as a
25 gatekeeper when it comes to state employees, but
5094
1 we don't have the commissioner also having the
2 opportunity to make a similar revision or take
3 corrective action as the Governor when it comes
4 to our education system and something that may
5 have happened in the confines of a school?
6 (Pause.)
7 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
8 Mr. President. Thank you for your patience,
9 Senator Palumbo.
10 As I understand it, because the
11 Governor does not retain control over the
12 State Education Department, that same rationale
13 that applied to Section 4 would not apply to
14 Section 6.
15 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
16 Senator.
17 Mr. President, on the bill, please.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
19 Palumbo on the bill.
20 SENATOR PALUMBO: So in my opinion,
21 Mr. President, this is really kind of a simple
22 bill in some respects. This is once more a
23 creation of additional barriers and requirements
24 and prohibitions on law enforcement to do their
25 job.
5095
1 Many of my colleagues said this
2 before, so I'm not going to belabor this. But
3 cooperation with law enforcement saves lives.
4 Cooperation between law enforcement agencies
5 saves lives.
6 Cooperation with civilians probably
7 saves even more lives, in many respects, because
8 police can't be everywhere all of the time.
9 Police have a lot of resources once they get an
10 investigation, but where do those investigations
11 and complaints almost always come from?
12 Civilians.
13 So this bill is not only really
14 dangerous, it's so overly broadly drafted that
15 this was supposed to be a focus on ICE -- we get
16 it. We read the papers. We stand here on this
17 floor and we hear my colleagues on the other side
18 talk about the evils of ICE. And I get it.
19 But quite frankly, ICE is probably
20 not even going to be affected by this bill,
21 sadly, because we can't regulate federal
22 agencies. There are rules and procedures that
23 each agency creates, each law enforcement agency,
24 on the state, village, federal -- wherever you
25 are, you create your own rules and procedures
5096
1 within your own agency. We cannot dictate to a
2 federal agency what they can do.
3 So what are we now doing? We're now
4 going to cause all these new regulations to be in
5 effect on those that we do have jurisdiction
6 over, local law enforcement. And it's completely
7 counterintuitive to, I think, the intent of this
8 bill, from seeing and hearing and knowing what my
9 colleagues were looking to accomplish here.
10 So, my friends, this is dangerous.
11 This is a bad idea. This is not helpful. And I
12 honestly don't believe it's going to come
13 anywhere close to its intended result. And for
14 those reasons, I'll be voting in the negative.
15 Thank you, Mr. President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
17 you.
18 Senator Gianaris, why do you rise?
19 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
20 Mr. President. On the bill.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
22 Gianaris on the bill.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: I want to
24 compliment my colleague Senator Myrie for
25 explaining the purpose and intents of this bill
5097
1 and what it does.
2 I want to take a little bit of a
3 10,000-foot view of this thing, because I heard
4 my colleagues speaking about federal immigration
5 authorities, ICE specifically, as if they are
6 some honorable law enforcement agency that's
7 doing their job with amazing acclaim.
8 These things are necessary precisely
9 because they are not doing that. ICE has become
10 a rogue agency that is defying the laws of this
11 country, defying court decisions specifically
12 ordering them not to do certain things that they
13 then go ahead and do anyway, have killed American
14 citizens, have detained others, have taken
15 children away from their parents as young as
16 6 years old, from my own part of Queens.
17 So let's not pretend that they are
18 doing something that is actually of great benefit
19 to this country. They have lost the trust of
20 Americans, and with good reason.
21 So when the question is asked who
22 are we trying to protect by including these
23 provision in this bill, we are trying to protect
24 people like Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti who
25 were murdered on the streets -- American
5098
1 citizens -- by ICE agents.
2 We are trying to protect people like
3 Julio Ipina Hernandez from Putnam County. I
4 heard a lot of talk about crime victims. What
5 about the crime victims? I think Senator Palumbo
6 just said investigations and complaints come from
7 civilians. Well, Julio Ipina Hernandez was a
8 civilian who called in a complaint about drug
9 activity in his community.
10 And what did the local law
11 enforcement do? They called ICE. What did ICE
12 do? They picked him up and are attempting to
13 deport him.
14 So, wait, are we concerned about the
15 drug dealers and the bad activity in that
16 community? Are we concerned about allowing and
17 encouraging people to report crimes in their
18 community? Or have we just gone batty and are
19 attempting to just take anyone we can and attempt
20 to deport them whether they deserve it or not?
21 There were some questions about poll
22 sites, and I want to answer that as well.
23 It is not unfathomable, given the
24 way this agency is behaving -- in fact, I think
25 there's been some discussion that it will
5099
1 actually happen for this purpose -- that there
2 will be a poll site, ICE agents, armed as they
3 usually are with masks, I guess, unless we
4 prohibit it here, will be standing at the poll
5 site questioning legitimate eligible voters.
6 People of color, probably. Latinos, probably.
7 And if you're someone who wants to
8 exercise your right to vote and you're going to
9 wait in line, potentially, if it's a popular
10 election, or even just go to vote regularly, and
11 you think there's going to be someone with a gun
12 from an agency that has a history of apprehending
13 people who don't deserve to be apprehended, what
14 do you think is going to happen? Are you going
15 to stay home, or are you going to take your shot
16 to cast your one vote? That is why we need to
17 protect poll sites.
18 Now, we've had numerous discussions
19 in this chamber about the Minority's desire to
20 keep people from voting, so I guess it's
21 consistent with that approach.
22 But let's again not pretend that ICE
23 is doing their job the way they're supposed to be
24 doing it, because they are not.
25 And no, we cannot tell ICE what to
5100
1 do and what not to do, but we can damn sure make
2 it clear that we're not going to spend our
3 state's resources and our local agencies to help
4 them do all the bad things that they're doing
5 around this state.
6 Thank you, Mr. President. I
7 encourage all my colleagues to support this bill,
8 and I compliment again Senator Myrie for his
9 defense of it.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
11 you, Senator Gianaris.
12 Senator Skoufis, why do you rise?
13 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Will
14 Senator Myrie yield for a few questions?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
16 Myrie, do you yield?
17 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
19 sponsor yields.
20 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you.
21 First, before I get to a host of
22 related questions, will my colleague answer
23 whether entering the country unlawfully is a
24 civil or criminal offense?
25 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
5101
1 Mr. President, it is a civil offense.
2 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you.
3 I think perhaps that comes as news
4 to some of our colleagues.
5 Now, to get to the main questions I
6 want to answer here --
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
8 Myrie, do you yield?
9 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Or, sorry, I'm
10 not used to this.
11 (Laughter.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Will -- will my
15 colleague yield?
16 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes, I yield.
17 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Senator Murray
18 described I think what everyone here would agree
19 was a heinous situation that occurred in his
20 district. And the perpetrator was charged with
21 endangering a child while there was DNA testing
22 waiting to be brought back.
23 And Senator Murray argued that
24 absent that coordination via the 287(g)
25 agreement, the outcome would have been different
5102
1 and this individual would have fled, would have
2 gotten away and presumably, I think
3 Senator Murray was insinuating, would have
4 escaped custody.
5 To Senator Myrie, is it not true
6 that if this bill passes --
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: You don't
8 have the floor, Senator Murray. You could --
9 thank you.
10 SENATOR SKOUFIS: If this bill
11 passes, if it becomes law, acknowledging 287(g)
12 agreements would be prohibited, is there anything
13 in this bill that upon the charge of endangering
14 a child that would have tied the hands, would
15 have prevented that local police agency from
16 still picking up the phone or still sending an
17 email or still in whatever way they deem
18 appropriate, reaching out if they so choose, that
19 local law enforcement reaching out to federal
20 agents to engage this individual?
21 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
22 Mr. President, there is nothing in this bill that
23 would prevent that.
24 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you.
25 And then, I mean, it's right to then
5103
1 believe that the outcome would have been
2 identical and not different, as Senator Murray
3 alleged.
4 Senator Rhoads --
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
6 Skoufis, are you asking the sponsor to yield?
7 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Will my colleague
8 yield?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
10 Myrie, do you yield?
11 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Senator Rhoads
15 rattled off a litany of individuals with heinous
16 charges against them in Nassau County, all of
17 whom were arrested by the Nassau County Police
18 Department and then subsequently picked up by
19 ICE.
20 I know a lot of Nassau County police
21 officers. The ones I know are fantastic. It
22 seems to me that police department, that county
23 PD, does a great job.
24 But I want to ask a few questions
25 here. One of the individuals that Senator Rhoads
5104
1 mentioned was charged with rape in the second
2 degree, criminal possession of a weapon, among
3 other charges.
4 Is there anything in this bill, if
5 the 287(g) agreement -- acknowledging that that
6 agreement would be prohibited, anything in this
7 bill that prevents the Nassau County PD, with
8 that individual's charges, sending an email,
9 making a phone call, and otherwise reaching out
10 to ICE and coordinating -- yes, coordinating with
11 federal agents vis-a-vis that person's
12 immigration status?
13 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
14 Mr. President, there is not.
15 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Senator Rhoads
16 also mentioned individuals charged with
17 sexual abuse, endangering a minor, among other
18 charges.
19 Same question. Anything in this
20 bill that would prohibit the Nassau County PD,
21 which does not have a local law passed by the
22 county prohibiting coordination -- anything in
23 this bill that prohibits coordination for that
24 individual?
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
5105
1 Myrie -- Senator Myrie, do you --
2 SENATOR SKOUFIS: If my colleague
3 will yield.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
5 Myrie, do you yield to that question?
6 Senator Myrie yields.
7 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
8 Mr. President, I yield.
9 And no, there is not.
10 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you.
11 Will my colleague continue to yield?
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will you
13 yield?
14 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
16 sponsor yields.
17 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Another
18 individual, charged with rape 1 and grand
19 larceny -- anything in this bill that would have
20 prevented the Nassau County PD from coordinating
21 with ICE for that individual?
22 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
23 Mr. President, no.
24 SENATOR SKOUFIS: I can go on, but
25 I think my colleagues get the point.
5106
1 Will my colleague continue to yield?
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
3 sponsor yield?
4 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
6 sponsor yields.
7 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Senator
8 Walczyk --
9 SENATOR WALCZYK: (Mic off.) Point
10 of order, Mr. President -- (inaudible).
11 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Senator Walczyk
12 was quoted --
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
14 Walczyk, Senator Skoufis has the floor.
15 SENATOR SKOUFIS: I don't yield to
16 Senator Walczyk.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
18 Walczyk, how can I help you?
19 (Overtalk.)
20 SENATOR WALCZYK: -- dignified and
21 lacking in personal invective --
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
23 Walczyk --
24 SENATOR WALCZYK: -- according to
25 Senate Rule 9, Section 4.
5107
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
2 Walczyk, it was not invective.
3 And we routinely refer to each other
4 by name in a collegial manner. That was not
5 invective.
6 I think that if we invoke what
7 you're attempting to do, we should no longer
8 refer to each other as the sponsor said, even in
9 a congratulatory tone.
10 I would ask a little latitude, as
11 you've been given and others have been given in
12 many circumstances.
13 Senator Lanza.
14 SENATOR LANZA: I agree,
15 Mr. President. What I don't agree with is the
16 idea that we can call across the floor of the
17 Senate by name.
18 I'm not even sure what's happening
19 here, but --
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
21 Lanza, if I may. The members are being referred
22 to by name.
23 SENATOR LANZA: No, no, no, hold
24 on.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: We often
5108
1 refer to each other -- if I may. If I may. We
2 often refer to each other in a collegial manner.
3 I don't see anything that has been
4 attacking the names of the individuals. Senators
5 have been mentioned based upon what they've been
6 saying.
7 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President, I
8 said I agreed with you. I'm saying what's
9 happened -- what just happened now is
10 Senator Murray is seated in his chair.
11 Senator Skoufis, from across the chamber, said
12 "Senator Murray" -- I don't know why he's
13 summoning him, but he hasn't gone through the
14 chair.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: From --
16 Senator Lanza, he was referring to
17 Senator Murray's comments.
18 I think that it's abundantly clear
19 to anybody watching or listening, he was not
20 invoking -- he was not attempting to disrespect
21 him or say anything negative about him.
22 Was his name mentioned? --
23 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President, as a
24 point of Senator Murray's personal privilege,
25 he'll be able to respond to whatever is going to
5109
1 be said now.
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
3 if I may.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
5 Gianaris.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Not to prolong
7 this, but as I've been sitting and listening to
8 this, all Senator Skoufis did was say "Senator
9 Murray said this. Is that correct?"
10 "Senator Walczyk had said this." And then he was
11 responding to their points.
12 It was not addressing
13 Senator Murray. It was not asking him a
14 question. It was not saying anything that needs
15 a response.
16 If Senator Murray or Senator Walczyk
17 would like to respond in their own time, they're
18 welcome to do so. But I don't think
19 Senator Skoufis did anything inappropriate by
20 simply characterizing what was said moments ago
21 by one of your members.
22 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you,
23 Mr. President. Thank you, Senator Gianaris.
24 If my colleague will continue to
25 yield.
5110
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
2 sponsor yield?
3 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
5 sponsor yields.
6 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Senator
7 Walczyk -- this is, if not verbatim, very close.
8 I was writing down as quickly as I can -- he was
9 quoted before as saying this bill prevents
10 sheriffs from coordinating with the federal
11 government to deport people here illegally.
12 Regardless of what one thinks about
13 whether individuals should be deported via that
14 kind of coordination, is there anything in this
15 bill that prohibits a sheriff's department -- if
16 there's no local law prohibiting coordination, as
17 exists in some jurisdictions -- in this bill that
18 would prohibit that coordination?
19 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
20 Mr. President, no.
21 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you.
22 On the bill very briefly.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
24 Skoufis on the bill.
25 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you,
5111
1 Senator Myrie, for clarifying the -- what is
2 actually in this bill.
3 I am going to grant my colleagues
4 across the aisle who have spoken, whose comments
5 I have simply referenced, the benefit of the
6 doubt. This bill was printed last night. It was
7 given to their counsel last night. My colleagues
8 either read it last night or were briefed this
9 morning or midday. And there wasn't a lot of
10 time to perhaps properly, intelligently digest
11 factually what is in this bill.
12 I'm going to grant my colleagues the
13 benefit of the doubt that much of what we heard
14 was -- was incorrect and unintentionally part of
15 this debate.
16 Now, once this debate is done, if
17 there are press releases sent out, there's social
18 media videos sent out repeating what was just
19 very clearly corrected, that false information,
20 that will be an intentional attempt to mislead
21 the people of New York State, to rile up the
22 people of New York State, to anger the people of
23 New York State. Because everything that we just
24 referenced is patently, factually incorrect and
25 baseless.
5112
1 And so, again, I want to give the
2 benefit of the doubt. I hope that it was just
3 being misinformed given the short duration of
4 time between bill printing and this debate.
5 This bill threads that needle of
6 making sure that we continue to live and
7 represent a civil society that takes care and
8 protects people who just want to be here and live
9 peaceably, while also making sure that
10 law enforcement is able to dispose of their
11 obligation to keep our community safe.
12 I look forward to voting yes.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
14 you, Senator Skoufis.
15 Senator Lanza.
16 Senator Murray, why do you rise?
17 SENATOR MURRAY: Thank you,
18 Mr. President.
19 I'd like to speak on the bill, if I
20 could.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
22 Murray on the bill.
23 SENATOR MURRAY: So in reference to
24 Senator Skoufis, when Senator Skoufis addressed
25 me and Senator Skoufis addressed Senator Walczyk
5113
1 and Senator Skoufis addressed everyone else, and
2 Senator Skoufis then assumed that we were
3 incorrect with everything we said here, let me
4 point out that there's a difference between
5 what's on paper and reality.
6 And here's the reality. The reality
7 is Suffolk County does have the 287(g) agreement,
8 and so they work with ICE on a regular basis.
9 And they've formed those relationships and are
10 comfortable with reaching out.
11 But as was mentioned earlier, it
12 mentions and talks about formal and informal
13 agreements. And when we asked about the
14 definition of "informal," it was simply said that
15 it was formal or informal.
16 Okay, informal what? Picking up the
17 phone? Like cooperation? Like working together,
18 like they've been doing?
19 But now we have a kangaroo court,
20 the Immigrant Trust Office, or the let's say
21 sanctuary office, as I'd like to call it, under
22 the Attorney General's office. And now the
23 concern will be, should we pick up the phone?
24 Will that violate? Will they be coming after us?
25 So it's now going to put questions into law
5114
1 enforcement's mind of can we even work together.
2 So, yeah, the reality of this bill
3 is it would change that -- it would not change
4 it, in fact, and the criminal who raped the
5 5-year-old child would likely be long gone,
6 Senator Skoufis.
7 Thank you.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
9 Lanza.
10 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you. Thank
11 you, Mr. President.
12 You know, I think this bill more
13 than most --
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
15 Lanza, are you on the bill?
16 SENATOR LANZA: Oh, I'm on the
17 bill, Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
19 Lanza on the bill.
20 SENATOR LANZA: Yes, on the bill,
21 Mr. President.
22 I think this piece of legislation in
23 this budget bill before us, more than most,
24 really defines the difference between this side
25 of the aisle and that side of the aisle, the
5115
1 difference between what Republicans think and
2 Democrats think.
3 And I know my colleagues across the
4 aisle would celebrate that. And so do we. We
5 celebrate that difference.
6 And it was mentioned that ICE is
7 some rogue, dishonorable agency. We don't see it
8 that way. We have borders in this country. By
9 law, ICE is the federal law enforcement agency
10 that is charged with protecting those borders
11 and, by extension, protecting us.
12 So we do not consider them doing
13 their job protecting us as rogue or dishonorable.
14 In fact, we thank them. We see -- we are
15 grateful that they are doing that.
16 It was mentioned that this side of
17 the aisle -- a list of folks that they're trying
18 to protect and why this legislation, from their
19 point of view, is necessary. I can tell you from
20 the Republican side of the aisle the question was
21 asked, Who are you trying to protect?
22 Let me tell you who we're trying to
23 protect. We're trying to protect all American
24 citizens, certainly. But I'll give you an
25 example, because examples were made across the
5116
1 aisle.
2 We're trying to protect the
3 Laken Rileys of the country. Laken Riley, you
4 might remember, was a beautiful young woman who
5 was at school in Georgia, the University of
6 Georgia. My son happens to be on that campus.
7 He attends the University of Georgia Law School.
8 An individual, that's the most --
9 the best way I can define or name or call this
10 individual, this person crossed our border. And
11 I think there's been a misunderstanding, I don't
12 want to get into law too much on this issue, but
13 if you come into this country and you ask for
14 asylum, there's a process. And now it's a civil
15 matter. You come into this country legally with
16 a visa or whatever, that's a civil process. If
17 you come into this country, if you cut a fence or
18 you jump it, and you get into the country and you
19 don't say "I need asylum," you don't apply, you
20 just -- as is described, you get away, well, you
21 have committed a crime. You've committed a
22 crime. So let's be accurate. You've committed a
23 crime.
24 So someone did that, violated our
25 border, committed a crime, made their way to
5117
1 New York. Why? Why do you think that person
2 came to New York? Because we have a Governor who
3 said "We welcome you." We don't care what your
4 intent is, we don't care what your background is,
5 we don't even need to know you. Just come here
6 if you're looking to hide. If you're up to no
7 good, come to New York.
8 We had a president at the time,
9 President Biden, that said, Come to America. We
10 don't care who you are, what you're up to,
11 whether or not you're up to no good. And by the
12 way, wink, wink, you should go to a place like
13 New York. They call themselves a sanctuary
14 state.
15 Well, this guy came here, committed
16 a crime, he went into a facility in New York.
17 And Governor Hochul, who cares more about people
18 from other countries than she does, evidently,
19 about New Yorkers, cares more about talking about
20 a sanctuary state because someone has decided,
21 some political mind has decided, Well, this is a
22 good issue for Democrats. I'm going to say I
23 don't care who you are, come to New York.
24 So what did she do? She opened the
25 back door of that facility, and he walked out.
5118
1 And went down to Georgia, and he raped and
2 murdered that young, beautiful woman.
3 That sanctuary state, that's what it
4 is, that's who we're trying to protect. We want
5 to make sure that doesn't happen again. I think
6 we have the right as American people, whether a
7 Democrat or a Republican, to know who it is
8 that's coming through our borders. There's a
9 basic right we all as New Yorkers and Americans
10 have.
11 We have a new division, in this
12 legislation, at the Attorney General's office,
13 creating a whole new division just to
14 virtue-signal, to say if you're from another
15 country, we care more about you than we do about
16 New Yorkers. We're going to create a whole new
17 division in the Attorney General's office.
18 No, this division is not going to
19 protect you if you're a New York citizen, an
20 American citizen. This is not going to deal with
21 identity theft, all the various scams that are
22 bilking New York out of tens and hundreds of
23 millions of dollars every single year and nobody
24 seems to be doing a damn thing about it. That's
25 not what this division does.
5119
1 We have a whole new division -- we
2 don't know how many people are going to work
3 there, how much it's going to cost. But they're
4 here to tell the world, Come to New York. If you
5 are in another country right now and you want to
6 come to America in violation of our laws, well,
7 New York's the place to do it.
8 This division is not going to check
9 whether you're coming here because you're a
10 would-be terrorist. This division doesn't even
11 care to look at that issue. Just come here. We
12 don't care. Come to New York.
13 So that's who we're trying to
14 protect. If you don't like -- if you don't like
15 the fact that we're a nation of borders, run for
16 Congress. Go to Congress and change it. You
17 can't do that from New York. You shouldn't do
18 that from New York.
19 But that's what this legislation, to
20 me and to our side of the aisle, seems to be
21 doing. So yes, we think that we ought to have a
22 federal law enforcement agency and that the men
23 and women of that agency ought to protect our
24 people, our country and our borders, and that is
25 a difference between us.
5120
1 I'll be voting no.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
3 Borrello, why do you rise?
4 SENATOR BORRELLO: You made me
5 question my own identity here.
6 (Laughter.)
7 SENATOR BORRELLO: May I ask a
8 question, Mr. President, on Part C, Subpart A?
9 SENATOR GIANARIS: That's still
10 Senator Myrie.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
12 Myrie, once again it's on. Do you yield?
13 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
15 sponsor yields.
16 SENATOR BORRELLO: Through you,
17 Mr. President.
18 So this is dealing with pistol
19 converters. And can you explain to me the change
20 we're making and why?
21 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
22 Mr. President, yes.
23 So this would prohibit, with the
24 timeline after the effective date, the sale of
25 particular pistols that can be easily converted
5121
1 with what is commonly known as an auto sear.
2 This is something that we have seen proliferate
3 over the past couple of years. That's not my
4 judgment or the judgment of a reporter. Our ATF,
5 our law enforcement officials, have found many of
6 these switches on crime scenes.
7 For those uninitiated, a switch
8 converts a pistol and allows for it to shoot many
9 more bullets with one trigger than it might
10 otherwise be capable of.
11 And in our laws, both federal and
12 state, we outlaw machine guns. That is already
13 illegal. What this has allowed for is
14 effectively for you to have your own machine gun
15 with a small device to convert that pistol.
16 So this says that if you sell
17 pistols in New York, and if you will have that in
18 the market, you have to take the appropriate
19 steps to allow for that pistol to not be so
20 easily converted.
21 We've built in several exceptions in
22 this bill. Anyone who currently owns a pistol
23 that might be subject to that conversion will not
24 be affected. For individuals who are gunsmiths
25 or who have firearm -- federal firearm licenses
5122
1 and have that inventory, you will continue to be
2 able to sell that.
3 But this is prospective, in that we
4 are trying to get this type of product outside of
5 our market because it is causing more harm and
6 violence in our communities.
7 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
8 will the sponsor continue to yield?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
10 sponsor yield?
11 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR BORRELLO: I think you just
15 said that these are already illegal, right?
16 So -- for the actual converter. So what are we
17 changing with this law?
18 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
19 Mr. President. What's illegal, as my colleague
20 has pointed out, is the device itself. What we
21 are trying to adjust here is the sale of products
22 that are easily converted.
23 And what we have seen in the market
24 is that there are some pistols that are easily
25 converted by this device and others that are not.
5123
1 And it demonstrates, I think, that there is an
2 ability to design a pistol that is not
3 susceptible to so easy a manipulation.
4 So this is about really trying to
5 ensure that we have the safest product on the
6 market.
7 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
8 will the sponsor continue to yield?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
10 sponsor yield?
11 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR BORRELLO: Okay. So what
15 manufacturers of pistols would fall into this
16 convertible area?
17 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
18 Mr. President, there are varying companies that
19 might fall into this. And so it really depends
20 on whether they have been susceptible as laid out
21 in the statute. There are some technical terms
22 in here on whether or not a pistol that has
23 failed to make the design accommodations would
24 fall into that.
25 But there are any number of
5124
1 companies that might fall into that category.
2 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
3 will the sponsor continue to yield?
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
5 sponsor yield?
6 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
8 sponsor yields.
9 SENATOR BORRELLO: So does this
10 outlaw possession of this? I know you've
11 grandfathered in people that already own one.
12 But going forward, would this outlaw
13 the possession of a pistol that can be converted?
14 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
15 Mr. President. It is already illegal, as you
16 mentioned, to own a machine gun. A device that
17 is converted with this would fall into that
18 category.
19 And so the hope is that the
20 prohibitions on the sale of this would help
21 reduce the amount of those pistols on the market.
22 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
23 would the sponsor continue to yield?
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
25 sponsor yield?
5125
1 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
3 sponsor yields.
4 SENATOR BORRELLO: So if someone
5 follows the proper procedures and purchases a
6 pistol -- that is not converted, but is
7 convertible -- in Pennsylvania and -- would they
8 be able to come back and add it to their pistol
9 permit in New York State?
10 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
11 Mr. President, I'm not sure that is -- that issue
12 is contemplated in this bill.
13 And to me, it speaks more to our
14 federal ability for you to transfer gun
15 possession permits from other states. And this
16 does not contemplate -- this bill does not
17 contemplate that particular policy.
18 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
19 on the bill.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
21 Borrello on the bill.
22 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
23 You know, there's a very popular
24 pistol, the Glock. A lot of people own it. It's
25 probably the most popular in the United States.
5126
1 And it would fall under this category.
2 So we're basically going to say to
3 New York retailers of firearms, You can no longer
4 sell probably the most popular pistol in the
5 United States. And I believe that my colleague
6 is going to say, I think that's great. But it's
7 not going to solve the problem, because we've
8 failed to address the issue.
9 The issue is people who commit
10 violent acts of crime, with or without a gun,
11 that continue to go unpunished here in New York
12 State.
13 So we're going to say to legal,
14 law-abiding citizens, You can't buy it here from
15 a small business, most likely, here in New York
16 State, this very popular piece of home
17 protection, self-defense. Because that's what it
18 is.
19 So we're going to pretend that
20 somehow singling out a particular type of firearm
21 and saying, You can't sell it here in New York
22 State, is going to solve the problem of, quote,
23 unquote, gun violence. It's not about gun
24 violence, it's about people that commit acts of
25 violence here.
5127
1 We just got done talking about the
2 fact that we're going to allow those folks that
3 are here not legally to continue to be here, and
4 protect them. Now we're going to go after the
5 law-abiding citizens here in New York State
6 exercising their constitutional right in a ruse
7 to pretend like we're doing something about gun
8 violence.
9 Let's start doing things about
10 people that commit real acts of violence.
11 Because at the end of the day, most crime
12 committed is not with a firearm. Most people
13 that commit crimes are doing so with various
14 amounts of things. And trying to go after this
15 whack-a-mole idea that somehow violating people's
16 constitutional rights -- we talked about that
17 earlier -- is somehow going to change the results
18 here?
19 We have the most -- we have the most
20 gun laws probably out of any state in the
21 United States, and yet we have some of the worst
22 outcomes when it comes to people that have been
23 tragically injured with or without a gun.
24 So let's not pretend this is going
25 to do anything. It's going to appease some
5128
1 people. It's going to make you pretend like
2 you're doing something. But at the end of the
3 day it's not going to do anything until we start
4 doing the right thing, which is to take dangerous
5 people out of society and truly enforce real laws
6 that prevent new victims from being created, with
7 or without a firearm.
8 So I'll be voting no. Thank you.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
10 Walczyk, why do you rise?
11 SENATOR WALCZYK: Madam President,
12 I hope the sponsor would yield on Part C,
13 Subpart B.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
15 Myrie, do you yield?
16 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
18 Myrie yields.
19 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
20 Madam President. This part also bans the sale of
21 3D printers that have not been equipped with
22 technology that blocks the printing of firearms
23 and firearm parts.
24 Is there a technology that currently
25 exists to do that?
5129
1 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
2 Madam President. What this bill would require,
3 there are a number of steps before we would get
4 to the technology and the prohibition of the
5 sale, the initial step being a convening of a
6 group that would be tasked with providing
7 recommendations on the technology.
8 In that group are experts and others
9 that would submit recommendations. Then the
10 Department of Criminal Justice Services would
11 have to take those recommendations into account
12 and then have a couple of months to promulgate
13 some rules and regs around this, of which there
14 would be public comment.
15 And then subject to the public
16 comment and the promulgated regulations, then
17 adoption would then proceed in the Governor's
18 office.
19 So I say all that to say that this
20 is going to be a years-long process of ensuring
21 that the technology does in fact find itself
22 capable of blocking the 3D printing of guns in
23 someone's home.
24 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
25 Madam President, would the sponsor continue to
5130
1 yield?
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
3 sponsor yield?
4 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
6 sponsor yields.
7 SENATOR WALCZYK: Yeah, prior to
8 all of the public hearings that you'll require if
9 this bill passes both houses and is signed into
10 law by the Governor, I'll provide you some
11 feedback from concerned hobbyists right now
12 either printing firearm parts or not.
13 Will this require every 3D printer
14 sold in the State of New York to be connected to
15 the internet?
16 (Pause.)
17 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
18 Madam President. There's nothing in this bill,
19 as I read it, that requires connection to the
20 internet.
21 But after that implementation
22 process, should a 3D printing manufacturer sell
23 into this state printers that are capable or
24 additionally do not have the blocking technology
25 for printing of 3D guns, that would be -- would
5131
1 be prohibited.
2 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
3 Madam President, would the sponsor continue to
4 yield?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
6 sponsor yield?
7 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
9 sponsor yields.
10 SENATOR WALCZYK: I'd like to also
11 talk about Subpart A. What is the purpose of a
12 cruciform trigger bar?
13 (Pause.)
14 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
15 Madam President, that is the part of the pistol
16 that is supposed to prevent it from repeatedly
17 firing.
18 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
19 Madam President, would the sponsor continue to
20 yield?
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
22 sponsor yield?
23 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
25 sponsor yields.
5132
1 SENATOR WALCZYK: Can you name a
2 single modern striker-fired semiautomatic pistol
3 that cannot be converted if someone
4 custom-manufactures a sear or a backplate for it?
5 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
6 Madam President. I understand that there are
7 several gun manufacturers that have designed
8 their pistols to be as resistant to the
9 conversion of an auto sear -- as I understand it,
10 Smith & Wesson is one of those gun manufacturers
11 that is not easily converted.
12 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
13 Madam President, would the sponsor continue to
14 yield?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
16 sponsor yield?
17 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
19 sponsor yields.
20 SENATOR WALCZYK: How do you define
21 "easily converted"?
22 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
23 Madam President, I believe we outline this in the
24 statute and go through the steps of what is
25 convertible for purposes of liability in this
5133
1 bill.
2 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
3 Madam President, would the sponsor continue to
4 yield?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
6 sponsor yield?
7 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
9 sponsor yields.
10 SENATOR WALCZYK: But "easily
11 converted," under your definition, could include
12 a few simple tools, is that correct?
13 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
14 Madam President, it could.
15 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
16 Madam President, would the sponsor continue to
17 yield?
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
19 Senator yield?
20 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
22 sponsor yields.
23 SENATOR WALCZYK: So I guess I'll
24 ask again. Is there any similar modern
25 striker-fired semiautomatic pistol that cannot be
5134
1 easily converted in the State of New York?
2 (Pause.)
3 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
4 Madam President. As I've answered before, I
5 believe that there are a number of companies that
6 are not having their pistols easily converted.
7 And that, to me, has been
8 demonstrated by what is showing up on crime
9 scenes and what is being reported, that there are
10 particular brands that are not showing up, and
11 there are others that are.
12 And to your 3D printing line of
13 questioning, they are also showing up and
14 proliferating on our crime scenes.
15 And so we are responding, I think,
16 to a public safety imperative to remove as much
17 of these as possible, whether they are printed or
18 whether they are converted.
19 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
20 Madam President, would the sponsor continue to
21 yield?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
23 sponsor yield?
24 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
5135
1 sponsor yields.
2 SENATOR WALCZYK: Where exactly in
3 the mechanical blueprint of a standard pistol
4 does lawful design end and convertible pistol
5 begin here? How can we anticipate that? And can
6 you explain the engineering to me?
7 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
8 Madam President, I don't understand this
9 question.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator?
11 SENATOR WALCZYK: Yeah, I'll
12 rephrase another way.
13 How do we get to find out which
14 brands will be lawfully sold or considered easily
15 convertible by your new definition?
16 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
17 Madam President. I think that that is the
18 responsibility of the members of the gun industry
19 to ensure that they are aligning with what our
20 statutes dictate.
21 There is, as I've been mentioning, a
22 proliferation of these switches showing up on our
23 crime scenes, and this is an attempt for us to
24 prevent as many of those from showing up as
25 possible.
5136
1 There are companies that have not
2 had their pistols so converted and thus are not
3 showing up on crime scenes. That, to me,
4 demonstrates that it is possible for other
5 companies to do the same.
6 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
7 Madam President, would the sponsor continue to
8 yield?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
10 sponsor yield?
11 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR WALCZYK: You used the term
15 "switches." So will this just apply to the
16 Glock 19?
17 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
18 Madam President, no, it would not.
19 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
20 Madam President, will the sponsor continue to
21 yield?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
23 sponsor yield?
24 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
5137
1 sponsor yields.
2 SENATOR WALCZYK: Which other
3 firearms will this apply to?
4 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
5 Madam President, any firearm that under the
6 definitions in this statute are convertible.
7 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
8 Madam President, would the sponsor continue to
9 yield.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
11 sponsor yield?
12 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
14 sponsor yields.
15 SENATOR WALCZYK: I see, then, it
16 will be difficult to get a list of the firearms
17 that may be permissible and may not be
18 permissible in the future.
19 But if a criminal uses an illegal
20 after-market tool to force a mechanical object to
21 do something that it wasn't designed for, why is
22 the seller of that product the problem here? Why
23 the firearm seller instead of the person that has
24 modified the weapon?
25 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
5138
1 Madam President. This is a common principle in
2 consumer protection, in product liability, that
3 if you are going to benefit from the profit of
4 the market and be a participant in the market,
5 that requires you to also ensure that the product
6 that you're putting out is not doing unnecessary
7 harm to the market.
8 And this is an attempt for us to
9 mitigate what we believe to be unnecessary danger
10 because of the ease in which some pistols are
11 converted.
12 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
13 Madam President, would the sponsor continue to
14 yield?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
16 sponsor yield?
17 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
19 sponsor yields.
20 SENATOR WALCZYK: I know my
21 colleague from Western New York already brought
22 this up. But federal and state law already ban
23 pistol converters, correct?
24 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
25 Madam President, yes.
5139
1 SENATOR WALCZYK: Madam President,
2 would 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 WALCZYK: And through you,
9 Madam President, this is punishable by 10 years
10 in federal prison, is that correct?
11 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
12 Madam President, I'm going to confirm the
13 punishable.
14 But we -- what's punishable, the
15 federal crime?
16 SENATOR WALCZYK: Yes.
17 SENATOR MYRIE: It can't be the
18 state crime.
19 SENATOR WALCZYK: The federal
20 crime.
21 SENATOR MYRIE: I am not sure, but
22 I will take you at your word that it is.
23 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
24 Madam President, would the sponsor continue to
25 yield?
5140
1 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
3 sponsor yield?
4 The sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
6 Madam President, why hasn't that stopped
7 criminals?
8 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
9 Madam President. The bill that we are discussing
10 now is about the responsibility of a gun industry
11 member to ensure that the pistols that they are
12 selling to gun owners who have a constitutional
13 right to purchase and to own those pistols, that
14 they do so in a way that is safest for
15 New Yorkers.
16 We have the ability to do that as a
17 Legislature to protect the safety and wellness of
18 our constituents.
19 And that is the same principle that
20 we used in passing other laws in the
21 General Business Law 898 that requires there to
22 be procedures put in place if you are going to be
23 participating in the market here in New York.
24 SENATOR WALCZYK: Madam President,
25 on the bill.
5141
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
2 Walczyk on the bill.
3 SENATOR WALCZYK: While protecting
4 the rights in this very same bill of noncitizens,
5 and giving extra protections to them to live free
6 in New York, this bill restricts constitutional
7 rights for U.S. citizens who live in New York,
8 particularly their Second Amendment rights.
9 There's already a federal ban and a
10 state ban on the mechanisms that we're attacking
11 here. Criminals are going to continue to do
12 crime. That's what makes them criminals.
13 And this bill, as far as I can tell,
14 certainly bans the Glock 19, which is the most
15 popular pistol in New York and I think across the
16 nation. It also, without enumerating, may ban
17 every handgun of its type, as far as I can tell.
18 These are used for personal
19 protection for New Yorkers to protect their
20 homes, to protect their families.
21 And I point to the quote of one
22 gentleman, Frederick Douglass, who said a man's
23 rights rest in three boxes: The ballot box, the
24 jury box, and the cartridge box.
25 And I know that the Supreme Court
5142
1 will throw this out if it becomes law. But I
2 hope that before then New Yorkers will remember
3 this at the ballot box.
4 And I do want to go on the bill on
5 another section that we discussed earlier. The
6 Senator from the 42nd Senate District and the
7 Senator from the 20th Senate District were having
8 a discussion and invoking names against the
9 Senate rules.
10 But since we're getting the record
11 straight, it is against the law to enter this
12 country illegally. It is against the law to skip
13 a port of entry and to cut the fence. That is a
14 crime.
15 It is a civil offense to remain here
16 illegally.
17 So I think there's some confusion,
18 but feel free to read up on it, especially for
19 the Senator from the 42nd Senate District, who
20 has accused me of being the only one that reads
21 bills around here.
22 Quick read or not, message of
23 necessity or not, the bill hitting late last
24 night for us to read it for a few hours before we
25 got in here today or not, this debate has already
5143
1 showed us that this will ban 287(g) agreements,
2 formal or informal, with local sheriffs. Yeah, I
3 think that's good on the record.
4 Thank you, Madam President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
6 Martins, why do you rise?
7 SENATOR MARTINS: Thank you,
8 Madam President.
9 I was hoping that the sponsor would
10 yield for some questions on Part HH.
11 SENATOR LIU: Madam President, that
12 would be Senator Sanders.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
14 Sanders, do you yield?
15 SENATOR SANDERS: Absolutely,
16 Madam President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
18 Senator yields.
19 SENATOR MARTINS: Thank you,
20 Senator. Madam President, through you.
21 This proposed section of this bill
22 would remove members of the Reparations
23 Commission from being included within the
24 definition of public officers. Why has the
25 Majority chosen to advance this legislation?
5144
1 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
2 Madam President. This proposed legislation of
3 course would allow the members of the commission
4 to be included in a different category of public
5 servants.
6 That is because this is a day and
7 age where, sadly, we live in a New York that will
8 brag that it will sue a hamburger. We live in a
9 New York where the Attorney General of New York
10 has been falsely sued several different times.
11 The climate coming from Washington,
12 D.C., and other places is such that it makes
13 every person consider ways of dealing with the
14 public and making sure that they do an honest
15 work and at the same time protect themselves.
16 SENATOR MARTINS: Madam President,
17 through you, if the sponsor would continue to
18 yield.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
20 sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR SANDERS: Absolutely.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
23 sponsor yields.
24 SENATOR MARTINS: So I understand
25 there are nine members of this commission, all of
5145
1 whom were appointed some years ago when the
2 commission was originally formed. Are all nine
3 members still continuing members of the
4 commission?
5 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
6 Madam President, yes.
7 SENATOR MARTINS: Thank you,
8 Madam President. I want to thank the sponsor.
9 On the bill.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
11 Martins on the bill.
12 SENATOR MARTINS: So the commission
13 was -- or the law permitting this commission was
14 enacted in 2023, was signed into law by the
15 Governor in December of '23, and it was supposed
16 to bring a report and recommendations back to
17 this body within one year of its first meeting.
18 Its first meeting was on July 30,
19 2024. So by the end of July 2025, almost a year
20 ago, this body, the Assembly, and the Governor
21 were supposed to receive the recommendations of
22 this committee.
23 Members are constituted, there are
24 nine members, three appointed by the Senate,
25 three by the Assembly, three by the Governor.
5146
1 They have been there now for going on two years.
2 And now we're being asked to change their
3 category or their characterization or their legal
4 status as public officers.
5 Now, last year we were asked to push
6 back the date. It was no longer a year, we were
7 no longer to expect the report by July of 2025.
8 No, we were supposed to now wait 30 months. So
9 it's going to get us beyond this election cycle
10 to January of '27.
11 Now here we are, pushing it back
12 again, another -- not six months, not a year, but
13 another two years. Which, Madam President, just
14 pushes it back beyond the next election cycle.
15 And we should all be very curious as to why that
16 is the case.
17 Now, to a certain extent it is
18 heartening to me that the commission is having
19 such a hard time coming up with recommendations,
20 because I guess it may actually confirm my own
21 sentiment that we do not live in a racist
22 society. I do not believe in societal racism,
23 Madam President, although the idea that the
24 commission is taking years to come to conclusions
25 probably just reinforces that and probably is in
5147
1 keeping with the fact that they're having such a
2 hard time reaching that conclusion or
3 recommendations.
4 But what I am troubled about, and I
5 think everybody here in the chamber should be
6 troubled about, is why would we remove people who
7 are already sitting members of a commission and
8 have been there for over a year, why would we
9 remove them as public officers?
10 You know, as public officers there
11 is a responsibility to comply with the
12 Public Officers Law. Like all of us and anyone
13 else who has been appointed to a commission and
14 accepted that appointment, with that acceptance
15 comes a responsibility to file financial
16 disclosures and to abide by the code of ethics
17 that is required of anyone who is a public
18 officer of this state.
19 So I ask the Majority and I ask
20 everyone here in this chamber, why would we
21 remove those people who are already public
22 officers and choose to remove them from their
23 responsibilities under our Public Officers Law
24 that require them to follow our code of ethics
25 and to file financial disclosure statements, only
5148
1 with respect to this commission? Why? There's
2 no good reason.
3 Second, and to I guess address a
4 concern that was raised by the sponsor, at the
5 same time this provision requires that the state
6 continue to indemnify and defend the members of
7 the commission, notwithstanding the fact that
8 they're now not going to be public officers.
9 So here you have both sides of that
10 equation. Not only do they not have the
11 responsibilities as public officers that are owed
12 not to us, but to the people of the State of
13 New York to follow our code of ethics and to file
14 financial disclosure statements, but they
15 continue to have all of the defenses and
16 indemnity that comes from the provisions of this
17 law.
18 And so what are we advancing and
19 what purpose are we advancing here by allowing
20 members of this commission -- who can simply
21 choose not to accept the appointment and we can
22 have someone else take that place -- why are we
23 allowing those members and how is that advancing
24 this effort by not making them public officers
25 and not having them follow our code of ethics and
5149
1 not having them file financial disclosure
2 statements?
3 And I'm curious because I haven't
4 been able to confirm yet whether or not any of
5 them have filed financial disclosure statements,
6 which would have been a requirement of their
7 appointment, since they've already been there for
8 over a year. But, second, we're also
9 indemnifying them and continuing to defend. Why
10 for this commission and no other?
11 So Madam President, that's
12 troubling. It should be. I don't know why the
13 Governor would advance it. I certainly don't
14 know why my colleagues here would advance that.
15 Certainly allow the commission
16 hopefully to move forward, hopefully to reach a
17 list of recommendations, provide those
18 recommendations for consideration. But there's
19 no reason why we should not make members of this
20 commission public officers, hold them to the same
21 standards that every other appointee has to
22 follow, including conflicts of interest, not
23 require them to file financial disclosure forms
24 like every other public officer, and like we do.
25 And so not having heard any
5150
1 explanation as to why, I guess I'll have to vote
2 no, Madam President. But not only because of
3 this particular provision. You know, I'm going
4 to take a moment on another piece of legislation
5 of this bill just for a moment.
6 You know, Madam President, we
7 have -- we've had a lot of discussions about
8 Part LL. I think all of our residents hope and
9 expect that we take an all-of-the-above approach
10 when it comes to public safety, an
11 all-of-the-above approach when it comes to
12 making sure that they're protected and that
13 law enforcement continues to cooperate and
14 coordinate.
15 I am sure, just as I am sure that
16 the residents of Nassau County are happy that we
17 have an agreement between our county and the
18 federal government when it comes to law
19 enforcement -- I would hope that each and every
20 one of our counties can make that decision for
21 themselves without interference from the state.
22 That goes for all of us, whether you
23 live in the great City of New York, whether you
24 live in Nassau County, or even whether you live
25 in Orange County and you have the ability to
5151
1 allow your own county to make those decisions for
2 themselves in terms of providing the opportunity
3 for coordinated effort in a formal way between
4 our local law enforcement agencies and those
5 federal agencies that are sworn to protect the
6 residents of our state.
7 Madam President, notice I said
8 "residents." Law-abiding residents of our state,
9 which should be our priority. Not New York for
10 All, but New York for New Yorkers, those
11 law-abiding residents of our state that count on
12 us to pass laws to keep them safe.
13 I'll be voting no.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
15 you.
16 Senator Helming, why do you rise?
17 SENATOR HELMING: Thank you,
18 Madam President. On the bill.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
20 Helming on the bill.
21 SENATOR HELMING: Madam President,
22 originally I had planned -- I had my questions
23 written out. Senator Bailey, I was going to ask
24 some questions about insurance. You're free,
25 buddy.
5152
1 (Laughter.)
2 SENATOR HELMING: I also wanted to
3 talk about Part B and really implore this body to
4 reverse the action, continue to take the money
5 from the cellphone public safety surcharge and
6 invest it into our fire departments, our EMS
7 workers, and our ambulance services.
8 But after hearing the debate, I'm
9 just going to speak on the bill.
10 Last Friday, my grandson turned
11 five years old. And hearing Senator Murray
12 describe the brutal treatment earlier of that
13 five-year-old little girl, it just made me
14 physically ill, and I feel compelled to speak on
15 another portion of the bill before us.
16 This little girl was repeatedly
17 abused in the most horrific way by the person who
18 was supposed to be taking care of her. Because
19 of the circumstances of the situation, he was
20 going to be charged with a Class A misdemeanor
21 and issued an appearance ticket. Now, he was in
22 this country illegally. I really don't think
23 that anyone in this body could honestly believe
24 that he would show up to court.
25 But thankfully, because there was
5153
1 cooperation at the local level and the federal
2 level, he was apprehended. And that's good for
3 everyone, because this animal is off the streets
4 and people are safe from him.
5 Now, before anyone gets too spun-up
6 here, I heard that this bill is not banning
7 cooperation wholesale. I heard that local law
8 enforcement is exempt.
9 But when I think about that little
10 girl, I think about all of our children. I used
11 to work with adults with developmental
12 disabilities. When I think about all those
13 vulnerable populations and I look at this bill,
14 you know what I don't see? I don't see a
15 carveout for state employees, for those who work
16 for child and adult protective services. I see
17 them banned from being able to do their jobs and
18 protect the most vulnerable. And that's wrong.
19 That's putting more people in jeopardy.
20 I also wanted to mention that during
21 the debate I heard that taxpayers from New York
22 should not be paying for enforcement of federal
23 laws. To me, it's interesting how the Majority
24 is making this a priority on how to save
25 New Yorkers money, when they allow taxpayers to
5154
1 continue to spend money to pay for Medicaid for
2 people who don't even live in our state -- the
3 Comptroller has said it's costing us over a
4 billion dollars, and we're doing nothing about
5 it.
6 And taxpayers from New York are
7 paying for people from out of state -- people who
8 don't live here, don't pay taxes here -- to come
9 here for certain medical services. But, hey,
10 that's all okay.
11 I also heard someone say, I want our
12 state workers and I want our city workers to do
13 their state and their city jobs. Guess what? So
14 do I. You know what I think their number-one
15 priority is? Public safety. Public safety.
16 Public protection, protecting our
17 most vulnerable, protecting all of our
18 citizens -- that should be the top priority. And
19 this bill stands in the way of that. It prevents
20 people from getting their jobs done.
21 I vote no.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
23 Borrello.
24 SENATOR BORRELLO: Why, thank you,
25 Madam President.
5155
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: You're
2 welcome.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: I'm actually
4 going to ask some questions on Part W, which
5 deals with workers' compensation.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does
7 Senator Bailey -- do you yield?
8 SENATOR BAILEY: Gladly.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
10 Bailey yields.
11 SENATOR BORRELLO: All right, thank
12 you. Through you, Madam President.
13 So this would propose essentially
14 strengthening workers' compensation fraud
15 protections. But it's going to do so by creating
16 a fund that would add 0.4 percent, about 40 basis
17 points, to our already very high workers' comp
18 insurance costs. Do you know what kind of impact
19 that's going to have per $100 of payroll? That's
20 how we calculate things.
21 (Pause.)
22 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
23 Senator Borrello. Through you, Madam President.
24 There will be an appropriation, as
25 already dedicated. So like already how
5156
1 workers' compensation works, as you well know --
2 I know you're a business owner,
3 Senator Borrello -- that this already comes out
4 of a fund that's already paid into by businesses.
5 It's capped at the 0.4 percent, you are correct.
6 The Governor and the Legislature, we
7 have agreed that we're going to make it
8 reasonable through appropriations so that this
9 will not burden businesses more. I think that's
10 cutting to the heart of what I think that you may
11 be asking.
12 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
13 will the sponsor continue to yield?
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
15 sponsor yield?
16 SENATOR BAILEY: Certainly.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR BORRELLO: So our
20 interpretation, and maybe it's incorrect, is that
21 we're going to raise workers' comp insurance
22 rates by that 40 basis points. Is that
23 incorrect?
24 (Pause.)
25 SENATOR BAILEY: So through you,
5157
1 Madam President, I think it's a difference of
2 reasonable interpretation. The assessments have
3 to be set by the board in November. So at this
4 point we don't see that as necessarily a hurry,
5 as we see it right now.
6 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
7 will the sponsor continue to yield?
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
9 sponsor yield?
10 SENATOR BAILEY: Certainly.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
12 sponsor yields.
13 SENATOR BORRELLO: So the purpose
14 is to create a fund that can be accessed by local
15 district attorneys -- to do what?
16 SENATOR BAILEY: Through you,
17 Madam President. I think that one of the things
18 that we may actually agree on is that fraud is a
19 problem and workers' compensation fraud is a
20 problem. I used to be a workers' compensation
21 adjuster at one point in my life, and I have seen
22 the instances of fraud happening.
23 And we want to make sure that the
24 district attorney offices, that they have a
25 reasonable amount of money and a reasonable
5158
1 amount of resources, because workers'
2 compensation fraud is meted out in different ways
3 and different manners, whether it's at the
4 initial point of injury, medical fraud.
5 So like no matter what type of fraud
6 it is, we want to make sure that we're combating
7 it. So that's why we are making sure that we're
8 looking to do this.
9 Also, DFS on April 8th announced
10 that New York State Police and DFS will partner
11 to crack down on insurance fraud. And workers'
12 compensation fraud is within the auspices of
13 insurance fraud, and so it's a conversation that
14 we've been having in general.
15 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
16 will the sponsor continue to yield?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
18 sponsor yield?
19 SENATOR BAILEY: I do.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
21 sponsor yields.
22 SENATOR BORRELLO: Well, first of
23 all, let the record show that we do agree that
24 the fraud is an issue.
25 And by the way, this workers' comp
5159
1 fraud, it raises the costs for everyone. So
2 anything that helps to bring that down is a good
3 thing.
4 However, I guess my concern is our
5 local district attorneys, are they going to be
6 focused on businesses or the bad actors that are
7 actually the recipients of workers' compensation
8 fraud?
9 (Pause.)
10 SENATOR BAILEY: So through you,
11 Madam President, we don't want to limit or
12 dictate to our district attorneys in any county
13 in this great state what they should be doing or
14 how they should be focusing.
15 Every county may have a different
16 view or every district attorney may have a
17 different view on how they believe that this
18 workmen's compensation fraud has been happening.
19 Again, claimant, doctor, provider,
20 IME -- so many ways that workers' compensation
21 fraud proliferates itself.
22 But ultimately this provision will
23 have a data collection mechanism, and after we
24 get the data collection we'll be able to see what
25 type of fraud is happening, where, how much is
5160
1 happening in each way. So then we can present
2 that data so that maybe different district
3 attorney's offices will be able to see, maybe we
4 should concentrate more on this and less on this.
5 But it is not my aim to tell any
6 district attorney how they should be looking at
7 fraud within their jurisdiction.
8 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
9 one last question for the sponsor.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
11 sponsor yield?
12 SENATOR BAILEY: Yes.
13 Hopefully more than one,
14 Senator Borrello.
15 (Laughter.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
17 sponsor yields.
18 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
19 So how will the district attorneys
20 then access this fund? Will it be a competitive
21 grant? How's that work?
22 SENATOR BAILEY: Through you,
23 Madam President. You are correct,
24 Senator Borrello, it will be a competitive grant
25 run by the board.
5161
1 SENATOR BORRELLO: Madam President,
2 on the bill.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
4 Borrello on the bill.
5 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
6 Senator Bailey.
7 Yeah, workers' comp insurance is a
8 problem in New York State. We pay the highest in
9 the nation. It's one of the burdens particularly
10 on small businesses. And fraud is certainly a
11 big problem because, you know, that money is paid
12 out in that fund, the workers' comp fund.
13 So I guess my question is -- and
14 it's not a question, it's rhetorical -- is how
15 are we going to create this fund, how is it going
16 to be accessed, and how is it going to be spent?
17 It seems to me that when it comes to
18 workers' comp, it's the bad actors, the folks
19 that are collecting illegitimately, fake claims.
20 You've got bad actors out there that are
21 providers that will, you know, take a payoff in
22 order to say someone has been injured at work.
23 Those are the kind of things that raise our
24 workers' comp costs. And the Department of Labor
25 has an obligation to go after those folks.
5162
1 And I think the district attorneys
2 certainly could benefit from this, but I don't
3 want to weaponize this against our small
4 businesses because somebody got a grant. That's
5 one of my concerns.
6 So while we want to go after fraud
7 because fraud is costly to businesses and to our
8 economy, we want to make sure that we're not
9 incentivizing essentially taxpayer dollars being
10 used against small businesses. And that is a bit
11 of my concern.
12 So thank you, Madam President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
14 Stec, why do you rise?
15 SENATOR STEC: Good afternoon,
16 Madam President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Good
18 afternoon.
19 SENATOR STEC: I'd like to ask some
20 questions about this bill. And I'm told that I
21 should ask Senator Gianaris if he wouldn't mind
22 and --
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: I'll divert you
24 to Senator Salazar. As I understand, it's
25 related to corrections?
5163
1 SENATOR STEC: Yes, it's regarding
2 corrections. That's fine. If Senator Salazar
3 would yield, please.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
5 Salazar, do you yield?
6 SENATOR SALAZAR: Yes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
8 Senator yields.
9 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
10 Madam President. Thank you, Senator Salazar.
11 In this Public Protections Budget
12 Bill, is there anything that addresses the work
13 of the HALT Committee that you are a member of
14 that was formed to address the safety concerns
15 that were raised following the end of last year's
16 corrections strike?
17 SENATOR SALAZAR: Through you,
18 Madam President, the bill before the house is
19 PPGG. It's an Article VII Budget Bill.
20 And I should clarify that I was not
21 a part of the committee that DOCCS assembled
22 regarding the HALT solitary confinement law.
23 But no, there is nothing in this
24 bill relevant to that.
25 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
5164
1 Madam President. If the sponsor would yield for
2 a quick follow-up.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
4 sponsor yield?
5 SENATOR SALAZAR: Yes.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
7 sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
9 Madam President. Thank you.
10 My apologies, I understood that you
11 had been a member of that committee.
12 Is there anything in this bill that
13 would address safe staffing levels in our
14 facilities or any of the issues raised with HALT
15 or the issue of rising prison violence or our
16 contraband crisis -- body scanners, et cetera?
17 Is there any language relevant to corrections in
18 this bill?
19 SENATOR SALAZAR: Through you,
20 Madam President, there's no part of this bill
21 that is relevant to our correctional facilities
22 in that way.
23 SENATOR STEC: Madam President, if
24 the sponsor would yield for one final question.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
5165
1 sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR SALAZAR: Yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR STEC: Thank you. Thank
6 you, Senator Salazar.
7 Is any of this likely to appear in
8 any of the bills that we haven't seen yet but
9 will be seeing in the coming days?
10 SENATOR SALAZAR: Through you,
11 Madam President, I do not know if any of the
12 forthcoming Article VII bills will touch on any
13 of the issues that Senator Stec has mentioned.
14 I am sure that there will be funding
15 for the Department of Corrections and Community
16 Supervision in an appropriations bill. But
17 otherwise I don't believe that we will see the
18 issues that Senator Stec is specifically speaking
19 to addressed in this budget.
20 SENATOR STEC: Thank you.
21 Madam President, briefly on the
22 bill.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
24 Stec on the bill.
25 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
5166
1 Madam President. Thank you, Senator Salazar, for
2 answering my questions.
3 It has been 15 months since the
4 corrections strike ended. There were promises
5 made by the Governor and these majorities that
6 their safety concerns would be addressed.
7 This budget bill is the Public
8 Protection and General Government bill. This is
9 where changes to corrections are supposed to
10 appear in the budget. There are none. Nothing
11 on HALT, nothing on safe staffing levels, nothing
12 on combating our contraband crisis.
13 Just last week at Franklin
14 Correctional Facility, a medium-security facility
15 in Malone in my Senate district, from Tuesday to
16 Thursday, while we were in here passing extenders
17 on a budget that's seven weeks late, and
18 15 months after the strike ended -- from Tuesday
19 to Thursday in Franklin, in Malone, there were at
20 least six violent incidents, fights between
21 inmates involving weapons and contraband,
22 resulting in several injured inmates as well as
23 injuries to a sergeant and three correctional
24 officers, employees of ours and constituents of
25 mine.
5167
1 That's just one recent example.
2 There have been dozens like this all across
3 upstate New York in our facilities in the last
4 15 months since the strike ended.
5 This entire bill is about how to
6 protect people who have come to this country
7 illegally. There's nothing in this bill about
8 protecting our citizens. In fact, it undermines
9 citizens' constitutional rights to protect
10 themselves and our law enforcement's ability to
11 do their jobs.
12 And particularly, it spectacularly
13 fails and insults the people that work -- our
14 employees and my constituents that work in our
15 correctional facilities on our behalf of public
16 safety.
17 I'll be voting no on this budget
18 bill.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
20 Rhoads, why do you rise?
21 SENATOR RHOADS: I was hoping that
22 Senator Myrie might yield to one final question.
23 Maybe two, if time permits.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
25 Senator yield?
5168
1 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
3 Senator yields.
4 SENATOR RHOADS: Thanks. Through
5 you, Madam President.
6 Senator, my understanding is that
7 this law does prohibit 287(g) agreements. Is
8 that not correct?
9 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
10 Madam President, yes.
11 SENATOR RHOADS: Will the sponsor
12 yield to another question?
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
14 sponsor yield?
15 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes, although I
16 thought it was one final question.
17 (Laughter.)
18 SENATOR RHOADS: I said maybe two.
19 Maybe two.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
21 sponsor yields.
22 SENATOR RHOADS: Thank you,
23 Senator Myrie. Through you, Madam President.
24 It's my understanding that there are
25 three primary models for these agreements. But I
5169
1 want to ask about the jail enforcement model,
2 which allows officers working in jails and
3 prisons to assist immigration officials in
4 identifying potentially deportable individuals in
5 the custody of jails and prisons by allowing
6 officers to question noncitizens who have been
7 arrested and are facing criminal charges to
8 determine their immigration status and issuing
9 immigration detainers to prevent the release of a
10 noncitizen so that immigration officials may take
11 custody of such person for immigration
12 proceedings.
13 Is that also banned?
14 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
15 Madam President, yes.
16 SENATOR RHOADS: Thank you,
17 Senator Myrie.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
19 you, Senator.
20 Are there any other Senators wishing
21 to be heard?
22 Seeing and hearing none, the debate
23 is closed.
24 Read the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
5170
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
6 Baskin to explain her vote.
7 SENATOR BASKIN: Thank you,
8 Madam President.
9 I am pleased with many of the
10 sections of this bill today. I want to highlight
11 just two of them.
12 On the immigration protections in
13 the bill before us, I want to be able to speak
14 firsthand, as a representative of the City of
15 Buffalo, of the consequences of unnecessary
16 collaboration with federal immigration, as a
17 resident from my district, the 63th District,
18 Mr. Alam was turned over to federal immigration,
19 who left him for dead on subzero streets in
20 Buffalo, New York. This is what this bill is
21 trying to prevent.
22 Another death like the tragic one
23 that happened to a resident in my district who
24 was innocent, died, lost his life. Proud to
25 support it.
5171
1 Also, Madam President, I want to
2 speak to the auto insurance reforms in this bill
3 that will prohibit insurance companies from using
4 criteria that have absolutely nothing to do with
5 one's ability to drive.
6 In my district, the City of Buffalo,
7 we have a long history of redlining
8 discrimination from denying Black World War II
9 veterans GI Bill opportunities, to banks refusing
10 mortgages in Black and brown neighborhoods, and
11 environmental health disparities concentrated in
12 communities of color.
13 For years insurance companies have
14 used factors like education and employment status
15 and zip code as a modern form of this redlining,
16 and it's forced families and communities like
17 mine to pay for more coverage.
18 Now in New York State these factors
19 will no longer be considered when setting car
20 insurance rates.
21 I believe that there is much work
22 still to be done in the space of New York auto
23 insurance reforms, but I am proud that this
24 year's State Budget includes reforms that I
25 fought for to ban insurers from using
5172
1 discriminatory factors when setting rates.
2 And I also want to thank
3 Assemblymember Jen Lunsford in the Assembly for
4 her partnership on this advocacy as well.
5 I proudly vote in favor of the bill.
6 Thank you, Madam President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
8 Baskin to be recorded in the affirmative.
9 Senator Sepulveda to explain his
10 vote.
11 SENATOR SEPÚLVEDA: Thank you,
12 Madam President, for allowing me to explain my
13 vote.
14 I want to preface my comments by
15 saying that anyone who's committed a crime in
16 this country should be incarcerated and if an
17 undocumented immigrant commits a serious crime,
18 they should be removed from this country.
19 But let's not be disingenuous about
20 ICE. ICE has been -- has victimized many people
21 that are friends of mine. As a Latino man who
22 knows that the federal administration and ICE
23 have targeted Latinos in this country, and people
24 of color, in ways that I never thought I'd see in
25 my 62 years on this earth.
5173
1 These agents are brutal, they're
2 poorly trained, they're abusive and they act more
3 like a paramilitary organization than anything
4 else.
5 And when we talk about crime, there
6 seems to be a concerted effort to equate being an
7 undocumented to being a hardcore criminal.
8 But let's talk about facts. In this
9 country, less than 4 percent of the crimes that
10 are committed are committed by undocumented
11 immigrants. Less than 4 percent. But let's act
12 as if they're all criminals because they came
13 into this country a different way and not through
14 the legal process.
15 I remember former President Obama,
16 he deported about 4 million people from this
17 country, undocumented immigrants. They called
18 him the Deporter in Chief. But there was a major
19 difference the way he did it. He deported people
20 humanely and respected due process rights.
21 And here's the interesting data.
22 That of the people that he deported, 80 percent
23 of them had been convicted of crimes --
24 80 percent.
25 The current administration has
5174
1 evicted people -- has deported people that have
2 committed crimes, and only 5 percent of the
3 people that they've deported have committed
4 crimes in this country.
5 So rather than focusing on removing
6 hardcore criminals from this country --
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator?
8 SENATOR SEPÚLVEDA: -- with ICE,
9 they are --
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Your
11 time is up.
12 SENATOR SEPULVEDA: -- focusing on
13 people who don't commit crimes.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator,
15 how do you vote? Your time is up.
16 SENATOR SEPÚLVEDA: Unfortunately
17 my time is up, but there's a lot more information
18 that I could give. It's painful to hear my
19 colleagues --
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: How do
21 you vote, Senator?
22 SENATOR SEPULVEDA: -- talk about
23 undocumented immigrants as if they are criminals.
24 I vote aye on the bill. Thank you.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
5175
1 Sepúlveda to be recorded in the affirmative.
2 I'd like to remind all members that
3 you have two minutes to explain your vote.
4 Please keep looking at me, because I'll signal
5 you when your time is coming close.
6 (Laughter.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
8 Rivera to explain his vote.
9 SENATOR RIVERA: Thank you,
10 Madam President.
11 First I'd like to thank
12 Senator Myrie for his able defense of this piece
13 of legislation.
14 Obviously this bill is a lot more
15 than what we just discussed today, but I want to
16 focus certainly on some of the comments and some
17 of the opinions of some of my colleagues.
18 It's unfortunate that many folks in
19 this room and certainly folks outside seem to use
20 the word "noncitizen" as a slur. You can kind of
21 hear it in the way that it's said, as though they
22 were talking about entitlements. Let's talk
23 about the entitlements of due process.
24 The fact is, the reality is not
25 only, as some of my colleagues have already said,
5176
1 that we're talking about native-born population
2 and immigrant populations; the differences in who
3 commits crimes is enormous.
4 But more than that, the federal
5 government has been lying to all of us. And
6 apparently some of us either have been too naive
7 and believe them or we just ignore what we see
8 with our own eyes.
9 ICE is not out identifying the most
10 dangerous people and putting them away, as they
11 say they are. That's not what they're doing.
12 Their purpose is not that. Their purpose is
13 terrorizing our neighborhoods. It is taking
14 people from street corners, disappearing them.
15 They are literally murdering citizens who are
16 trying to step in when somebody's being
17 potentially detained. That's the reality.
18 And so what we're doing today is we
19 are making a stand and we're defending all
20 New Yorkers. Because yes, New York is for all.
21 I mean, a lot of folks seem to
22 forget that the majority of people from
23 New York -- maybe the Native Americans were born
24 within the boundaries of this state, but the
25 overwhelming majority of us, most of our
5177
1 residents, most of our neighbors, most of
2 ourselves, our parents or our grandparents
3 weren't even born within the four boundaries of
4 this state or this country.
5 So let's just focus on what the bill
6 does and say that this is exactly what is needed
7 in this state. And I'm glad that we're actually
8 defending the people that we're supposed to
9 defend.
10 Thank you, Madam President. I vote
11 in the affirmative.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
13 Rivera to be recorded in the affirmative.
14 Senator Ryan to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR RYAN: Thank you,
16 Madam President.
17 You know, about an hour and a half
18 ago it was said by one of our colleagues that we
19 should be ashamed for voting on this bill. Well,
20 that member also read off a couple of names who
21 may have committed a crime of rape. They were
22 all of Latino descent. No other names. What a
23 shame. Good old-fashioned fearmongering.
24 Let me tell you a little story.
25 About eight months ago, 60 armed federal agents
5178
1 conducted a military-style raid on a
2 nutrition-bar factory in Senator May's district,
3 rounded up about 160 neighbors while they were
4 hard at work, some of whom had been here for
5 decades, many decades, put down roots, raising
6 families, paying taxes, had a driver's license,
7 doing jobs that nobody else wanted to do.
8 These agents acted without a
9 judicial warrant against innocent individuals,
10 who were detained, they disappeared within hours.
11 Some of those had children and infants that ended
12 their day without a parent.
13 Public safety includes upholding the
14 basic freedoms and civil liberties that are
15 fundamental to this country. The bill we are
16 passing today protects those freedoms but ensures
17 those law enforcement powers rest solely with
18 bona fide authorities, ensuring children go to
19 school, ensuring that if anyone violates your
20 constitutional rights, they will be held
21 accountable.
22 You know, I'm going to tell you a
23 little -- also I think a little spoiler alert,
24 because it's going to be misled, disingenuous
25 information on social media. It probably already
5179
1 is. Nothing in this bill limits law enforcement
2 agents to cooperate with federal law enforcement
3 authorities in criminal matters.
4 Let me say it one more time for
5 clarification, so it's not -- because it's
6 already probably on social media. Nothing in
7 this bill limits any law enforcement agency to
8 cooperate with federal law enforcement
9 authorities in criminal matters.
10 I vote aye.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
12 Ryan to be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Senator Harckham to explain his
14 vote.
15 SENATOR HARCKHAM: Thank you very
16 much, Madam President.
17 I want to thank colleagues for this
18 debate.
19 I think it's important, as others,
20 that we try to separate this confluence of civil
21 and criminal that has attempted to be made today,
22 and I thank Senator Ryan for his comments as
23 well.
24 The overwhelming majority of
25 immigrants, whether they be documented or
5180
1 undocumented, are here peacefully. They are
2 working hard, trying to support a family, have a
3 better life, have a shot at the American dream.
4 And yet the picture that is painted
5 are the horrible monsters of the names that have
6 been mentioned here. We've had examples of
7 crimes in my district. And to a person in this
8 room, we all feel that someone who commits a
9 heinous crime, whether they be a citizen or
10 undocumented, should pay at price for that.
11 But as Senator Ryan and
12 Senator Myrie and others have said, there is
13 nothing in this bill that prohibits law
14 enforcement from cooperating on criminal matters.
15 It's on civil matters. It's on civil matters.
16 And I'd just share two other quick
17 points. When ICE went into Memphis, remember
18 when they flooded the zone, they were going to
19 get the worst of the worst. They arrested over
20 800 people. Two percent had criminal records --
21 2 percent.
22 So when we're looking at who we're
23 trying to protect with this bill, it's the
24 98 percent. That's who we're trying to protect
25 with this bill.
5181
1 And the last thing I would say, two
2 words: Judicial warrant. That any time someone
3 has a judicial warrant, that takes precedence
4 over anything in this bill, and this bill
5 expressly says so.
6 With that, Madam President, I'll be
7 voting aye.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
9 Harckham to be recorded in the affirmative.
10 Senator Sanders to explain his vote.
11 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you,
12 Madam President.
13 On the debate on reparations, my
14 esteemed colleague from Long Island had expressed
15 questions, and I'm trying to see if I can't help
16 clarify some of those things.
17 When the commission was established,
18 they never had their status defined. They were
19 never defined. This merely -- this correction
20 merely defines them as public employees and as
21 public employees of course they have all of the
22 codes of ethics that all public employees have
23 and are indemnified. Hopefully he finds that
24 enlightening.
25 Thank you, Madam President. I vote
5182
1 aye.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Sanders to be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Senator Mayer to explain her vote.
5 SENATOR MAYER: Thank you,
6 Madam President.
7 It's hard to listen to this debate
8 and my colleagues on the other side while saying
9 to myself, Where have you been? What have you
10 seen? Are we all seeing the same thing? Have
11 you seen what happened in Chicago, Minneapolis,
12 Los Angeles, and in the towns and cities and
13 villages that we represent?
14 To suggest that this bill is
15 anti-law enforcement and anti-public safety is
16 not only erroneous, it is insulting. Everyone
17 here is a strong supporter of the most
18 professional law enforcement that we have in so
19 many of our communities. We stand by them. We
20 support them.
21 We only wish that this current
22 DHS and ICE abided by the high standards of
23 professionalism that we see in so many of our
24 police departments. But they have not, and that
25 requires our state to take action, which we are
5183
1 authorized to do, which is limited, as described
2 by my colleagues.
3 And so today I stand up for the
4 people in my community who are working hard,
5 abiding by our laws, paying taxes, sending their
6 kids to schools, and are afraid to walk or ride
7 their bike to church, to street, to school.
8 I just want to make one other point
9 we did not discuss. This bill codifies the
10 Plyler decision in New York law. Any child can
11 enroll in New York's public schools regardless of
12 immigrant status.
13 This current administration is
14 looking for a way to overturn that. We're not
15 going to let that happen in New York. We're
16 going to make it New York law. And that's a very
17 good reason to be voting yes on this bill.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
19 Mayer to be recorded in the affirmative.
20 Senator Chan to explain his vote.
21 SENATOR CHAN: Thank you,
22 Madam President.
23 So there are many aspects of this
24 bill that are not clear to me and somewhat
25 convoluted. Even after the time ran out for
5184
1 debate, I am still full of questions.
2 On guns, it would be great if the
3 bad guys who own all these illegal guns got the
4 same memo that we did, and the good citizens of
5 New York State did. And it would be great if our
6 prosecutors actually prosecuted firearms-related
7 incidents.
8 So do I qualify to speak about
9 immigrants? I came here when I was 11 years old.
10 So let's talk about immigration. Today I'm not
11 even talking about good immigrant or bad
12 immigrant -- I mean, I'm not talking about legal
13 or illegal immigrant. I'm talking about good
14 immigrant or bad immigrant.
15 There are plenty of great immigrants
16 of all kinds. They came here to build, they came
17 here to dream, came here to toil, came here to
18 love, came here to because a part of us.
19 But there are plenty of bad ones. I
20 know, 4 percent, right, commit 4 percent of the
21 crimes? Included in that 4 percent in 2024, in
22 June, Kissena Park, Flushing Meadows, Queens,
23 New York. A 13-year-old girl, the daughter of an
24 immigrant family, was accosted in the middle of
25 the day, 3:00 p.m. -- did we forget that? -- by
5185
1 an illegal immigrant. Raped, tied up, her friend
2 was tied up. Did we forget that?
3 How do you explain to that family
4 that we now have a blanket policy that protects
5 criminals like that? We should not have a
6 blanket policy that does that, that ties our
7 hands, ties the hands of law enforcement agents
8 across the board.
9 Yes, you know, I believe in
10 immigration. My wife is an immigrant, my
11 cousins, my family. My wife currently has three
12 siblings waiting 16 years for an immigration
13 visa. They're doing things the right way. How
14 do you explain that to my wife, letting everybody
15 else jump the line?
16 Don't get me wrong, I come from a
17 community of great immigrants -- legal, not
18 legal, just good people.
19 With that said, this is not the
20 Holy Grail of bills --
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
22 Chan, how do you vote?
23 SENATOR CHAN: On behalf of
24 District 17, my vote is no.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
5186
1 Chan to be recorded in the negative.
2 Senator Borrello to explain his
3 vote.
4 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
5 Madam President.
6 You know, we sat here and talked
7 about a lot of things that are in this bill, but
8 there's a lot of things that aren't in this bill.
9 I didn't see a lot of protections
10 for the law-abiding citizens of New York State.
11 In fact, I see restrictions on their
12 constitutional rights. I heard a lot about the
13 Constitution today. We're going to restrict our
14 constitutional rights here in New York State for
15 political reasons.
16 Then I heard some of my colleagues
17 on the other side of the aisle trying to explain
18 away this bill that you waited so long to pass,
19 the New York for All, all these other things.
20 And then all of a sudden you're saying, Well,
21 it's not really going to do any of that stuff.
22 Don't worry, it's not going to do any of that.
23 It's not going to do that, it's not going to do
24 that.
25 One of my colleagues went to great
5187
1 lengths to explain how this bill really does
2 nothing. I think that's a problem too. So are
3 you doing this for political reasons, or are you
4 doing it to actually do what you're saying you're
5 trying to accomplish?
6 But, you know, I heard you talking
7 about what's happening elsewhere in the country.
8 If this bill does what you claim it does, or
9 maybe claim it doesn't do, you're going to bring
10 that type of chaos to New York. That's the
11 problem with this bill.
12 You want to see that stuff happening
13 on our streets, and that's a challenge. You're
14 saying that challenge to the federal
15 administration to come in here and do those types
16 of things, so you can say you've done something
17 about it.
18 Maybe you're jealous. Maybe you're
19 jealous that you haven't had that type of chaos
20 here in New York State, but we haven't. And we
21 should not. And that's what this bill's going to
22 do.
23 So I'll be voting no. Thank you.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
25 Borrello to be recorded in the negative.
5188
1 Senator Weik to explain her vote.
2 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you,
3 Madam President.
4 I heard the word "interpretation"
5 over and over today, especially when discussing
6 the role of local law enforcement.
7 Law enforcement officers swear an
8 oath of office to support the Constitution of the
9 United States and the Constitution of New York
10 State, and to faithfully discharge the duties of
11 their office to the best of their ability. This
12 bill creates a contradiction to that oath of
13 office.
14 This is an anti-citizen bill. It is
15 an anti-New Yorker bill. This bill is
16 pro-criminal and encourages unlawful entry to our
17 country by protecting and providing for anyone
18 who came into this country illegally.
19 This bill rejects our federal
20 government and our constitutional amendments.
21 This is an anti-American bill and an
22 anti-New Yorker bill. And as a New York State
23 Senator, I cannot possibly support a bill that
24 does not put New Yorkers first.
25 I vote no.
5189
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
2 Weik to be recorded in the negative.
3 Senator Hinchey to explain her vote.
4 SENATOR HINCHEY: Thank you,
5 Madam President.
6 We just heard from a colleague that
7 this bill, the immigration parts of this bill, is
8 a blanket policy for any undocumented person,
9 whether they commit a crime or not, but
10 specifically if they commit a crime.
11 That is just not true. As we
12 continue to say, there is something called a
13 judicial warrant that we all know law enforcement
14 can still look for people who have committed
15 crimes.
16 Let me tell you what my upstate
17 constituents are not afraid of. My upstate
18 constituents are not afraid of immigrants. What
19 they are afraid of, they're afraid of ICE agents
20 coming and taking their law-abiding neighbors,
21 who have started their own businesses, who have
22 been taken off of their streets with ICE agents
23 who have pulled over school buses, gotten out of
24 their cars with rifles and guns in front of
25 children, and taken beloved community members out
5190
1 of our community and taken them out of our state
2 to God knows where.
3 That is happening today in our
4 state. That's what my upstate constituents are
5 afraid of.
6 We know that if we protect people,
7 our economy is stronger because people will feel
8 like they can go to their businesses, they can
9 pick up their kids from school, we can actually
10 have safe communities because we can all live
11 together. And again, if someone commits a crime,
12 law enforcement is still able to go and find them
13 and charge them with whatever it is that they
14 might have done.
15 But the overwhelming number of
16 immigrants in our state and in our communities
17 are here just trying to live a better life for
18 themselves and their children.
19 And we have a responsibility as
20 New York legislators to protect them and to make
21 sure that that next generation can continue to
22 thrive here, just like many of our ancestors did.
23 And so I'm actually incredibly proud
24 of the work that we are doing in this bill to
25 protect our neighbors and to tell them that we
5191
1 hear their plight, regardless of where they live
2 in New York, and we will stand up for them
3 regardless of their background if they are trying
4 to do the right things in New York just to get
5 by.
6 Thank you, Madam President. I vote
7 aye.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
9 Hinchey to be recorded in the affirmative.
10 Senator Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick to
11 explain her vote.
12 SENATOR CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK:
13 Thank you, Madam President.
14 The issues we're discussing today
15 make the atmosphere heavy and really certainly
16 divide us. We've not talked much about money,
17 we've talked about policy. We didn't even get to
18 talk about Part Y of this bill, which will allow
19 almost $3 billion to be spent without
20 Comptroller's oversight, by the estimate of the
21 Comptroller himself.
22 And while we did get this bill very
23 late, and we were only briefed on it this
24 morning, I respectfully disagree with some of the
25 comments that were made, because we are
5192
1 well-prepared. We do understand what this bill
2 is saying.
3 8 USC 1325 provides that it is in
4 fact a crime, a misdemeanor, if you enter this
5 country illegally, and that includes even
6 falsifying records on the paperwork that you
7 file.
8 It is a civil liability, a civil
9 event, when you stay.
10 But it is -- initially your entry
11 here is in fact a misdemeanor. 8 USC 1326
12 provides that if you are deported and try to come
13 back, it's now a felony.
14 My grandparents were immigrants. I
15 have no doubt that they came through very clearly
16 through Ellis Island. My grandfather served in
17 World War I. That's how he got his citizenship.
18 He did it the right way.
19 I've heard so many times in this
20 chamber during this session about how we blame
21 our current president for all of our woes. But
22 let's not ignore how we got here. It is the
23 prior administration's open border policy,
24 combined with cashless bail, that has allowed so
25 many of the crimes that we've heard about today
5193
1 that are so heinous.
2 My home county of Nassau has a
3 287(g) agreement. It is the safest county in the
4 state. And --
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator,
6 how do you vote?
7 SENATOR CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK: --
8 that didn't happen by accident.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator,
10 how do you vote?
11 SENATOR CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK: I
12 vote in the negative.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
14 Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick to be recorded in the
15 negative.
16 Senator Mattera to explain his vote.
17 SENATOR MATTERA: Thank you,
18 Madam President.
19 This bill makes a vast number of
20 changes on critical issues that should be
21 addressed with public involvement and
22 transparency. That is lacking because this
23 rushed and messy bill fails to allow the open
24 scrutiny that is truly needed.
25 The overreaching bill deals with the
5194
1 Second Amendment, drones, auto insurance, public
2 contract oversight, orders of protection. It
3 targets ICE by tying the hands of our law
4 enforcement members, and it makes communities
5 less safe.
6 Even more troubling, it puts our
7 state's men and women in blue, law enforcement,
8 in direct opposition to federal agents. And that
9 is very dangerous.
10 And as we have seen nationally, this
11 topic has spurred energized debate and is clearly
12 something that warrants open discussion in our
13 state.
14 There is more in this bill that
15 protects illegal aliens than it does to protect
16 our legal taxpayers, all New Yorkers. That again
17 shows the lack of consideration for the legal
18 New Yorkers while putting those who illegally
19 crossed our nation's borders under the Biden
20 administration first.
21 And we wonder why New York residents
22 are fleeing this sanctuary state for other states
23 that make public safety a priority. Millions
24 have left, and millions are still leaving.
25 And even with all this bill
5195
1 contains, it fails to address cashless bail,
2 which was hidden in the budget bills years ago.
3 Last year, discovery -- did nothing in the
4 budget. And other policy changes that have our
5 citizens fearing for their safety.
6 My office recently conducted a
7 community survey and the weakening of public
8 safety was very high on the priorities for those
9 I represent. Most of the issues addressed in the
10 budget were not.
11 I would speak on other troubling
12 components of this bill, but there's simply not
13 enough time. It is abundantly clear that the
14 components of this bill are too complex and
15 too --
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator,
17 how do you vote?
18 SENATOR MATTERA: -- confusion.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator,
20 how do you vote?
21 SENATOR MATTERA: I vote no.
22 Thank you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
24 Mattera to be recorded in the negative.
25 Senator Skoufis to explain his vote.
5196
1 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you very
2 much, Madam President.
3 I'd like to spend a moment on a
4 parochial provision in this bill.
5 The Orange County IDA is supposed to
6 endeavor to support smart economic development
7 and, while doing so, work for taxpayers, protect
8 taxpayers, and act as fiduciary agents of
9 taxpayers.
10 The reason why they're the only IDA
11 in the state with a state monitor embedded within
12 that is a decision that this body made several
13 years ago, because they don't do those things.
14 And they continue to not do those
15 things. In fact, they very expressly, not even
16 hiding it, announced that they in fact work for
17 the applicants and not the taxpayers.
18 Over the last number of years the
19 state monitor identified dozens and dozens of
20 operational failures and have resolved those
21 failures. Very recently he blocked an
22 $80 million proposed tax break for Amazon that
23 was seeking to create a whopping average salary
24 over several hundred employees of $37,000 a year.
25 And yet the IDA continues with their behavior.
5197
1 In fact, they're not even paying the
2 bills to the monitor any longer. For the last
3 six months, they've refused to pay his invoices.
4 They've sued him. They've sued the inspector
5 general. At meetings they curse at the state
6 monitor. They demean him. They treat him like
7 garbage. These are petulant children that
8 require the continued presence of an adult in the
9 room.
10 And so what this bill does is it
11 extends the monitor for another three years at
12 the Orange County IDA, with additional powers,
13 including powers to claw back benefits when
14 applicants are not delivering on the jobs
15 created. Because that's something the IDA is
16 also refusing to do.
17 And it also ensures that the monitor
18 gets the payment from the IDA that he certainly
19 deserves. This is not charity work.
20 So for this provision and many
21 others, I proudly vote yes. Thank you.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
23 Skoufis to be recorded in the affirmative.
24 Senator May to explain her vote.
25 SENATOR MAY: Thank you,
5198
1 Madam President.
2 Madam President, like you and like
3 all our colleagues in this room, I have about
4 330,000 constituents. And when they call my
5 office, we ask them their zip code so we can make
6 sure that they're calling the right office.
7 But we do not ask them about their
8 citizenship. And we try to answer their
9 questions or solve their problems no matter where
10 they came from.
11 I know in my district that tens of
12 thousands of my constituents crossed a border to
13 come here. Many of them are refugees. Many of
14 them came on H-2A visas or student visas. Many
15 of them are seeking asylum and trying to navigate
16 the legal process, which is very complicated to
17 do that.
18 And I also know that many of them,
19 if they have an accent or if their skin is darker
20 than mine, they are afraid to call law
21 enforcement when -- if they witness a crime, if
22 they're victims of a crime, or if they have an
23 issue that rises to that level. They're even
24 afraid to show up for legal procedures that
25 they're supposed to show up for, immigration
5199
1 hearings or whatever, because they know they can
2 victimized at any moment.
3 So I think this makes us safer, this
4 bill, and certainly it's good for my communities.
5 And I proudly vote aye. Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
7 May to be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Senator Martins to explain his vote.
9 SENATOR MARTINS: Thank you,
10 Madam President.
11 You know, I am -- in fact, I'm
12 surprised that I've heard from some of my
13 colleagues about a written warrant, a judicial
14 warrant.
15 What that judicial warrant won't do,
16 issued by a federal Article 3 judge, is ensure
17 that a person who's leaving jail or prison here
18 in New York is escorted out of the community and
19 out of the country.
20 Those judicial warrants are issued
21 for federal criminal cases. They're not issued
22 in the instance of us having criminals here in
23 New York coming out of jail and being actually
24 escorted out of the country.
25 And so, Madam President, I know that
5200
1 my county, Nassau County, has a 287(g) agreement.
2 I know that that agreement helps keep our
3 residents safe. It's not a requirement. It just
4 determines the rules of engagement between local
5 law enforcement and their federal law enforcement
6 partners.
7 For those reasons, I'll be voting
8 no.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
10 Martins to be recorded in the negative.
11 Senator Zellner to explain his vote.
12 SENATOR ZELLNER: Thank you,
13 Madam President.
14 I want to say that Erie County is
15 growing for the first time in generations, and
16 it's growing because our community is welcoming
17 and accepting of our immigrant community.
18 We have businesses that were
19 shuttered and empty. They're now thriving, whole
20 streets in our community. We had houses of
21 worship that were boarded up, no one was using,
22 abandoned. They're full and they're vibrant and
23 they're being used in our community. And we have
24 schools that were half-full that are now full,
25 across our region.
5201
1 But they're terrified. I've heard
2 stories of people saying they're packing their
3 kids birth certificates in their lunch boxes when
4 they send them to school.
5 This bill will help alleviate some
6 of that fear. This bill will keep ICE out of
7 their schools. This bill will keep ICE away from
8 polling places. This bill will keep ICE out of
9 hospitals. And this bill will prevent them, ICE
10 agents, from wearing face coverings.
11 And what this bill might have done
12 is save Mr. Alam's life in Erie County. We still
13 don't know what happened with that situation.
14 We're still trying to get answers to that.
15 So I vote aye on this bill, and I
16 think we still have more work to do.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
18 Zellner to be recorded in the affirmative.
19 Senator Bailey to explain his vote.
20 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
21 Madam President.
22 I want to thank my colleague
23 Senator Myrie for a masterful defense, all my
24 colleagues for supporting something that's really
25 important.
5202
1 Briefly on the insurance stuff,
2 which we'll get to I'm sure in other bills, the
3 flex rating that we've done is important to make
4 sure that, you know, you've got to go through DFS
5 if you want to increase the rates. And, you
6 know, how good of a driver you are or not is not
7 predicated upon your zip code or your occupation
8 or home ownership status, so I thank Senator
9 Baskin for that.
10 But I just want to talk about some
11 of the stuff that we've been talking about.
12 Growing up, I heard that one of the
13 differences between the Democratic Party and the
14 Republican Party was states' rights. States'
15 rights. You know, the states. The Constitution
16 is the floor, but the states can go above it.
17 States' rights.
18 Now the state has a right to do
19 something, and we seem to be terrified. We seem
20 to want to forget that due process. I don't want
21 to go against the rules, as invoked by one of my
22 good colleagues yesterday in debate. Due process
23 protects us from the arbitrary exercise of
24 unnecessary governmental power. Everybody is
25 entitled to due process. No matter what you
5203
1 think they've done or didn't do, who they are,
2 where they came from, where they were born, you
3 are entitled to due process.
4 It was a Scalia decision, if I
5 believe so, off the top of my head. So we can't
6 forget about due process.
7 And due process is not happening.
8 When masked agents are snatching people off the
9 streets, that's not due process.
10 Now, we can't stop the federal
11 government from doing it, but we can figure how
12 we as a state -- states' rights -- participate in
13 such an endeavor.
14 And so it's not what's done, it's
15 how it's done. As my good friend Senator Lanza
16 would know, it's not what's done, Senator Lanza,
17 it's how it's done. And it's really important
18 the way that we do these things.
19 And for those reasons,
20 Madam President -- I see you giving me the
21 Roxie's Rules head nod --
22 (Laughter.)
23 SENATOR BAILEY: -- I vote in the
24 affirmative.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
5204
1 Bailey to be recorded in the affirmative.
2 Senator Rhoads to explain his vote.
3 SENATOR RHOADS: Thank you,
4 Madam President.
5 I do want to thank Senator Myrie for
6 the answers to those last few questions.
7 The list of names that I read off
8 were using the 287(g) agreement with
9 Nassau County and the jail enforcement model,
10 which is now being banned by this particular
11 legislation.
12 But many people have mentioned chaos
13 that they see around the country. One of the
14 locations where you don't see any chaos are
15 counties like Nassau or places like Batavia that
16 have 287(g) agreements. Because the cooperation
17 between local law enforcement and state law
18 enforcement is what helps to enable the orderly
19 transfer and orderly enforcement of immigration
20 policy. That's at the heart of what's being
21 removed in this particular legislation.
22 And this bill is another battle.
23 Because you don't like the president, because you
24 don't like what's going on in the federal
25 government, it's another blow in the battle that
5205
1 Kathy Hochul and my colleagues across the aisle
2 are waging against law enforcement.
3 In addition to using tax dollars to
4 provide illegal aliens free housing, free
5 healthcare, free education, free food, free
6 living expenses, we're now by force of law trying
7 to give them a free pass, even to dangerous
8 criminal illegal aliens obstructing local law
9 enforcement and federal law enforcement and state
10 agencies from working together.
11 This does not make the people of the
12 State of New York safer. It makes it harder for
13 law enforcement to keep us safe. For years,
14 unfortunately, what we've seen out of this body
15 has made it harder for law enforcement to protect
16 the people of the State of New York. Now it's
17 making it harder for the people of the State of
18 New York to be able to protect themselves.
19 I vote no.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
21 Rhoads to be recorded in the negative.
22 Senator Webb to explain her vote.
23 SENATOR WEBB: Thank you,
24 Madam President.
25 I want to thank Senator Myrie and
5206
1 all my colleagues who most certainly were part of
2 providing additional context on this bill we
3 voted on today.
4 Some of the things that were touched
5 upon that I wanted to lift up, and a couple of
6 things that were not. One, a big portion of this
7 bill does something with respect to workers, and
8 that is expanding their ability to see more
9 medical providers in the instance that they've
10 been hurt on the job. This bill actually
11 provides additional expansions to medical
12 providers for those individuals.
13 This bill also, Madam President,
14 addresses very real challenges that we still are
15 grappling with, and that is with respect to gun
16 safety. This bill would prohibit dangerous
17 3D printed guns that are far too easily
18 accessible, and it most certainly strengthens
19 regulations on drones to ensure our residents'
20 privacy is protected.
21 The last piece I'll lift up,
22 Madam President, that we've talked about quite a
23 bit -- and I have to say I'm quite disheartened
24 by my colleagues across the aisle when you hear
25 things such as these illegal people, racism is a
5207
1 figment of the past, and yet we are still having
2 to do policy to rectify decisions that were made
3 in our shared history.
4 And I would have to say,
5 Madam President, it is our responsibility to not
6 only protect the public but to educate with
7 facts. And it requires us to understand our
8 shared cultural history, those decisions in our
9 past -- and they're still implications in our
10 present.
11 And so it is our responsibility to
12 protect those small business owners who have been
13 in our communities for 30 years who are now being
14 deported for no reason. For children going to
15 school going to school and watching their parents
16 being taken in front of their eyes --
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
18 Webb, how do you vote?
19 SENATOR WEBB: And,
20 Madam President, for all these reasons I vote aye
21 on this bill.
22 Thank you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
24 Webb to be recorded in the affirmative.
25 Senator Cooney to explain his vote.
5208
1 SENATOR COONEY: Madam President, I
2 believe in the promise of America. I came to
3 this country as an immigrant at a very young age.
4 I'm proud to be an American citizen.
5 I've heard some colleagues call this
6 budget resolution un-American. I disagree. I
7 want to thank our Majority Leader, Andrea
8 Stewart-Cousins, and this entire Majority
9 Conference for our leadership in ensuring that
10 this indeed ensures the American dream is
11 possible for the next generation.
12 Because we understand not only the
13 role that immigrants play in our state, but the
14 responsibility that we have as New Yorkers, the
15 role that we have as New Yorkers. We are the
16 golden door, the place of entry to this country,
17 the place that other nations look to around the
18 world as the starting point for opportunity.
19 This legislation, this budget
20 protects those rights no matter who you are, what
21 part of the state you are from, and what your
22 document status may be.
23 We have more responsibility in this
24 day and age to ensure that the legal rights of
25 every New Yorker are upheld.
5209
1 Madam President, let me remind this
2 body that on the base of the Statute of Liberty
3 says: "Give me your tired, give me your poor,
4 give me your huddled masses."
5 We are going to ensure that
6 continues for the next generation of New Yorkers.
7 Madam President, I vote aye.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
9 Cooney to be recorded in the affirmative.
10 Senator Fahy to explain her vote.
11 SENATOR FAHY: Thank you,
12 Madam President.
13 I too rise in support of this bill,
14 and I thank Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins as
15 well as Senator Myrie and so many others.
16 This has been a lengthy process, but
17 in my view it has been worth it. And probably
18 the most noteworthy piece of this has been the
19 immigration part of this.
20 We have witnessed the most
21 extraordinary of times, and I have personally
22 been pained to witness and see that masked, armed
23 federal agents have literally abducted some of
24 our neighbors off our streets and instilled what
25 I believe has been almost a reign of terror.
5210
1 The tactics that we have seen in
2 this country and in many of our communities have
3 undermined, undermined law enforcement. So I am
4 pleased to have sponsored some of the
5 legislation, whether it was on the unmasking of
6 ICE as well as some of the loose parts of the
7 radar bill.
8 To me, this is -- well, many of us
9 have said we need immigration reform in this
10 country. We know why we haven't had it. And in
11 the meantime, we cannot forget our shared
12 humanity.
13 I also -- as the daughter of
14 immigrants, I have been personally pained to see
15 that we have seen human beings, New Yorkers,
16 treated as less than human. And it's been rather
17 unconscionable, because all, when they're on
18 American soil, all have fundamental
19 constitutional rights.
20 So I am pleased to see the package
21 including protecting sensitive locations at our
22 schools, hospitals and more. I'm also pleased to
23 see the 3D guns that we are once again trying to
24 keep ahead of technology and do more of gun
25 control and gun safety.
5211
1 I'm also pleased to see we are
2 regulating drones. I had introduced a bill a few
3 years ago as a result of a rather scary incident
4 over one of our local elementary schools,
5 Eagle Point in Bethlehem. I'm pleased to see
6 that that is included.
7 The bottom line is I do believe that
8 this --
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator,
10 how do you vote?
11 SENATOR FAHY: -- will move to keep
12 us safer, and I vote in the affirmative.
13 Thank you, Madam President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
15 Fahy to be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Senator Gounardes to explain his
17 vote.
18 SENATOR GOUNARDES: Thank you,
19 Madam President.
20 You know, I listened to this debate
21 and I'm just completely astounded by the
22 suggestion from some of our colleagues that by
23 taking these measures today we are invoking and
24 bringing and inviting chaos into our streets.
25 As if they want us to believe that
5212
1 what is happening in this country by the great
2 benefactors, the benevolent arm of iCE to keep
3 peace in the world -- that we should not believe
4 our lying eyes.
5 Seeing a rogue paramilitary force
6 shoot and kill American citizens, dead in the
7 street. Using five-year-olds as bait to bring a
8 father out of their home, to lock them up in a
9 cage thousands of miles away.
10 We heard that if we do this, we're
11 inviting chaos. Go to a church basement in my
12 district and there you'll see the chaos of
13 families who are panicked, who are afraid to send
14 their kids to school because of what is happening
15 in this country right now.
16 We are taking steps to stop the
17 chaos. We are taking steps to stop the madness.
18 And I had hoped that maybe in this debate we'd
19 hear something new. But no, actually we didn't.
20 We heard immigrants are criminals. There was
21 even a suggestion that immigrants could be
22 terrorists.
23 But you know what, Madam President?
24 That's the same thing they were saying about my
25 family when they came here a hundred years ago,
5213
1 about the Greeks, the Italians, the Irish, the
2 Polish.
3 What an irony that the same week we
4 did a resolution honoring Italian American
5 Heritage Month. Let us not forget what they said
6 about the Italian Americans in this country a
7 hundred years ago -- that they were the
8 criminals, that they were the terrorists. But it
9 must be different, I guess.
10 Madam President, I proudly vote aye
11 on behalf of my constituents and because I am the
12 grandson and great-grandson of immigrants who
13 came to this country because they believed in a
14 better life for themselves and their families.
15 Thank you.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
17 Gounardes to be recorded in the affirmative.
18 Senator Liu to explain his vote.
19 SENATOR LIU: Thank you,
20 Madam President.
21 I want to wholeheartedly agree with
22 the very eloquent statements by Senator Myrie, by
23 Senator Gianaris. And, you know, a lot's been
24 said already. It's been a robust debate. I do
25 appreciate the debate. Clearly there are
5214
1 differences.
2 And I just want to remind all my
3 colleagues that when families are discouraged
4 from sending their kids to school, it's not only
5 those kids and those families that are harmed.
6 Our entire society, indeed the State of New York,
7 is harmed when kids do not go to school.
8 When people do not go to their
9 businesses or open new businesses, that harms our
10 economy. That kills jobs, for not just those
11 families involved but for our entire society and
12 the State of New York itself.
13 When people are discouraged, even
14 frightened, from talking with the police, as they
15 clearly are today, that's not just taking away
16 the safety of those particular families. It
17 makes the community, the neighborhood less safe
18 for everybody.
19 So the provisions that we're talking
20 about here today, particularly the immigrant
21 protections, we're not here to encourage
22 criminals to come to New York State or to make
23 the state less safe. These measures make for a
24 safer and more prosperous State of New York.
25 Let's not buy into the line that,
5215
1 oh, ICE is out there to deport the most dangerous
2 criminals, because that is not what's happened.
3 They've been deporting people left and right --
4 from schools, from homes, from places that are
5 considered safe.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
7 Liu, how do you vote?
8 SENATOR LIU: I vote yes,
9 Madam President, and I do so proudly.
10 Thank you.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
12 Liu to be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Senator Lanza to explain his vote.
14 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you,
15 Madam President.
16 I want to thank Senator Gounardes
17 for that left-handed defense of the honor of the
18 Italian Americans. (Mic off.) They still talk
19 about and say things about Italian Americans and
20 nobody ever seems to care, but I'm glad to hear
21 that somebody might -- I don't (inaudible;
22 slapping mic).
23 (Inaudible overtalk.)
24 SENATOR LANZA: I'm going to start
25 over.
5216
1 (Laughter; inaudible overtalk.)
2 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you,
3 Madam President. The whole two minutes. Whoever
4 did that is very smart.
5 (Laughter.)
6 SENATOR LANZA: I sometimes don't
7 want to hear myself.
8 Madam President, I want to thank
9 Senator Gounardes for that left-handed defense of
10 the honor of Italian Americans. They still say
11 things about Italian Americans and nobody ever
12 seems to care, but I'm glad somebody might care
13 at this moment.
14 It was I who talked about the
15 prospect of terrorist cells coming into the
16 country, and that is what happens when you don't
17 know who it is that is coming across the border.
18 In fact, we do know that thousands
19 of people came into our borders during the
20 Biden administration who are on the terrorist
21 watchlist. That's a fact.
22 And listen, immigration is -- we're
23 all for legal immigration. At least I am. It is
24 one of the things that powers this country and
25 makes it better. All we're saying on our side is
5217
1 that you ought to have a border, you ought to
2 have a policy, you ought to know who it is that's
3 coming in here.
4 And that's not what happened during
5 the Biden administration. It has stopped,
6 thankfully, under this administration. If you
7 don't believe -- I hear some of the conversation.
8 It sounds as though you don't believe we ought to
9 have a border. It sounds as though you believe
10 that anyone from any country at any time can just
11 walk into the country whenever they want.
12 We don't believe that ought to be
13 the way. We believe that that is dangerous. We
14 also believe that we need immigration and we want
15 immigration. But this is about -- it's not about
16 calling a person illegal. It's not about a slur.
17 You can give it any word you want, it's on you if
18 you think it's a slur when we say people have
19 walked across our border, have not applied for
20 asylum and are therefore here unlawfully, and we
21 don't know why they are here.
22 I hope and I believe that most of
23 them are here to live a better life. But if
24 that's what we want, we ought to have borders and
25 we ought to know who's coming here.
5218
1 I vote no.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Lanza to be recorded in the negative.
4 Senator Salazar to explain her vote.
5 SENATOR SALAZAR: Thank you,
6 Madam President.
7 At least 29 people have died while
8 being held in immigration detention in our
9 country over just the past six months. They were
10 people who came to the United States for the same
11 reasons as many of our own relatives, with the
12 same motivation of families and ancestors of many
13 of us in this chamber who came to this country to
14 seek a better life.
15 One of those people was
16 Santos Banegas Reyes, who was arrested last
17 September in 2025 by Nassau County police who
18 were deputized by ICE under their 287(g)
19 agreement. They did not charge him with a crime,
20 but he was then transferred to the jail and held
21 under their contract as an ICE detainee. He
22 tragically died in ICE detention at Nassau County
23 Jail the following day.
24 That was a preventable tragedy.
25 New York State's collusion with ICE for
5219
1 enforcement and detention directly contributed to
2 the death of a New Yorker, and it illustrates why
3 we must end 287(g) and IGSA agreements in our
4 state for the protection of the health and safety
5 of New Yorkers.
6 When I visited East Meadow Jail in
7 Nassau County last summer to observe immigration
8 detention, I met New Yorkers who were held there.
9 One of the men detained there who I spoke to was
10 a local shop owner. He had lived and worked in
11 Huntington for 20 years. Like every other
12 detainee I spoke to that day, he had never been
13 charged with a crime. Nonetheless, the 287(g)
14 agreement between Nassau County and ICE allowed
15 for him to be taken from his family and from his
16 community and put in a jail cell.
17 Today, we are finally acting to end
18 these 287(g) agreements and IGSAs in New York.
19 Immigration detention at the hands of ICE is a
20 shameful business that needlessly tears families
21 apart. The fight to effectively end it through
22 the Dignity Not Detention Act in New York has
23 persisted for years, and passing this bill today
24 marks a victory in that fight.
25 It is also a victory for children
5220
1 and for families in our state that this bill
2 protects the right to a public education
3 regardless of immigration status in New York.
4 Contrary to some assertions made
5 during floor debate today by Minority colleagues,
6 this bill regrettably does not include the
7 provisions of New York for All. And I believe
8 that means our work to protect New Yorkers from
9 draconian immigration enforcement, and to prevent
10 ICE from obstructing due process and public
11 safety, must continue.
12 But nonetheless, I am proud to vote
13 in favor of this bill. Thank you.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
15 Salazar to be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Senator Myrie to explain his vote
17 and to close.
18 SENATOR MYRIE: Thank you,
19 Madam President.
20 Let me first thank Majority Leader
21 Stewart-Cousins, all of my colleagues. Thank you
22 to the staff for doing a really excellent job
23 helping us navigate this.
24 I want to, if I can very briefly,
25 return to Subpart B of Part LL, the New York
5221
1 Bivens Act, to ensure that we are clear on what
2 the intentions of this bill are.
3 We of course want to protect the
4 constitutional rights of New Yorkers. We want to
5 ensure that if those rights are violated, that
6 they will have a remedy for that violation.
7 I also want to make clear that
8 nowhere in this bill do we disturb the common-law
9 doctrine of qualified immunity, and certainly not
10 as recognized here in New York or federally.
11 This is a cause of action to give
12 New Yorkers an avenue to have their rights
13 vindicated, but this does not disturb the
14 qualified immunity doctrine.
15 Now, if I may, last month my mom's
16 mom, Adela Brown, passed away in Costa Rica. She
17 was 100 years old, lived a long life.
18 And for those of you who don't know,
19 Black people in Costa Rica could not vote, they
20 did not have full citizenship, until 1949. My
21 grandmother was 23 before she was considered a
22 full citizen in the country of her birth.
23 She was never able to come to the
24 United States. She had seven children, and one
25 of them could come to the U.S. -- my mom, who
5222
1 came to Brooklyn, New York, to work in a factory
2 to try to make ends meet, looking for
3 opportunity. And of course she had me.
4 So if you look at the span, for over
5 50 years my grandmother, who was not considered a
6 citizen in her own country, could see her
7 grandson not only be born here, but to become a
8 State Senator, to help make the laws.
9 Someone asked, Who are we trying to
10 protect? This is what we're trying to protect.
11 The promise of this country. Opportunity.
12 Protection. The ability to be the best that you
13 can be.
14 I don't cede love for this country
15 to anybody. I love it. I'm proud to be an
16 American. Because this is what this country is
17 about. You can come here from literally anywhere
18 and become anything you want, generations,
19 because you had the courage to make your way
20 here.
21 It's probably why crime rates in
22 immigrant communities are lower than the general
23 population, because they don't want to squander
24 the opportunity that they've been given. It is
25 why they are afraid to go to law enforcement if
5223
1 they know that the first option is going to be
2 them getting in trouble.
3 This is why we're doing this today.
4 It's about upholding the Constitution. The
5 Constitution is the reason that we can have these
6 exchanges in this big fancy building, without
7 having to resort to violence. It's the
8 Constitution. We swore an oath to uphold it.
9 That is what we are protecting today.
10 I am so proud to be voting for this
11 bill. I am proud to be a member of this
12 Majority. And yes, I am proud to be an American.
13 We are a nation of immigrants. We must protect
14 that ideal. Because today you may agree with the
15 attacks; tomorrow the attacks will be against
16 you.
17 Stay strong. I proudly vote aye.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
19 Myrie to be recorded in the affirmative.
20 Announce the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
22 Calendar 1317, voting in the negative are
23 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick,
24 Chan, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Lanza, Martins,
25 Mattera, Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
5224
1 Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk,
2 Weber and Weik.
3 Ayes, 39. Nays, 22.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
5 is passed.
6 Senator Gianaris.
7 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
8 returning to motions for a moment, I wish to call
9 up the following bills, which were recalled from
10 the Assembly and are now at the desk:
11 Senate Print 825A and Senate Print
12 4042A.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
14 Secretary will read.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 869, Senate Print 825A, by Senator Liu, an act to
17 amend the Labor Law.
18 Calendar Number 1049, Senate Print
19 4042A, by Senator Harckham, an act to amend the
20 Civil Practice Law and Rules.
21 SENATOR GIANARIS: I move to
22 reconsider the votes by which these bills were
23 passed.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
25 Secretary will call the roll on reconsideration.
5225
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
4 bills are restored to their place on the
5 Third Reading Calendar.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: I offer the
7 following amendments.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
9 amendments are received.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: I wish to open
11 the resolutions we took up earlier today for
12 cosponsorship, at the request of the sponsors.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
14 resolutions are open for cosponsorship. Should
15 you choose not to be a cosponsor, please notify
16 the desk.
17 Senator Gianaris.
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: I know it was a
19 heavy day, but before we adjourn I have to go
20 into the weekend wishing the Knicks all the luck.
21 (Reaction from floor.)
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: They'll be
23 playing three more games between today and when
24 we return on Tuesday.
25 Is there any further business at the
5226
1 desk?
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There is
3 no further business at the desk.
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: This is going to
5 be an early day on Tuesday. I move to adjourn
6 until Tuesday, May 26th, at 10:00 a.m., with the
7 intervening days being legislative days.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: On
9 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
10 Tuesday, May 26th, at 10:00 a.m., with
11 intervening days being legislative days.
12 (Whereupon, at 4:52 p.m., the Senate
13 adjourned.)
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