May 13, 2008

Top of Form 1
Date: 05/13/2008
Session: Regular
2115
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 May 13, 2008
11 3:07 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR CARL L. MARCELLINO, Acting President
19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
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21
22
23
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25
Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The
3 Senate will come to order.
4 Please rise and join me in the
5 Pledge of Allegiance to our Flag.
6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Our
9 invocation today will be delivered by Reverend
10 Bryant Lagoe, pastor of the Emmanuel Bible
11 Baptist Church in Martville.
12 REVEREND LAGOE: Let us pray.
13 Dear Heavenly Father, I come before
14 You this morning, God, thanking You for the
15 opportunity to be here.
16 Lord, I thank You for Your mercy
17 and Your grace. And, Father, I thank you that
18 I can come before You needing nothing for
19 myself but to pray for these people, men and
20 women representing this great state.
21 Lord, I pray that You give them
22 ready discernment and quick minds. I pray,
23 Father, You help them, Lord, to choose the
24 right and to defend the people of this state.
25 Lord, work in their hearts. Then

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1 what they do and the decisions they make,
2 Father, will have effect for years and years
3 to come, that it might bring You praise, honor
4 and glory.
5 For I pray this in Jesus', our
6 Savior's, name. Amen.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
8 Thank you very much, Pastor.
9 Reading of the Journal.
10 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
11 May 12, the Senate met pursuant to
12 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, May 11,
13 was read and approved. On motion, Senate
14 adjourned.
16 Without objection, the Journal stands approved
17 as read.
18 Presentation of petitions.
19 Messages from the Assembly.
20 Messages from the Governor.
21 Reports of standing committees.
22 Senator DeFrancisco.
23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: This is the
24 report from the committee, is that what you're
25 referring to?

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2 Yes, sir.
3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I rise in
4 order to move the nominations of several
5 judges.
6 The committee, the Judiciary
7 Committee of the Senate met this morning and
8 passed on each of their qualifications. Prior
9 to that time we individually -- or I did --
10 reviewed the qualifications, the background
11 checks and everything else, to do a thorough
12 research on each of their backgrounds.
13 We interviewed each of the
14 individuals today, and our committee voted
15 unanimously on each of the judicial
16 nominations and found that each of the
17 nominees was well-qualified to be a judge in
18 the respective court for which he or she was
19 nominated.
20 With that in mind, if we could have
21 a little order here, so I can hear myself.
23 Yes.
24 And, Senator DeFrancisco, I made a
25 technical error. I would like to correct that

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1 at this point in time.
2 The Secretary will read the report
3 of the committee.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator

5 DeFrancisco, from the Committee on Judiciary,
6 reports the following nominations.
7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: First I
8 would like to move the nomination of Ellen M.
9 Spodek, of Brooklyn, as a justice of the
10 Supreme Court of the Second Judicial District.
12 Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: As a justice of
14 the Supreme Court of the Second Judicial
15 District, Honorable Ellen M. Spodek, of
16 Brooklyn.
18 Senator Liz Krueger.
19 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
20 I apologize for being so late; I wanted to
21 make sure to get here in time to second and
22 speak on behalf of my very good friend Ellen
23 Spodek.
24 And she does not live in my
25 district, she lives in Brooklyn and is a proud

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1 constituent of Martin Connor. But Ellen and I
2 go back many years ago, from before she was a
3 judge, and I wanted to stand to both support
4 her becoming an interim Supreme Court judge
5 today and to tell my colleagues how proud she
6 will do us as a Supreme Court judge.
7 She has been serving already in the

8 Brooklyn Supreme Court as an acting Supreme
9 Court judge. She has a long and honorable
10 history working as both an attorney with the
11 city and in private practice, working on
12 important issues in the Family Court system
13 and in the Civil Court system.
14 And I am delighted that Governor
15 Paterson recognized her skills and her talents
16 and nominated her to be an interim on the
17 Supreme Court, and I look forward to voting
18 for her and hope that all of my colleagues
19 will support her today.
20 Thank you, Mr. President.
22 Senator Connor.
23 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you,
24 Mr. President.
25 I rise to second the confirmation

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1 of Judge Ellen Spodek. She is a neighbor of
2 mine, a constituent. And I recall fondly her
3 election in 2002 to the Civil Court.
4 She has distinguished herself since
5 then, rising to be the supervising judge for
6 the Civil Court. She's done a fantastic job
7 at that. When she was an acting Family Court
8 judge she did a superb job, paying particular
9 attention to issues involving family law and
10 supervision of youth and so on.

11 And she also has an extensive
12 background in private practice prior to her
13 becoming a judge, where she exhibited a superb
14 knowledge of the law and a commitment to the
15 highest standards of lawyering.
16 So I am indeed proud to move her
17 confirmation. She will serve us very proudly,
18 I know, and do a wonderful job as a justice of
19 the Supreme Court in Kings County. I'm proud
20 to represent her here in this body. And I
21 know she will bring her considerable
22 commitment, skills, and excellent judicial
23 demeanor to serve all the people of Kings
24 County and the State of New York as a justice
25 of the Supreme Court.

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1 Thank you.
3 Thank you, Senator Connor.
4 The motion is on the nomination of
5 the Honorable Ellen M. Spodek, of Brooklyn, as
6 a justice of the Supreme Court of the Second
7 Judicial District. All in favor signify by
8 saying aye.
9 (Response of "Aye.")
11 Opposed, nay.
12 (No response.)

14 ayes have it.
15 Judge Spodek, you are confirmed.
16 Congratulations.
17 (Applause.)
19 Judge Spodek is joined today by her parents,
20 Jules and Hortense Spodek; her sister and
21 brother-in-law, Susan and Ronald Glichman --
22 if I pronounced that incorrectly, I apologize.
23 "Glickman"? Should make it with a K -- and
24 niece Melanie Glichman.
25 Congratulations once again, Judge.

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1 (Applause.)
4 THE SECRETARY: As a justice of
5 the Supreme Court of the Second Judicial
6 District, Paul Wooten, of Brooklyn.
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I move the
10 nomination of Paul Wooten, of Brooklyn, as a
11 justice of the Supreme Court of the Second
12 Judicial District.
13 And I would ask that you call on
14 Senator Connor for a second.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: I
16 will, if we can have a little quiet and order

17 in the chamber.
18 If you have a conversation, please
19 take it out of the chamber.
21 Mr. President.
22 I had the distinct pleasure, I
23 think, of first meeting Paul Wooten in, oh,
24 1980, I guess it was, when he was actually
25 opposing counsel in a case I handled in

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1 Brooklyn. He was a relatively new lawyer
2 then, I think about two years at the bar. He
3 was a little green then, and I won the case.
4 (Laughter.)
5 SENATOR CONNOR: But what he did
6 exhibit is something that he has maintained
7 consistently throughout his professional
8 career, and that is a fantastic demeanor,
9 gentlemanly conduct, and caring for his
10 clients.
11 Subsequently, I guess it was two
12 years after that, Paul was the lead counsel in
13 a case called Flateau against Anderson -- yes,
14 that Warren Anderson. It was a redistricting
15 case in which I intervened as Senator
16 Ohrenstein's counsel on the same side as Paul.
17 And I saw him carry out that case
18 to fruition, to the point where a special
19 master was convened by a three-judge federal

20 court to draw our lines. It was later
21 resolved the old-fashioned way, but certainly
22 wouldn't have been but for the court case.
23 Subsequently, I've appeared with,
24 against, and at the same time as Paul in many,
25 many cases. He's always, with one exception,

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1 shown extraordinary judgment, and that
2 exception was when he represented my primary
3 opponent in 1992. But I forgive him for that.
4 And I've certainly, in addition to
5 the cases where we've either been opposing
6 counsel or on the same side, I've also been in
7 many a courtroom when Paul had a different
8 case than I had but I observed him doing his
9 fine work.
10 He has, as counsel, brought leading
11 civil rights and voting rights cases in
12 New York State, significant cases that have
13 gone -- one I'm certainly aware of; I think
14 there may have been another one -- to the
15 Supreme Court of the United States, one of
16 which cured a constitutional defect in the
17 entire governance of New York City. And he
18 has just established a fantastic record.
19 And despite all the accolades that
20 he so well deserves and the recognition he has
21 gotten for his landmark litigation which he
22 has brought, he has always maintained and I

23 know throughout the bar in the County of
24 Kings, and indeed in many other counties where
25 he has appeared -- and there have been quite a

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1 few of them -- he has a reputation as a
2 gentleman, as a cordial opponent, yet one who
3 is vigilant in asserting the rights of his
4 clients.
5 So I am indeed honored to second
6 the confirmation of Paul Wooten. I
7 congratulate the Governor, Governor Paterson
8 on this appointment, as well as I guess I
9 forgot to congratulate him for the last
10 appointment. But these are two great
11 appointments to the Supreme Court in Kings
12 County from our great Governor.
15 Thank you, Senator Connor.
16 Senator Smith.
17 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very
18 much, Mr. President.
19 Let me first congratulate the
20 Governor on a superb selection, one which is
21 well-deserved. Mr. Wooten probably has
22 represented three-quarters of this chamber in
23 our conference. His decisions, his
24 appearances on behalf of civil rights issues
25 have, as my colleague Senator Connor said,

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1 have been landmark in many cases.
2 We have a number of guests who are
3 here, which speaks to how exciting, how
4 privileged we are. I see Councilman Vann,
5 former Assemblyman in the chamber, I see
6 Assemblywoman Nettie Robinson, I see
7 Councilwoman Una Clarke.
8 I understand he has family members
9 who are here with him also, his father, James
10 Wooten -- where is your father? I want to see
11 this young man. Father Wooten. Oh, no, you
12 look just like him, too.
13 (Laughter.)
14 SENATOR SMITH: His father,
15 Mr. Wooten; Lynne Elfe; Akilah Elfe Wooten,
16 his daughter. Una Clarke, his godmother, is
17 here.
18 And Senator Connor talked about
19 some of the cases that he was involved with.
20 He talked about, I guess, the decision, as
21 many of us know, with Anderson. He talked
22 about, in particular, one case that I want to
23 cite that I thought became very important to
24 many of us who are here and some of our City
25 Council members, Andrews versus Koch, which

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1 was all about the "one person, one vote,"

2 which violated the 14th and the Fifth
3 Amendments of the Constitution, where they had
4 councilmen at large.
5 And Mr. Wooten saw fit to take this
6 on when many people thought he was crazy.
7 They thought, how could he take on City Hall,
8 how could he take on the entire establishment?
9 And he took that on and won the entire case.
10 Mr. Wooten has represented me
11 myself. I daresay to my colleagues on the
12 other side of the aisle, had it not been for
13 Mr. Wooten, maybe I wouldn't be here right now
14 and you wouldn't have to dislike me.
15 (Laughter.)
16 SENATOR SMITH: However, however,
17 we are very proud of this appointment by the
18 Governor. I can't tell you, Mr. Wooten -- who
19 I'm now calling Judge Wooten -- how satisfied
20 I am and what it means in my heart, what it
21 means to many of our members who know him as
22 not only a lawyer, but know him as a person
23 who his heart and his mind and the level of
24 integrity that he has is second to none.
25 I am just sorry that my good friend

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1 and colleague Assemblyman Vann, Councilman
2 Vann now, can't be standing here and provide
3 the kind of statement on behalf of this man,
4 because I know you know the history, you know

5 all from where he's come, you know those
6 hard-fought basement moments in Brooklyn where
7 you're downstairs in the basement and when you
8 had to look at petitions and you had to get
9 those early mornings of being caught, and you
10 had all of the county organizations on the
11 opposite side of that fence, as you did in
12 Queens for me.
13 Many people won't understand that
14 moment, but I do. I know my wife and I were
15 on the run when they wanted to serve us to be
16 in court the next day, and this man here made
17 sure that we were covered. And many people
18 don't know those kind of stories, but I know
19 those stories. My wife still holds the county
20 organization against that, as a matter of
21 fact.
22 But I will tell you, the judge, I
23 am so proud. And again, to the Governor, you
24 could not have picked a more worthy
25 individual.

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1 Your time has come, there is no
2 question about it. This judgeship for you
3 clearly could have happened before, but I
4 think it's very fitting that the first
5 African-American governor had the opportunity
6 to make you a Supreme Court justice.
7 And I will just tell you, I am

8 never so proud of this day other than the fact
9 when my good friend Senator Paterson, who is
10 now the Governor, took the oath of office.
11 So to you, to your family, to my
12 colleagues Assemblywoman Annette Robinson, to
13 Councilman Al Vann, Una Clarke, this is a
14 great day for us, it's a great day for
15 Brooklyn, and I am glad that you are here in
16 the chambers to hear all the things that
17 people want to say about this great judge that
18 we're going to have.
19 Judge, congratulations to you.
21 Thank you, Senator Smith.
22 Senator Adams.
23 SENATOR ADAMS: Thank you,
24 Mr. President. I want to also rise.
25 I think the state's gain is my

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1 loss. I'm losing my attorney, and he's
2 becoming a judge.
3 And I want to join Senator Smith in
4 acknowledging the presence of my political
5 mentors, both Councilman Vann and
6 Assemblywoman Robinson and Councilwoman
7 Clarke. And I think we saw also Assemblyman
8 Towns that walked into the room as well. It
9 just goes to show you the love and support we
10 have for Judge Wooten.

11 I think that justice is supposed to
12 be blind, but the process must have sight to
13 see. And clearly our Governor saw the
14 competency, he saw the fairness, he saw the
15 commitment, he saw the dedication, he saw the
16 longevity, he saw the importance of not only
17 putting a black man in a black robe, but
18 putting a qualified person to diversify the
19 bench, with so many people that come before
20 them feel as though they don't see or feel
21 justice.
22 And I think the appointment of Paul
23 is the process that starts to allow some
24 countless young people that come before the
25 bench to see that not only can they come

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1 before the bench with handcuffs on, but they
2 can come before the bench to wear a black robe
3 and to participate in administering a fair
4 level of justice, born and raised in the
5 borough of Brooklyn, planting the seed of so
6 many political figures that sit behind these
7 desks here.
8 We admire Paul, we are happy for
9 Paul, we appreciate Paul. And most important,
10 we believe the state will learn to respect and
11 love Paul.
12 Congratulations to you, Judge
13 Wooten.
15 Senator Parker.
16 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you,
17 Mr. President. On the nomination.
18 Let me add my voice to the chorus
19 of those who are congratulating Governor
20 Paterson on this great appointment. We are
21 standing here really on the brink of history.
22 And I again also want to acknowledge some of
23 our guests, former Assemblyman, now Councilman
24 Al Vann; Assemblywoman Robinson; Assemblyman
25 Towns; and my political mentor, former

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1 Councilmember Una Clarke.
2 My first political campaign in the
3 State of New York was working for Una Clarke
4 when she ran for the City back in like 1990,
5 '91. And I had never really worked on many
6 campaigns at that point, and the attorney on
7 that case working that election was Paul
8 Wooten.
9 And I learned so much in that one
10 moment, in that time. Mostly how to keep my
11 mouth shut and how to pay attention to the
12 details. You know, Paul Wooten is a
13 taskmaster when it come to the details, and
14 somebody who is -- and this is what made him
15 just such a fine jurist.
16 I got to know him not just as an

17 attorney on other cases, but he's been my
18 attorney, both on election matters and some
19 personal matters.
20 But outside of heading his own law
21 firm, you know, he's been admitted to the bar
22 since 1978, admitted to the bar of both the
23 U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court,
24 the Eastern and Southern District Courts for
25 over 20 years.

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1 His office presently specializes in
2 federal and civil litigation affecting the
3 areas of civil rights, ballot access, public
4 policy, and community-based organizations.
5 Just so you understand how important Paul
6 Wooten is, that of all of the ballot access
7 cases that happen in the United States,
8 50 percent of them happen in New York.
9 That's not the impressive part. Of
10 the 50 percent, of all the 100 percent that
11 happen in New York, 50 percent of all the
12 ballot access cases that happen in the State
13 of New York happen in Brooklyn. And that
14 there is nobody who has been more on the front
15 lines in dealing with those cases than Paul
16 Wooten.
17 And so his firm has really been at
18 the vanguard of making sure that people's
19 rights and that ballot access has been

20 achieved, particularly for people in the
21 African-American and Latino communities.
22 He's represented tons of
23 candidates. In 1981 he was a counsel to the
24 New York State Black and Puerto Rican
25 Legislative Caucus. In 1982, he was the

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1 lead-plaintiff counsel in Flateau vs.
2 Anderson, a case in 2005, candidate for public
3 office of Kings County. In 1989 he was
4 appointed the first deputy counsel for the
5 1989 and '90 charter revision committee. In
6 1992 he was the attorney for the plaintiff
7 Congressman Major R. Owens and various
8 class-action residential and minority-class
9 voters for the 10th and 11th Congressional
10 Districts.
11 He's taken on cases for the Puerto
12 Rican Legal Defense Fund versus David Gantt.
13 In 2006 he ran as a candidate for election for
14 the U.S. Supreme Court in Brooklyn. He has
15 litigated and advised major cases in New York
16 City and New York State, redistricting and
17 reapportionment schemes that have impacted to
18 improve the lives of over 17.5 million
19 New Yorkers.
20 He has been, you know, a lecturer
21 on the law and recently conducted Election Law
22 seminars in the Supreme Court.

23 I recently had an opportunity to
24 honor him at this year's Black, Puerto Rican
25 and Hispanic Legislative Caucus Weekend, where

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1 we gave him a public service award for all of
2 his work. We did not know at that point that
3 that was going to be the prelude to making
4 history in Brooklyn.
5 He is Brooklyn's own Thurgood
6 Marshall. It is only right to see him
7 elevated to the Supreme Court. I congratulate
8 him. I congratulate his family. And I
9 congratulate the people of the State of
10 New York on adding such a high-quality person,
11 an individual of character, as we have in Paul
12 Wooten.
13 Congratulations. We love you. And
14 we're going to miss you in the courts battle
15 on the front lines.
17 Senator Hassell-Thompson.
18 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
19 you, Mr. President.
20 My colleague Senator Parker has
21 left me very little to say, which is very
22 unusual. However, for Paul Wooten there's
23 always something else to be noticed.
24 Paul Wooten came to assist Senators
25 here in the State of New York to help us

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1 through the redistricting process, and that
2 was an amazing process. I had been in
3 redistricting before, but never quite this up
4 close and personal.
5 And I came away from that really
6 understanding the Voting Rights Act better
7 than I've ever understood it before. And it
8 also helped me to reestablish that I believe
9 is my role here in the State Senate.
10 And today, when I had the
11 opportunity to second his nomination in
12 Judiciary as its ranking member, I could not
13 have been more proud to know that we had taken
14 a major step toward -- and Parker even stole
15 my line -- of creating for the State of
16 New York today's Thurgood Marshall.
17 It is not an overexaggeration to
18 give that title to him for all of the honest
19 commitment and work and service that he has
20 given to the people of this state, but
21 particularly to those of people of color. And
22 he has made sure that when he went into the
23 court, he was totally prepared and he brought
24 justice to every case that he tried. That is
25 something that makes him very worthy and

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1 something that's transferable to when he

2 sits --
4 Excuse me, Senator.
5 Can we have some order, please.
6 Can we take the conversations out of the
7 chamber, please. We need a little quiet so we
8 can do these nominations and hear the
9 speeches.
10 I'm sorry, Senator.
13 I will wrap this up by just merely
14 saying that the justice that people have
15 received on this side of the bench guarantees
16 that they will receive it on the other side of
17 the bench.
18 And I am very proud to be one of
19 those who is seconding his nomination in these
20 Senate chambers today, because I know that the
21 State of New York is getting a good jurist in
22 Paul Wooten.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Is
25 there any other Senator wishing to be heard on

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1 this nomination?
2 Senator Montgomery.
3 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes,
4 Mr. President, thank you.

5 I want to rise to also join my
6 colleagues in seconding and supporting this
7 nomination of a great young jurist.
8 I want to also thank the Governor
9 for his vision, if you will. He certainly --
10 he is blind, but he is very wise and he sees a
11 lot. So this is one of the things that I can
12 say in no uncertain terms, that he has seen
13 very well.
14 And I also want to thank a
15 colleague who is a colleague currently in the
16 City Council, but formerly in the State
17 Assembly, and that's Mr. Vann, Councilmember
18 Al Vann.
19 I think that of all of us in
20 Brooklyn and throughout the state, all of
21 those of us -- and many of us, most of us have
22 enjoyed the brilliance of Paul Wooten's work
23 on many levels. But I seem to remember that
24 it was under the tutelage of Councilman Al
25 Vann that this young man got his start.

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1 It was the mentoring, and I think
2 that it was the way that Al works with young
3 people to give them an opportunity to grow and
4 develop while he sort of gently guides them
5 and shows them what it means to have integrity
6 and to be committed to their people.
7 So I thank you, Al, for that. And

8 this certainly is, while we are giving him so
9 many accolades, it is the fruit of your work
10 with him and the guidance with him.
11 And I am extremely proud to be able
12 to say to this young man, Paul Wooten, that
13 congratulations on your appointment as judge
14 of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Is
16 there any other Senator wishing to be heard?
17 Senator Perkins.
18 SENATOR PERKINS: Mr. President,
19 I didn't want to speak because --
21 Thank you.
22 SENATOR PERKINS: On second
23 thought, I might have more to say than I
24 thought.
25 But so much has been said that I

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1 would have wanted to say myself.
2 But let me first thank Paul for the
3 service he has rendered before it was even
4 recognized.
5 And I want to congratulate him and
6 his family, and especially the folks from the
7 People's Republic of Brooklyn, on this
8 momentous occasion.
9 As I indicated at one point, you
10 know, Paul is like a warrior lawyer, someone

11 who dared to fight the establishment when it
12 was wrong and turned out to win, and has
13 worked very hard in the vineyards as a lawyer
14 and has proven that you can do that, be
15 respected, and ultimately be successful in
16 more than one way, not just in winning those
17 cases but being recognized, once again, by the
18 establishment, such as this august body, to be
19 someone that should be at the highest levels
20 of our system as a Supreme Court judge, and
21 thus becomes a role model for so many others
22 who are moving into the profession and will
23 therefore be inspired and emboldened to
24 realize that you can the right thing and win
25 in more ways than one.

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1 Congratulations and thank you so
2 much for all that you've done.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Any
4 other Senator wishing to be heard?
5 Seeing none, Senator DeFrancisco to
6 close.
7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I
8 don't know Paul Wooten, but I have the feeling
9 that he's an individual that gets to the
10 point. And he's probably wondering when we're
11 going to get to the point and have a vote.
12 That seemed to be going through his mind as I
13 was watching him during these accolades.

14 But I have to -- and if you'll
15 suffer one comment, I have to set the record
16 straight. Because after Senator Connor, at
17 the Judiciary Committee meeting, mentioned
18 that he beat you in an election law case, I
19 think the record has to be complete that
20 Mr. Wooten, soon to be Judge Wooten, had his
21 fair share of victories against our esteemed
22 Senator as well.
23 (Laughter.)
24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: So with the
25 record complete, I wish you would call for a

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1 vote at this point in time.
3 Thank you, Senator.
4 The question is on the nomination
5 of Paul Wooten, of Brooklyn, as justice of the
6 Supreme Court of the Second Judicial District.
7 All in favor signify by saying aye.
10 Opposed, nay.
11 (No response.)
13 Judge Wooten, you are confirmed.
14 Congratulations, sir.
15 (Standing ovation.)

17 Judge Wooten is accompanied by his father,
18 James Wooten; significant other -- the
19 script's words, not mine -- Lynn Elfe;
20 daughter, Akilah Elfe Wooten; godmother Una
21 Thomlinson-Clarke; godmother Devya; New York
22 City Council members Al Vann, Dan Simonette,
23 Gail Kearney and William Robinson, and Wayne
24 Raggae.
25 Again, congratulations, Judge.

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1 (Applause.)
4 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the
5 Westchester County Court, Susan M. Capeci, of
6 Mount Vernon.
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I move the
10 nomination of Susan M. Capeci as a judge of
11 the Westchester County Court.
12 And I would ask you to call on
13 Senator Hassell-Thompson to second the
14 nomination.
16 will do that in one moment, Senator.
17 If we could -- please, if we could
18 take the congratulations -- thank you very
19 much.
20 Senator Hassell-Thompson, on the
21 nomination.
24 I rise to second the nomination of
25 Susan Capeci for County Court in Westchester

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1 County.
2 Susan is a young woman that I know
3 from the City of Mount Vernon. As hometown
4 girls, as we say, it gives me great pleasure
5 to be here and have this opportunity to second
6 her nomination and to say to this body as a
7 whole that I congratulate the Governor on this
8 choice as well, for someone who has committed
9 and dedicated her life to the law and also to
10 a sense of justice to people.
11 She has been not only involved in
12 all the things that you'll see in her resume,
13 but more than that, she has committed herself
14 to people. And she believes in justice and
15 fairness, and she believes that the law is a
16 tool to use not in a punitive way but in a
17 just way.
18 And so I am very grateful to the
19 Governor and to this body for her nomination,
20 and I request that my colleagues vote with me
21 unanimously to make Susan Capeci the next
22 County Court judge in the County of

23 Westchester.

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1 Thank you, Senator Hassell-Thompson.
2 Senator Stewart-Cousins.
3 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Yes,
4 thank you, Mr. President.
5 I also rise on behalf of Susan
6 Capeci. I represent Westchester. I don't
7 live in Mount Vernon, so she's not, as Senator
8 Hassell-Thompson would say, my homegirl. But
9 she is, in many ways, because you don't have
10 to live in Mount Vernon to have been touched
11 by the work that she brings to the entire
12 county.
13 Whether it's working on behalf of
14 incarcerated women, whether it's working on
15 behalf of children whose circumstances need a
16 little boost and a little support, whether
17 it's working and toiling in the vineyards,
18 making sure in the Yonkers Lion's Club that
19 your capacity is felt -- wherever you are in
20 Westchester, you've probably felt the work of
21 as Sue Capeci.
22 She will serve us well as a
23 Westchester County judge.
24 And I really am not only happy
25 about your nomination, but I want to say that

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1 again our Governor has presented us with such
2 a wonderful slate of judges that we will be in
3 very, very good hands judicially.
4 Thank you.
7 Any other Senators wishing to be
8 heard?
9 The question is on the nomination
10 of Susan M. Capeci, of Mount Vernon, as judge
11 of the Westchester County Court. All in favor
12 signify by saying aye.
15 Opposed, nay.
16 (No response.)
18 ayes have it.
19 Congratulations, Judge Capeci. You
20 are confirmed.
21 (Applause.)
24 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the
25 Nassau County Court, Honorable Norman St.

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1 George, of Garden City.

4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I
5 would move the nomination of Norman St. George
6 as a judge of the Nassau County Court, and I'd
7 ask that you please call on Senator Skelos to
8 second the nomination.
10 Senator Skelos.
11 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you very
12 much, Mr. President and Senator DeFrancisco.
13 It's my pleasure to second the
14 nomination of Norman St. George as judge of
15 the County Court in Nassau County.
16 One of the great things about
17 today, not one of the nominees talked to us
18 about a pay raise. So we appreciate that,
19 although we've heard from many of your
20 colleagues throughout the past six months.
21 But Norman is a very unique person,
22 a good person -- a trial lawyer, a person who
23 served in the district attorney's office, and
24 now presently a District Court judge. He's a
25 gentleman, and I believe that this body should

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1 confirm him and that Governor Paterson has
2 made an excellent recommendation for
3 confirmation.
4 So, Judge, I congratulate you on

5 your elevation. Good luck, and hopefully none
6 of us will ever appear before you.
9 Senator C. Johnson.
10 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Thank
11 you, Mr. President. I rise today to also
12 second the nomination of my good friend Norman
13 St. George for the County Court.
14 I've had the privilege of being in
15 the trenches with Judge St. George when he was
16 an attorney in private practice, and I've had
17 the pleasure of working with him on a number
18 of issues.
19 His resume speaks for itself,
20 whether it was as an assistant district
21 attorney in Nassau County, whether it was in
22 private practice or what he's been doing for
23 the last couple of years, serving as a
24 District Court judge in Nassau County, where
25 he was responsible for establishing the first

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1 domestic violence misdemeanor court that ever
2 existed in Nassau County. And for the past
3 number of years, he's been presiding over all
4 of the misdemeanor DWI offenses.
5 But you have to go beyond the
6 resume, and I feel it's important to speak to
7 those who appear before Judge St. George on a

8 regular basis and ask for their opinion on
9 what kind of temperament, what kind of judge
10 he has been and he will be. And what I
11 received are these fine adjectives: "Honest,"
12 "fair-minded," "knowledgeable," "operates his
13 courtroom extremely efficiently," and -- the
14 most important thing for many lawyers --
15 "punctual on the bench."
16 I commend Governor Paterson on this
17 nomination. He will make a fine County Court
18 jurist, one that we can all be proud of. So
19 it's my pleasure today again to second his
20 nomination. I look forward to voting for him
21 in the affirmative.
22 Congratulations to you, Judge St.
23 George, to your wife, Carman, and I welcome
24 also your good friend Bobby Kumar today here
25 to our chamber.

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1 Thank you very much.
3 Thank you, Senator Johnson.
4 Senator Fuschillo.
5 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you,
6 Mr. President.
7 I want to just echo the sentiments
8 of my colleagues Senator Skelos and Senator
9 Johnson. And the qualities that they've
10 talked about a new judge is what's sorely

11 needed on the bench.
12 I'm not an attorney, so it's easy
13 for me to say this. I think it's disgraceful
14 that all I read about in the papers about
15 judges is they won't hear cases from attorneys
16 that are members of law firms because they
17 didn't get a raise and they say it's a
18 conflict of interest.
19 I often wonder, when they get the
20 raise, is it not a conflict of interest then
21 to hear it? I think it's taken a little bit
22 off the -- what I always held the judges' in
23 the judiciary to be high standards.
24 I just ask that you continue on the
25 path that you've always continued on, with the

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1 honesty that you've always demonstrated on the
2 bench. I congratulate you, and I wish you the
3 best of luck.
5 other Senators wishing to be heard?
6 Seeing none, the question is on the
7 Honorable Norman St. George, of Garden City,
8 as judge of the Nassau County Court. All in
9 favor signify by saying aye.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: All
12 opposed, nay.
13 (No response.)
15 ayes have it.
16 Judge St. George, congratulations.
17 You are confirmed.
18 (Applause.)
20 Judge St. George is accompanied by his wife,
21 Carman, and his friend and my friend Bobby
22 Kumar. Congratulations, Judge.
23 Can we now go to reports of select
24 committees.
25 Communications and reports from

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1 state officers.
2 Motions and resolutions.
3 Senator Bonacic.
4 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 On behalf of Senator Volker, I move
7 that the following bills be discharged from
8 their respective committees and be recommitted
9 with instructions to strike the enacting
10 clause: Senate Number 3493.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: So
12 ordered, Senator.
13 SENATOR BONACIC: Mr. President,
14 we have moved to amend a bill on the calendar
15 third reading. On behalf of Senator
16 Fuschillo, on page number 47, I offer the

17 following amendments to Calendar Number 955,
18 Senate Print Number 1634A, and ask that that
19 bill retain its place on the Third Reading
20 Calendar.
22 amendments are received.
24 on behalf of yourself, Senator Marcellino --

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1 Who?
2 SENATOR BONACIC: -- I ask that
3 we make a motion to amend a bill also on
4 calendar third reading. On page number 41, I
5 offer the following amendments to Calendar
6 Number 886, Senate Print Number 6940, and ask
7 that said bill retain its place on the Third
8 Reading Calendar.
10 amendments are accepted.
11 SENATOR BONACIC: And last but
12 not least, Mr. President, on behalf of Senator
13 Young, we move to call Bill Print Number
14 3714A, recalled from the Assembly, which is
15 now at the desk.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 82, by Senator Young, Senate Print 3714A, an

20 act to amend the Agriculture and Markets Law.
22 I now move to reconsider the vote by which
23 this bill was passed.
25 Secretary will call the roll on

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1 reconsideration.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
5 I now offer the following amendments.
7 amendments are accepted.
8 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you very
9 much, Mr. President.
11 You're welcome.
12 Senator Skelos.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: I believe there
14 are two substitutions at the desk, if we could
15 make them at this time.
17 Secretary will read the substitutions.
18 THE SECRETARY: On page 48,
19 Senator Larkin moves to discharge, from the
20 Committee on Agriculture, Assembly Bill Number
21 5973 and substitute it for the identical
22 Senate Bill Number 2019, Third Reading

23 Calendar 967.
24 And on page 57, Senator Flanagan
25 moves to discharge, from the Committee on

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1 Commerce, Economic Development and Small
2 Business, Assembly Bill Number 9459 and
3 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
4 Number 6501, Third Reading Calendar 1068.
6 substitutions are ordered.
7 Senator Skelos.
8 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
9 please recognize Senator Duane.
11 Senator Duane.
12 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you very
13 much, Mr. President. And thank you very much,
14 Senator Skelos.
15 We are very honored today to have
16 in the chamber today Ambassador Kenneth Liao,
17 from Taiwan.
18 And as many of you know, Taiwan is
19 a very, very vibrant democracy and a good
20 friend of our country. I also have to add
21 that Taiwan is a very, very strong and vibrant
22 trading partner with New York State -- in
23 fact, an enormous trading partner with
24 New York State -- and therefore a great friend
25 of New York State.

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1 And I'm very pleased that they are
2 here visiting us in the capital of the Empire
3 State, and I am hoping that you will give a
4 warm welcome to Ambassador Kenneth Liao of
5 Taiwan.
6 (Applause.)
7 SENATOR DUANE: And he is joined
8 by Simon Sung, who is the director of the
9 Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in
10 New York, and James Wei, who is the director
11 of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in
12 New York.
13 And I want to thank you very much
14 for coming here to visit with us today, and
15 we'll see you soon. Thank you.
17 Gentlemen, on behalf of the Senate, we wish
18 you well. Thank you for coming. We
19 appreciate you being here, and safe home and
20 godspeed.
21 Senator Skelos.
23 there's a Resolution 5712, by Senator Klein,
24 that was previously adopted by the Senate. If
25 we could have it read in its entirety at this

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1 time.
4 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Klein,
5 Legislative Resolution Number 5712,
6 commemorating the Declaration of the
7 Independence of Kosova.
8 "WHEREAS, New York State and the
9 international community recognize that a right
10 to self-determination exists as a fundamental
11 right of all people; and
12 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this
13 Legislative Body to commemorate the
14 Declaration of Independence of Kosova on
15 Sunday, February 17, 2008, and to recognize
16 the large population of ethnic Albanian
17 emigres from Kosova living in the State of
18 New York; and
19 "WHEREAS, The declaration of
20 Kosova's independence from Serbia sent tens of
21 thousands of Albanians into the streets in
22 Kosova and around the world in peaceful
23 celebration of what they hope is the end of a
24 long struggle for freedom and national
25 self-determination; and

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1 "WHEREAS, From the occupation of
2 Kosova in 1989, until the NATO air strikes
3 against the Serbian regime of Slobodan
4 Milosevic in 1999, the Albanians of Kosova

5 were subjected to brutal treatment, forcing
6 approximately 400,000 to flee to Western
7 Europe and the United States, the majority of
8 whom settled in New York State; and
9 "WHEREAS, Almost 1 million Kosovar
10 Albanians were driven out of Kosova, and at
11 least 10,000 were murdered by Serbian
12 paramilitary and military forces under the
13 former Serbian dictator and later indicted war
14 criminal Slobodan Milosevic; and
15 "WHEREAS, The United Nations
16 established Kosova as a protectorate under
17 Resolution 1244 in June 1999, ending the
18 decade-long Serbian occupation of Kosova and
19 Milosevic's genocidal war against Albanians,
20 and provided an interim international civil
21 presence that, in a final stage, would
22 facilitate a political process designed to
23 determine Kosova's final status; and
24 "WHEREAS, After almost two years of
25 negotiations between Serbia and Kosova with

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1 international envoys, Kosova declared its
2 independence on February 17, 2008, with the
3 support of the United States and Western
4 Europe; and
5 "WHEREAS, The 92 percent majority
6 Albanian state of Kosova is committed to a
7 Western-style democracy in which all citizens,

8 regardless of ethnicity, are protected and
9 granted full human and civil rights, as put
10 forth in Kosova's new constitution; and
11 "WHEREAS, President George W. Bush,
12 on behalf of the American people, recognized
13 Kosova as an independent and sovereign state
14 and congratulated its citizens for having
15 taken this important state in their democratic
16 and national development; and
17 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body
18 recognizes certain events that exemplify the
19 power of the human spirit to overcome
20 oppression, and today, the people of this
21 great Empire State pay just tribute to the
22 people of Kosova upon the declaration of their
23 independence; now, therefore, be it
24 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
25 Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate

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1 the Declaration of the Independence of Kosova
2 on February 17, 2008; and be it further
3 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this
4 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
5 to the Albanian American Civil League."
7 Senator Klein.
8 SENATOR KLEIN: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 I'd also like to thank our Deputy

11 Majority Leader, Senator Skelos, for allowing
12 me to speak on this resolution briefly
13 commemorating the Declaration of the
14 Independence of Kosova.
15 Today we recognize and celebrate a
16 truly incredible notion, freedom and
17 self-determination, because on February 17,
18 2008, the people of Kosova declared their
19 independence from Serbia. The tumultuous
20 history of the Kosova Albanians is a tragic
21 one and cannot be summed up in a few phrases
22 here in this chamber.
23 However, it is important to
24 highlight the struggle to independence because
25 it is that which makes February 17th as well

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1 as today so important.
2 Here to celebrate today with us is
3 former Congressman Joe DioGuardi and his wife,
4 Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi. Amongst the many
5 great things they have done for the community,
6 in 1989 they founded the Albanian American
7 Civic League.
8 The league is a volunteer-based
9 organization which strives to represent the
10 concerns of Albanian Americans and the
11 national cause of 7 million Albanians living
12 in harmony overseas and here at home.
13 It is groups like the Albanian

14 American Civic League that have aided in the
15 achievement of full human and civil rights for
16 all citizens of Kosova as put forth in
17 Kosova's new Constitution.
18 I'd like also like to say that over
19 the years, in my career in public service,
20 I've had the privilege of always representing
21 a large number of Albanian Americans. And
22 just to watch the immigrant experience, you
23 can't find another ethnic group that has done
24 so well in the assimilation process. They
25 come here and very quickly start their own

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1 businesses, become very self-sufficient.
2 And I think the reason why they've
3 been so successful here in our United States
4 is something very simple. It's a sense of
5 family, it's a sense of community, and, most
6 of all, a love of America.
7 I think the reason why also they're
8 so successful is they remember who they are
9 and where they came from. They remember their
10 illustrious heritage but at the same time are
11 proud to be Americans.
12 I'd like to just recognize some of
13 the outstanding Albanian American leaders we
14 have here today. As I said before, former
15 Congressman Joe DioGuardi, who represented
16 Westchester County in Congress, and his lovely

17 wife, Shirley.
18 We also have with us Arslan Cekaj,
19 who's a member of the board; Mark Gjonaj,
20 another member of the board of the Albanian
21 American Civic League; also Eduard Kepi,
22 Klotilda Kepi, Marko Kepi, Ismet Redzepagaj,
23 Beqir Sina, and also Nataliya Scotce.
24 Let's give them a big hand for
25 joining us today on this truly momentous

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1 occasion. Thank you.
2 (Applause.)
4 Mr. President.
6 This resolution was previously adopted.
7 Senator Skelos.
9 there's a resolution at the desk by Senator
10 Morahan, Number 5888. If we could have the
11 title read and move for its immediate
12 adoption.
15 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
16 Morahan, Legislative Resolution 5888,
17 memorializing Governor David A. Paterson to
18 proclaim May 17, 2008, as Thurgood Marshall
19 Day in the State of New York.

21 question is on the resolution. All in favor
25 Opposed, nay.

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1 (No response.)
3 ayes have it; the resolution is adopted.
4 Senator Skelos.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: There's a
6 resolution at the desk, 5831, by Senator
7 Connor. If we could have the title read and
8 move for its immediate adoption.
11 Senator Skelos.
12 SENATOR SKELOS: Senator
13 Morahan's resolution, we'll open it for
14 cosponsorship. If anybody wishes not to
15 sponsor the resolution, they should notify the
16 desk.
18 Anyone not wishing to sponsor the previous
19 resolution just notify the desk. Otherwise,
20 everyone will be put on the resolution.
21 The Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: By Senator

23 Connor, Legislative Resolution Number 5831,
24 commemorating the 125th Anniversary of the
25 Brooklyn Bridge.

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2 Senator Connor.
4 Mr. President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Are
6 you going to try to sell us a bridge?
7 (Laughter.)
8 SENATOR CONNOR: Well, you know,
9 25 years ago I stood on this floor for a solid
10 two hours, with some assistance from some of
11 my colleagues, as we debated a bill related to
12 the 100th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge.
13 A few of you may have been here who remember
14 that.
15 I won't repeat all those remarks
16 about how famous the Brooklyn Bridge is
17 throughout the world. At the time, I pointed
18 out that I'd been informed that the number-one
19 chewing gum in Italy is called Brooklyn
20 Bridge. Subsequently I, with my children, was
21 in Rome, and they got a real thrill, being
22 Brooklyn kids, buying that chewing gum. They
23 didn't chew it, either; they have it as
24 souvenirs.
25 But it was 125 years ago the

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1 completion of the Brooklyn Bridge, the product
2 of brilliant engineering by John A. Roebling
3 and his son, Washington Roebling, whose wife
4 supervised the actual construction of the
5 bridge.
6 The bridge really was the first
7 span connecting, obviously, the island of Long
8 Island, of which Brooklyn was and remains the
9 premier site, to Manhattan, and then through
10 Manhattan to the mainland, ultimately, of the
11 United States, which we pick up when we hit
12 the Bronx.
13 So while this resolution is
14 sponsored by the entire delegation from
15 Brooklyn, I would certainly invite my
16 colleagues from Manhattan, to whom the bridge
17 joined us physically, if not politically,
18 until later in the Great Mistake of 1898, as
19 we call it in Brooklyn.
20 And it also joined all of Long
21 Island to Manhattan, so if my Long Island
22 colleagues wish to be associated with this, I
23 would open it up.
24 And thus through Manhattan we were
25 joined to the entire rest of the state of

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1 New York except for Staten Island. I think

2 Senator Lanza is the only one who's going to
3 get left out of this, because Senator Savino
4 has part of Brooklyn. But he can join too.
5 So anyone who would like to join, we are
6 celebrating the 125th anniversary.
7 This resolution takes a little
8 different tack with respect to that
9 celebration. You know, past resolutions went
10 on and on and on about the role of the
11 Roeblings, which of course is the subject of
12 several books, including the book called "The
13 Great Bridge."
14 This resolution also mentions young
15 David Bernard Steinman, a newsboy who sold
16 newspapers in the shadow of the bridge, and
17 indeed hung out under the bridge with fellow
18 newsboys and used to look up and say:
19 "Someday" -- this is a kid from Brooklyn --
20 "someday I'll build a bridge like this," to
21 which of course his friends laughed.
22 He then went on to become the
23 premier expert on the aerodynamics of
24 suspension bridges when he grew up and was the
25 bridge designer and engineer for 400 bridges

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1 throughout the world, including the Hell Gate
2 Bridge, the Henry Hudson Bridge, the Marine
3 Parkway Bridge, the Thousand Islands Bridge,
4 Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, and many, many,

5 many other bridges. As I say, 400 bridges,
6 inspired by this bridge, this pioneer bridge,
7 the Brooklyn Bridge, in whose shadow he worked
8 selling newspapers.
9 The Brooklyn Bridge today
10 accommodates six lanes of automobile traffic
11 carrying approximately 145,000 vehicles per
12 day. And it has a beautiful, wonderful
13 separate walkway over which many people can
14 and do walk every day, and which bicyclists
15 can also use.
16 I live a few blocks from the
17 bridge. I've walked over it many times. It's
18 been -- actually Mr. Steinman, between 1944
19 and 1954, was in charge of the reconstruction
20 of the bridge, redoing the wires and so on,
21 cables. The bridge was prettied up and
22 improved 25 years ago for the 100th
23 anniversary of the bridge.
24 It remains worldwide -- I think
25 when it was first built, it was referred to as

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1 the 8th Wonder of the World, and it certainly
2 remains dear in the hearts of all of us.
3 So, Mr. President, this resolution,
4 I urge its passage and invite my colleagues to
5 join in as we celebrate the 125th anniversary
6 of this wonderful bridge. There it stands,
7 strong, majestic and toll-free.

9 (Laughter.)
11 question is on the resolution. All in favor
15 Opposed, nay.
16 (No response.)
18 resolution is carried.
19 And Senator Connor has asked and
20 offered that the resolution be cosponsored to
21 all in the chamber. Anyone wishing not to be
22 on the resolution please notify the desk.
23 Senator Skelos.
25 Senator Bruno has a resolution at the desk,

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1 5886. If we could have the title read and
2 move for its immediate adoption.
5 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Bruno,
6 Senate Resolution Number 5886, establishing a
7 plan setting forth an itemized list of
8 grantees for the New York State Economic
9 Development Assistance Program established
10 pursuant to an appropriation in the 2008-2009

11 state fiscal year and in Part QQ of Chapter 57
12 of the Laws of 2008.
14 Secretary will call the roll on the
15 resolution.
19 resolution is adopted.
20 Senator Skelos.
22 if we could go to the noncontroversial reading
23 of the calendar.
25 Secretary will give us the noncontroversial

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1 reading of the calendar.
3 if I could, there's a separate Resolution
4 Calendar. I move that we adopt it at this
5 time.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: I'm
7 sorry. The motion is on adopting the separate
8 Resolution Calendar. All in favor signify by
9 saying aye.
12 Opposed, nay.
13 (No response.)
15 Resolution Calendar is adopted.
16 Let's proceed on to the
17 noncontroversial reading of the calendar.
19 664, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 7034A, an
20 act to amend the Parks, Recreation and
21 Historic Preservation Law, in relation to
22 creating.
24 Read the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This

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1 act shall take effect immediately.
3 Call the roll.
7 bill is passed.
9 708, by Senator Griffo, Senate Print 7167, an
10 act to amend the Highway Law and the Vehicle
11 and Traffic Law, in relation to maintenance.
15 act shall take effect on the 120th day.

17 Call the roll.
21 bill is passed.
23 755, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 3440A, an
24 act to amend the Civil Rights Law, in relation
25 to prohibiting.

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6 Call the roll.
10 bill is passed.
12 951, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 231, an
13 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
14 relation to fees and charges.
18 act shall take effect on the first of January.

20 Call the roll.
24 bill is passed.

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1 953, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 282, an
2 act to provide for the creation of a temporary
3 state commission.
9 Call the roll.
13 bill is passed.
15 956, by Senator Young, Senate Print 2036A, an
16 act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
17 providing.

23 Call the roll.

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2 bill is passed.
4 961, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 4491, an
5 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
6 payment.
8 Read the last section, please.
12 Call the roll.
16 bill is passed.
18 972, by Senator Young, Senate Print 8004, an
19 act to amend the Agriculture and Markets Law
20 and the Education Law, in relation to farm
21 conservation practices.

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2 Call the roll.
6 bill is passed.
8 975, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 7223, an
9 act to amend the Arts and Cultural Affairs
10 Law, in relation to creating.
16 Call the roll.
20 bill is passed.
22 977, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 436, an
23 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
24 establishing.

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3 act shall take effect on the first of
4 November.
6 Call the roll.
9 Senator Montgomery, to explain her vote.
10 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes,
11 Mr. President, I just want to point out to you
12 and my colleagues that this legislation, while
13 it -- I'm sure that the intent is to try and
14 secure people on college campuses or any
15 school ground, to secure the people who are
16 there for totally legitimate reasons, it does
17 create in certain instances a felony for a
18 person to step onto the school grounds,
19 including college and university grounds,
20 campuses.
21 And while there are three different
22 levels of seriousness of a sex offender, all
23 levels are required to register as sex
24 offenders.
25 So in fact we could be creating a

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1 situation where a young person who was
2 required to register because they were deemed
3 to be a sex offender, even though it's
4 Level 1, and it could have been twenty years

5 prior or two years prior or whatever, that
6 young person is still registered as a sex
7 offender and will not be able to go onto a
8 college campus.
9 So I'm going to oppose this, and I
10 ask my colleagues to join me in voting against
11 this legislation. I think it just goes too
12 far.
13 Thank you.
15 Announce the results, please.
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. Nays,
17 2. Senators Duane and Montgomery recorded in
18 the negative.
20 bill is passed.
22 980, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 603,
23 an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in
24 relation to evidence.

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5 Call the roll.

9 bill is passed.
11 981, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 697, an
12 act to amend the Penal Law and the Correction
13 Law, in relation to endangering the welfare of
14 a child.
20 Call the roll.
24 bill is passed.

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1 983, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 947B, an
3 crimes of criminal possession.
8 November.
10 Call the roll.

14 bill is passed.
16 984, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 1601A,
17 an act to amend the Penal Law and others, in
18 relation to presumption of possession.
23 November.
25 Call the roll.

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2 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
3 the negative on Calendar Number 984 are
4 Senators Duane, Hassell-Thompson, Montgomery
5 and Perkins. Also Senator Schneiderman.
6 Ayes, 56. Nays, 5.
8 bill is passed.
12 concurrent and consecutive terms of
13 imprisonment.
18 November.
20 Call the roll.
23 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
25 bill is passed.

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2 989, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 3668,
3 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
4 the crime of aggravated harassment.
9 November.
11 Call the roll.
15 Senators Duane, Hassell-Thompson, L. Krueger,
16 Montgomery and Perkins.

17 Ayes, 56. Nays, 5.
19 bill is passed.
22 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law and
23 the Family Court Act, in relation to
24 fingerprinting.

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5 Call the roll.
9 Senators Dilan, Duane, Hassell-Thompson,
10 Montgomery and Perkins.
11 Ayes, 56. Nays, 5.
13 bill is passed.
17 unlawful weapons.

22 November.
24 Call the roll.

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3 bill is passed.
5 1001, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 7548, an
6 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in
7 relation to permitting.
13 Call the roll.
17 bill is passed.
19 1011, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 1484, an
20 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
21 relation to form of number plates.


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2 Call the roll.
6 bill is passed.
8 1014, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 5315,
9 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
10 in relation to additional penalties.
15 November.
17 Call the roll.
21 bill is passed.
23 1015, by Senator Maltese, Senate Print 6244,
24 an act to amend the Transportation Law, in
25 relation to the granting of immunity.

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6 Call the roll.
9 1. Senator Connor recorded in the negative.
11 bill is passed.
13 1043, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 274, an
14 act to amend the Correction Law, in relation
15 to penalty.
21 Call the roll.
24 2. Senators Montgomery and Perkins recorded
25 in the negative.

(518) 371-8910
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2 bill is passed.
5 act to amend the Correction Law, in relation
6 to requiring.
12 Call the roll.
16 Senators Duane, Montgomery, Parker and
17 Perkins.
18 Ayes, 57. Nays, 4.
20 bill is passed.
22 1068, substituted earlier today by Member of
23 the Assembly Christensen, Assembly Print
24 Number 9459, an act to amend the Economic
25 Development Law, in relation to assistance.

(518) 371-8910
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6 Call the roll.
10 bill is passed.
11 Senator Skelos, that completes the
12 reading of the calendar.
14 if we could now take up the supplemental
15 active list, noncontroversial.
17 Senate will now take up the supplemental
18 active list, noncontroversial.
21 964, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 3533, an
22 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in
23 relation to establishing.

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1 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside,
2 please.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Lay
4 the bill aside.
6 967, substituted earlier today by Member of
7 the Assembly Magee, Assembly Print Number

8 5973, an act to amend the Agriculture and
9 Markets Law, in relation to including.
15 Call the roll.
18 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
20 bill is passed.
24 relation to limiting.

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4 November.
6 Call the roll.
10 bill is passed.
12 979, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 454, an
14 relation to eliminating.
20 Call the roll.
24 Senators Montgomery, Parker and Perkins.
25 Ayes, 58. Nays, 3.

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2 bill is passed.
4 982, by Senator Stachowski, Senate Print 944,
5 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
6 criminal impersonation.
11 November.
13 Call the roll.

17 bill is passed.
19 985, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 1662, an
21 disposal of allegedly stolen motor vehicles.

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1 November.
3 Call the roll.
7 bill is passed.
10 act to amend the Highway Law, in relation to
11 designating.

17 Call the roll.
21 bill is passed.
24 act to amend the Highway Law, in relation to
25 designating a portion.

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6 Call the roll.
10 bill is passed.
12 1024, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 1470,
13 an act authorizing the Greenwood Lake Union
14 Free School District.

20 Call the roll.
24 bill is passed.
25 Senator Skelos, that completes the

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1 noncontroversial reading of the supplemental
2 calendar.
3 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you,
4 Mr. President. If we could ring the bells
5 now. We have one bill on the controversial
6 calendar. And we'll take up Calendar Number
7 964.
9 Secretary will ring the bells. We have a
10 controversial calendar bill to be debated.
11 Please notify our Senators to come back to the
12 chamber.
15 964, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 3533, an
16 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
17 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER:
18 Explanation.
20 Senator LaValle, an explanation has been
21 requested.
22 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you very

23 much.
25 Excuse me, Senator. Could we have some order

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1 in the chamber, please, so we can get this
2 debate done and everyone can hear.
3 Thank you.
4 SENATOR LaVALLE: Senator
5 Krueger, this is one bill as part of our body
6 looking at how we can be helpful to our
7 taxpayers dealing with this very crushing and
8 vexing problem of school real property taxes.
9 The provisions in this bill have been included
10 in our Senate budget bills over the last
11 number of years.
12 What this would do for those
13 citizens who have achieved the age of 70 years
14 old and who also receive the enhanced STAR --
15 and that dollar figure is $70,650. So if
16 you're 70 years old, earn less than $70,650,
17 and you qualify for the enhanced STAR program,
18 and -- and this is very critical -- and your
19 local school district has passed a resolution
20 authorizing that the school district wants to
21 come under the provisions of this bill, then
22 they would.
23 Lastly, one of the problems in the
24 past, pre-STAR, is that many of our efforts
25 would exempt property. But what we learned

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1 under STAR and why we did that is that, dollar
2 for dollar, whatever we exempt we give back to
3 that school district.
4 So I think we've all heard that by
5 the time these seniors are 70 years old, their
6 children, hopefully, have been gone, out of
7 the house and independent, on their own, that
8 somewhere between the cradle and the grave
9 that they can look for some real relief,
10 provided they meet the provisions of this act.
12 Senator Krueger.
14 Mr. President, if the sponsor would
15 please yield.
17 Senator LaValle, do you yield for a question?
18 SENATOR LaVALLE: Yes.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: He
20 yields, Senator.
22 So as I understand your
23 explanation, Senator, the local school
24 district would decide whether it was going to
25 participate in this, but they would be

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1 transferring the cost of the lost revenue at

2 the local school district level to us at the
3 state.
4 SENATOR LaVALLE: That is
5 correct.
6 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: That is
7 correct.
8 So, Mr. President, if through you
9 the sponsor would continue to yield.
11 Senator LaValle?
14 yields.
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: There's no
16 fiscal implication or fiscal note on this
17 bill. We're being asked to pass a piece of
18 legislation that could conceivably cost the
19 state an enormous amount of money and
20 certainly would be at a growing rate every
21 year because of the way it adjusts up every
22 year from the base year of turning 70. And I
23 don't know anybody who expects their school
24 taxes to actually go down.
25 So why don't we have a fiscal note

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1 or a fiscal estimate of the cost to the state?
2 SENATOR LaVALLE: I will give you
3 that figure. Obviously the bill has gone
4 through the Finance Committee, so that they

5 have a fiscal note, and I will give you that.
6 But one of the things that we have
7 done, Senator, is a variety of programs and
8 even our state aid to education, the state has
9 picked up greater and greater of the school
10 district cost because we recognize that it is
11 crushing.
12 Today -- I just mention two figures
13 to you -- we presently in this year pick up
14 state aid to education, $21 billion, with a B,
15 and also our STAR, slash, rebate program is
16 another $5 billion. So we as a state, as a
17 matter of policy, have invested $26 billion
18 because we want to remove or start taking the
19 pressure off the local taxpayer and put it on
20 the broader-based taxes of the state which we
21 have access to, meaning the income tax, the
22 sales tax, the corporation taxes, et cetera.
23 And we as a matter of policy have
24 felt that that is a fairer way to fund
25 education and start moving away from the real

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1 property tax, move away from the real property
2 tax.
3 The implications of this in the
4 2009-2010 fiscal year would be $118 million.
5 And as you know, Senator, each one
6 of us and as a body have put priorities, and
7 this body has said time and time again

8 reducing real property taxes is a priority of
9 this body. At least it is for this Majority.
11 Mr. President, on the bill.
13 Senator Krueger, on the bill.
14 SENATOR L. KRUEGER: Thank you.
15 I appreciate the sponsor's answers to my
16 questions and his responsiveness of pointing
17 out that this bill would cost $118 million in
18 its first year.
19 And again, under the assumption
20 that you're 70, it's your base year, and it's
21 going to grow over the years -- because we
22 hope you live a long happy life after you're
23 70 -- one could assume this will continue to
24 grow as a cost to the State of New York each
25 and every year.

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1 Not necessarily disagreeing with
2 the sponsor on our goal of addressing the
3 property tax problem, although I personally am
4 waiting for the Governor's Property Tax
5 Commission to come up with their own
6 recommendations, because I think we need to
7 look at tax policy holistically and I think we
8 need to look at major expenditure items such
9 as this in the context of the budget.
10 So the Senator pointed out that we

11 have discussed this in the context of the
12 budget. It did not pass in the budget we just
13 passed a month ago in this house. So it's
14 another attempt at a bite at the apple as a
15 freestanding bill that will cost the State of
16 New York a minimum of $118 million.
17 So I would argue it's the wrong
18 time to pass a freestanding budget bill after
19 we've just done the budget. I also think it's
20 the wrong time to pass a freestanding STAR
21 amended bill, because we're waiting to see
22 what the property tax commission
23 recommendations are.
24 I also would point out that while
25 some of my colleagues love the STAR model,

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1 others of us don't, because it historically
2 has benefited homeowners over renters. So I
3 too, and many of my colleagues, have people
4 turning 70 each and every day in our
5 districts.
6 But in the City of New York, most
7 of our 70-and-up constituents are actually
8 renters, not owners, and so in fact STAR not
9 only does nothing to help them, but
10 technically this bill, because it would shift
11 the cost -- not end a cost, but shift a
12 cost -- to the state budget that is now within
13 our local property tax budgets would actually

14 say that people in the City of New York and
15 Syracuse and Rochester and Albany and other
16 parts of the state, and Buffalo, who are
17 renters would now pick up a portion of the tax
18 costs transferred to them in state taxes from
19 property taxes currently paid at the local
20 level.
21 So I could agree that we need to
22 reevaluate tax equity in this state, how we
23 collect taxes. I'm not a big believer in
24 property taxes for some parts of the state and
25 not for others. I am a big believer in

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1 progressive taxation, and I think we should be
2 shifting more and more away from regressive
3 taxes, which can include property taxes, and
4 to progressive tax likes the income tax.
5 But I'd have to argue that for
6 several reasons, this is the wrong bill for us
7 to pass now. One, it's a budget bill external
8 to the budget. Two, it transfers costs from
9 the local to the state without an explanation
10 of what we'd cut in the state budget to make
11 up for it.
12 Three, it transfers local costs
13 actually to renters who don't take any
14 advantage from a STAR program but would end up
15 continuing to have to pay, we assume, a higher
16 state rate.
17 Four, we're waiting for the
18 property tax commission to be making
19 recommendations to us on how to deal with
20 this.
21 And five, the STAR program in my
22 opinion is not an equitable program and so an
23 expansion of it, even though I respect my
24 colleague's point, is not the direction I feel
25 we ought to be going.

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1 So I'll be voting no, thank you,
2 and I hope some of my colleagues will think
3 this through with me.
4 Appreciate it, Mr. President.
6 Senator Schneiderman.
7 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you.
8 If the sponsor would yield for a question.
10 Senator LaValle, do you yield?
11 SENATOR LaVALLE: Yes, I do.
13 yields.
14 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: So I
15 appreciate the sponsor's description of the
16 bill, particularly the reference to the fact
17 that we become overly reliant on property
18 taxes and we've put, over the last decade or
19 so, increased burdens on local governments.

20 And that the sponsor said as a matter of
21 policy we should be taking the pressure off
22 the local tax base and putting it on the
23 broader-based taxes of the state.
24 My question is, in an effort to
25 bring down property taxes and pay for the

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1 $26 billion that we've already committed and
2 the $118 million we're committing here, would
3 the sponsor be supportive of an effort to put
4 a surcharge on the income tax of New Yorkers
5 earning more than $1 million a year in order
6 to help pay for this?
7 SENATOR LaVALLE: Why would I
8 want to do that, Senator?
9 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Well, if
10 you're going to take the tax burden off local
11 taxes --
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: You
13 know I'm going to stop this. You've got to go
14 through me.
15 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: We're
16 getting along so well.
18 know you are. It's a lovefest, and I
19 understand that. But please.
20 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Happy to
21 comply. Through you, if the sponsor would
22 continue to yield.
24 Senator, do you continue to yield?

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2 yields.
3 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you.
4 If you are going to take the tax
5 burden off the local governments by reducing
6 property taxes and require that the State
7 Education Department reimburses the local
8 government for that money, you have to raise
9 more money at the state level.
10 So my question is, as a matter of
11 equity and fairness, would the sponsor, in an
12 effort to raise that money so we can relieve
13 the tax burden, support a proposed surcharge
14 only on the income that people make over a
15 million dollars a year? Only would affect
16 people who make more than $20,000 a week.
17 SENATOR LaVALLE: Senator, that's
18 a great question because it shows very, very
19 clearly the difference between you as a
20 Democrat and I as a Republican. Because I
21 believe that we need to cut spending so that
22 we can retrieve additional dollars.
23 Senator Bruno had a press
24 conference last week, as you know. And I
25 don't know how you voted on placing a cap on

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1 spending. But if we had followed that over a
2 period of time, I think it was five years,
3 that that would have produced $1 billion in
4 savings. And so sometimes we look at the
5 wrong side of the ledger.
6 You know, we're already the
7 highest-taxed state in the nation. Here -- I
8 don't want to really get into a debate on tax
9 policy, which is where you want to take the
10 debate, but really on program policy and how
11 we address -- and I think -- I thought we
12 agreed in this house that the reason we're
13 spending $21 billion plus the five,
14 $26 billion, is to take the pressure off the
15 real property tax.
16 This bill, by the way, is only one
17 of many, and only one approach that you will
18 begin to see on how we need to deal with this
19 problem.
20 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
21 Mr. President. I'd like to thank the sponsor
22 for his answers.
23 On the bill.
25 Senator Schneiderman, on the bill.

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1 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I'm in

2 absolute agreement with the sponsor that our
3 disagreement is I am a Democrat and he is a
4 Republican. I think this is a good way to
5 frame the issue.
6 We are not spending $26 billion to
7 take the pressure off local property taxes.
8 We're spending $26 billion to take the
9 pressure off local property taxes without
10 cutting one dollar from the state's budget.
11 Now, you can have it either way. I
12 believe we should pay for what we get. I
13 don't believe we should lie to the people of
14 the State of New York by saying, Oh, we're
15 going to put another $118 million burden on
16 the State Education Department, but it's not
17 going to affect school programs.
18 The problem is that after the
19 12 years of the Pataki-Bruno era, and as
20 demonstrated in Washington during the era of
21 Republican hegemony, Republicans like to
22 spend, they just don't want to pay for what
23 they spend.
24 So my challenge to all of you on
25 the other side of the aisle is every time you

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1 propose some way to reduce the burden on local
2 governments -- which I support. I think you
3 are absolutely right, the sponsor is
4 absolutely correct that we have come to rely

5 on the property taxes. It's not the best way
6 to fund our school system. But every time you
7 propose to have the state pay for something
8 that was previously paid for by local
9 governments through their taxes, please show
10 us either where you're going to raise the
11 money or what programs you're going to cut.
12 Because the residue, the legacy of
13 the Pataki-Bruno era is a massive increase in
14 state spending and a massive increase in the
15 cutting of the taxes for the very wealthy and
16 forcing local governments to raise that money
17 from property and sales taxes. That is the
18 legacy we're trying to fight.
19 I welcome any who want to join in
20 an honest debate over tax policy. Look, if
21 Democrats want to spend more, they should say:
22 I want to spend more, and I'm going to pay for
23 it this way. If Republicans want to cut, tell
24 us what you're going to cut.
25 But you guys have had it had both

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1 ways for way too long, and the public has
2 wised up to it. You can't say we're going to
3 double your spending, tell every union what
4 they want to hear and then say "Oh, but we're
5 tax-cutters." The public is smarter than
6 that, Mr. President.
7 I'm going to vote to support this

8 legislation on the basis that the sponsor has
9 made it clear that the money is coming from
10 the State Department of Education. The
11 missing piece of this legislation -- please.
12 Does anyone have a nitroglycerin pill?
13 The missing piece of this
14 legislation is how we're going to pay for it.
15 I believe we should pay for our school system
16 with greater reliance on the income tax, on
17 the centralized state taxes from our broad tax
18 base, as the sponsor stated. I'm sorry in our
19 later colloquy he backed away from that
20 statement.
21 If you're going to cut local taxes,
22 you have to either cut spending or raise state
23 taxes. I support this bill with the
24 understanding that the only way we're going to
25 actually reduce property taxes in this state

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1 is to get back to taxing the wealthy
2 New Yorkers who have gotten off cheap for the
3 last 15 years.
6 Senator Craig Johnson.
9 Will the sponsor yield for a couple
10 of quick questions for clarity.

12 Senator LaValle, do you yield?
15 yields.
17 you. And thank you very much, Senator
18 LaValle.
19 Through you, Mr. President, a
20 couple of quick questions on the bill.
21 The persons eligible to receive
22 this benefit, I understand one is a married
23 couple where one person has to be over 70. Do
24 both the husband and wife have to be on the
25 fixed income or eligible for the enhanced

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2212
1 STAR, or is it only one?
2 SENATOR LaVALLE: Only one.
3 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Only one.
4 Mr. President, will the sponsor
5 continue to yield?
8 sure he does.
9 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: I also
10 understand that there's also a provision that
11 provides for if there is a couple over the age
12 of 70 who own a house who may not be married
13 but may own it jointly. The way I read the

14 bill is it requires both parties to be over
15 70.
16 My question is, though, does it
17 require one or both of them to be eligible for
18 the enhanced STAR?
19 SENATOR LaVALLE: Only one has to
20 be age 70.
21 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Okay.
22 Mr. President, through you, will
23 the sponsor continue to yield.
25 sure he yields.

(518) 371-8910
2213
2 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: I just
3 want to get it, again for clarity purposes,
4 for the record.
5 In the bill on line 4 and 5 on your
6 bill it just says, and I'm going read it:
7 "(A) Residential real property owned and
8 occupied by one or more persons, each of who
9 whom is 70 years of age."
10 So I think we'll have to clarify.
11 It sounds like to me, Mr. President, it
12 requires both persons who own the house have
13 to be over 70.
14 SENATOR LaVALLE: If they are
15 married.
16 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: If

17 they're married, okay. If they're married
18 they're required to both --
19 SENATOR LaVALLE: No, if they are
20 married, only one. If they're not married,
21 both.
22 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Mr.
23 President, will the sponsor continue to yield.

(518) 371-8910
2214
1 yields.
2 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: A
3 followup. Does it require both persons in the
4 unmarried situation to be eligible for
5 enhanced STAR, or only one to be eligible for
6 enhanced STAR?
7 SENATOR LaVALLE: I think you had
8 asked me that. And it's one person.
10 And whoever owns -- one person's enhanced
11 STAR.
14 Will the sponsor continue to yield for just a
15 couple more short questions.
17 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: In
18 paragraph 3 of your bill it requires the
19 school districts to cause to be notified each

20 person owning residential real property about
21 this bill.
22 Will the school district be
23 compensated or reimbursed for that expense?
24 SENATOR LaVALLE: No.
25 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Will the

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2215
1 sponsor continue to yield.
4 yields.
5 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Out of
6 curiosity, was there any type of fiscal
7 analysis conducted just so we understand how
8 much it will cost a school district to provide
9 such a notification?
10 SENATOR LaVALLE: There wasn't.
11 But I don't see this as being a
12 mandate because, as you know as a resident,
13 each year the school district sends a school
14 calendar and they put on that calendar, you
15 know, this is the date for the STAR program,
16 ta-da-ta-da. And we want to make sure that
17 people are aware that such a program exists.
18 And, you know, Senator, I must just
19 say, I was talking today about even to this
20 day, I'll mention the STAR program to someone,
21 and they'll go: "What's that?" So regardless
22 of how far we go in notification, there will

23 still be people.
24 But this will not be an additional
25 mandated cost to the school district.

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1 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Mr.
2 President, on the bill.
4 Senator Johnson, on the bill.
5 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: I want to
6 thank Senator LaValle for the answers to those
7 questions, because you saw my point of my
8 concern -- I know that you share this concern,
9 as do a lot of other Senators -- is the
10 unfunded mandates that are put upon our school
11 districts. And that SED seems time and time
12 again to put another mandate and another
13 mandate.
14 I'm happy to hear that it sounds
15 like to me, from your answers to my questions,
16 that a school district, as long as they comply
17 with the notice language in this bill, a
18 simple statement on a calendar with the notice
19 constitutes notice, and that's terrific.
20 I'm going to support this
21 legislation. And I think what's very
22 important about it is it addresses the issue
23 that is facing constituents in my district,
24 Senator LaValle's district, a number of us who
25 live in the suburbs all across the state where

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1 we have house-rich, cash-poor seniors who are
2 living on a fixed income who have lived in
3 their homes for a number of years, watched the
4 value increase but, especially today, no
5 ability to really pull that money out,
6 especially given what's going on in the
7 housing market.
8 We need to do something. It's not
9 a perfect bill, but it's a start. And I wish
10 to commend Senator LaValle for making that
11 step. So I'll be voting in the affirmative
12 for making a step to try and reduce the
13 property taxes that are burdening our
14 residents.
15 Thank you very much, Mr. President.
18 Senator Bonacic.
19 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you,
20 Mr. President. I too stand and want to thank
21 Senator LaValle for bringing this bill to the
22 floor.
23 The only thing that saddens me is
24 that we can't get the Assembly to move on any
25 tax relief plan. And this bill unfortunately

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1 doesn't address giving relief to primary

2 homeowners from the middle class who are
3 struggling.
4 And what we're trying to do is, on
5 this side of the aisle and on that side of the
6 aisle in this chamber, and we have done for
7 three years in a row, we've passed a bill that
8 eliminates school property taxes on primary
9 owners, Senator Saland's bill. We've done
10 that three times in a row. We can't get the
11 Assembly to move.
12 Senator Little has a
13 circuit-breaker bill, it's been out there for
14 a while, to bring property tax relief. Can't
15 get the -- and it has a sponsor in the
16 Assembly. Can't get it to move through
17 committee.
18 So we're frustrated. Senator
19 LaValle says, okay, we can't move those two
20 bills, let's try to help our most vulnerable
21 homeowners, our 70-year-olds, who have paid
22 their dues for most of their life, put their
23 children and probably helping their
24 grandchildren through school. And he's trying
25 to move that bill.

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1 And I think that that bill will
2 pass on both sides of the aisle today. But
3 there have been a couple of things raised that
4 I want to talk about.

5 One is, how do we pay for these
6 things? Property tax relief, the message we
7 are sending on this side of the aisle is that
8 it deserves the attention above the radar
9 screen when you look at education, when you
10 look at healthcare, when you look at
11 transportation needs. And, yes, property tax
12 relief for people outside New York City --
13 because the problem isn't severe in New York
14 City -- deserves that kind of attention.
15 And in good years, we won't have to
16 do a millionaire's tax. We might not even
17 have to raise any tax. Because when we did
18 STAR, which is now at $5 billion, we did not
19 do any millionaire's tax. We were doing well,
20 Wall Street was forming performing well, we
21 were creating jobs. So added revenues helped
22 to address our growing needs.
23 So what do you do when the economy
24 is not doing so well? And it was suggested
25 maybe we should look at the millionaire's tax.

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1 Well, we should first look at reducing
2 spending. We should look at increasing
3 rateables. But if we can't get it done in
4 those two areas and we're raising our budget,
5 then maybe the alternative is to look at
6 broad-based taxes and have an honest
7 discussion. Maybe we would look at the income

8 tax.
9 But don't single out a class of
10 people like the millionaires. You know what?
11 Millionaires will go to Connecticut, they'll
12 go down to Florida, they'll go to
13 Pennsylvania, and you won't have many
14 millionaires who pay about 30 percent of the
15 total taxes of the State of New York now. You
16 keep driving nails into what you think are the
17 so-called rich, they have mobility. And when
18 you lose them, then you are really eroding
19 your tax base.
20 So I will say, in conclusion, thank
21 you, Senator LaValle, this is long overdue.
22 And I'm sure we're going to get support from
23 our friends and colleagues on the other side
24 of the aisle in this house.
25 But apparently Speaker Silver, he

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1 doesn't even want to look in this area,
2 because he represents New York City. We can't
3 even get a task force to study real property
4 tax reform in this state because he does not
5 even want to suggest going in the area of
6 property tax relief for the upstate outside of
7 New York City.
8 I vote in the affirmative.

11 other Senator wishing to be heard on the bill?
12 Senator Klein.
14 Mr. President.
15 I also rise and want to thank
16 Senator LaValle for addressing this issue.
17 Clearly anyone who represents any
18 area that pays high property taxes understands
19 the dynamics. We have homes going up in
20 value, so the property tax goes up, but
21 unfortunately people's income doesn't go up.
22 Senior citizens are sort of the
23 classic case. They have a house that they've
24 lived in for years, the value keeps going up,
25 the property taxes keep going up, but of

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1 course they're living on a fixed income.
2 Unfortunately, I really don't
3 think, though, this is really the way to go
4 about it. I think one of the things that I
5 think is going to happen next week is that
6 Governor Spitzer's commission, now it's
7 Governor Paterson's property tax cap
8 commission, under the leadership of Tom
9 Suozzi, is going to render some decisions,
10 results, on what we need to do to lower
11 property taxes.
12 This is something I think that's
13 going to be very, very important, because it's

14 the first time it's been seriously studied.
15 And personally I have some ideas on the
16 subject before the commission renders its
17 decision, and I think really the way to go is
18 going to be a circuit-breaker.
19 I think in some ways STAR has
20 outlived its usefulness, and the way to go is
21 through a circuit-breaker which will provide a
22 substantial tax break for individuals based on
23 their income as well as how much of that
24 income they're paying in property taxes.
25 So I think we really need to start

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1 debating this. And I think at the same time,
2 one of the things that was raised by my
3 colleagues, like Senator Schneiderman, I
4 really do think we have to start talking
5 seriously about how we're going to pay for
6 this.
7 No matter what we do to alleviate
8 the burden of property taxes, there's going to
9 be a price to pay. And we really have to
10 start talking about how we're going to pay for
11 it, either through a millionaire's tax or
12 actually getting rid of STAR and replacing it
13 a circuit-breaker. These are things we need
14 to discuss.
15 So again, I want to thank Senator
16 LaValle for raising this issue, because it is

17 important one. But I look forward to coming
18 out of this legislative session with real
19 property tax relief. And I think the way to
20 go at this point is a circuit-breaker.
21 But I vote yes on this legislation,
22 Mr. President.
25 Any other Senator wishing to be

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1 heard?
2 Seeing none, the debate is closed.
3 The Secretary will ring the bells.
6 act shall take effect on the first of January.
8 Call the roll.
11 Senator Onorato, to explain his vote.
12 SENATOR ONORATO: Yes,
13 Mr. President, I'm going to support this bill.
14 But I would also like to remind our
15 colleague, everybody is wondering how you're
16 going to pay for this here. We're all paying
17 for it.
18 Perhaps the suburbs should start to
19 reconsider consolidating some of the school

20 districts that we have in the suburbs. We
21 have superintendents for less than 1,000
22 students. In the City of New York and one of
23 the other districts, they have 1,000 students
24 in one school building.
25 Out in Nassau, you have campuses

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1 for elementary school districts with swimming
2 pools on it, and it's got to be paid for. But
3 the residents vote for their own budget. And
4 then they expect the rest of the state to bail
5 them out when the going gets tough.
6 So let's tighten our belts a little
7 bit in Nassau and Suffolk and whoever else has
8 all of these kind of districts around.
9 But I am supporting this
10 legislation. I vote aye.
12 Senator Onorato will be recorded in the
13 affirmative.
14 Announce the results.
17 Senators L. Krueger and Perkins.
18 Absent from voting: Senators
19 Adams, C. Kruger and Sampson.
20 Ayes, 56. Nays, 2.
22 bill is passed.
23 Senator Skelos.
25 is there any business at the desk?

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2 Yes, Senator Skelos, we have some motions.
3 Senator Robach.
4 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes,
5 Mr. President. On page 12 I offer the
6 following amendments to Calendar 189, Senate
7 Print Number 5966, and ask that the said bill
8 retain its place on Third Reading Calendar, on
9 behalf of Senator John DeFrancisco.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: So
11 ordered.
12 Senator Skelos.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Please recognize
14 Senator Volker.
15 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
16 very quickly. I just want to remind everybody
17 that tonight is the Senate Club dinner.
18 And some people are asking me why
19 we have no conflict this year with the
20 Assembly Pilots. Because that's why it was
21 moved back a week, to avoid conflicts we've
22 had the last two years with the Assembly
23 Pilots. So I guess that's, I don't know, next
24 week, whatever.
25 But anyways, would appreciate it if

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1 everybody would come who said they were
2 coming, and we'll see you at Jack's.
3 Thank you.
6 Senator Skelos, the house is clean.
8 there being no further business to come before
9 the Senate, I move we stand adjourned until
10 Wednesday, May 14th, at 11:00 a.m.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: On
12 motion, the Senate will stand adjourned until
13 Wednesday, May 14th, at 11:00 a.m.
14 (Whereupon, at 5:03 p.m., the
15 Senate adjourned.)
16
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Top of Form 1

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE

4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD

9 ALBANY, NEW YORK

10 May 13, 2008

18 SENATOR CARL L. MARCELLINO, Acting President

19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The

3 Senate will come to order.

4 Please rise and join me in the

5 Pledge of Allegiance to our Flag.

6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited

7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)

8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Our

9 invocation today will be delivered by Reverend

10 Bryant Lagoe, pastor of the Emmanuel Bible

11 Baptist Church in Martville.

12 REVEREND LAGOE: Let us pray.

13 Dear Heavenly Father, I come before

14 You this morning, God, thanking You for the

16 Lord, I thank You for Your mercy

17 and Your grace. And, Father, I thank you that

18 I can come before You needing nothing for

19 myself but to pray for these people, men and

20 women representing this great state.

21 Lord, I pray that You give them

22 ready discernment and quick minds. I pray,

23 Father, You help them, Lord, to choose the

24 right and to defend the people of this state.

25 Lord, work in their hearts. Then

1 what they do and the decisions they make,

2 Father, will have effect for years and years

3 to come, that it might bring You praise, honor

5 For I pray this in Jesus', our

6 Savior's, name. Amen.

7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:

8 Thank you very much, Pastor.

9 Reading of the Journal.

10 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,

11 May 12, the Senate met pursuant to

12 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, May 11,

13 was read and approved. On motion, Senate

15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:

16 Without objection, the Journal stands approved

19 Messages from the Assembly.

20 Messages from the Governor.

21 Reports of standing committees.

23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: This is the

24 report from the committee, is that what you're

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:

3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I rise in

4 order to move the nominations of several

6 The committee, the Judiciary

7 Committee of the Senate met this morning and

8 passed on each of their qualifications. Prior

9 to that time we individually -- or I did --

10 reviewed the qualifications, the background

11 checks and everything else, to do a thorough

12 research on each of their backgrounds.

13 We interviewed each of the