April 7, 2008

Top of Form 1
Date: 04/07/2008
Session: Regular
1178
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 April 7, 2008
11 3:08 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR JOSEPH A. GRIFFO, Acting President
19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
20
21
22
23
24
25
Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
3 Senate will come to order.
4 I ask all to rise and join with me
5 as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance to our
6 Flag.
7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Today
10 the invocation will be given by Rabbi Shmuel
11 Butman, of the Lubavitch Youth Organization
12 from Brooklyn, New York.
13 Rabbi.
14 RABBI BUTMAN: Let us pray.
15 [In Hebrew] Our Heavenly Father,
16 we ask You to bestow Your blessings upon all
17 the men and women serving in the New York
18 State Senate, who are serving the people of
19 the great State of New York with honesty,
20 decency, and distinction.
21 We want to thank you for passing a
22 resolution proclaiming 106 days in honor of
23 the Rebbe's 106th birthday. The Rebbe, the
24 Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rebbe Menachim M.
25 Schneerson. The Rebbe stood for education of

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1 all children, of all children of the world,
2 and you are helping to make this possible.
3 In Psalm 107, which is the psalm we
4 start saying on the first day of the Rebbe's
5 107th year, the psalmist speaks about thanks
6 giving, about thanking Almighty God for all
7 the good things that are happening to a
8 person.
9 We, the Jewish people, can
10 appreciate thanks giving very, very much,
11 because for many, many years -- and we're
12 going to celebrate Passover -- we were
13 oppressed, so we understand the gift of
14 freedom and the gift of democracy.
15 You, the people of the great Senate
16 of this great State of New York, are fighting
17 for democracy and for freedom for all the
18 people in the State of New York, for all the
19 people in the United States of America, and
20 for all the people in the world.
21 Many years ago, I opened the Senate
22 of a little town called Washington. Before
23 that, I went to see the Rebbe. And the Rebbe
24 said to me that while I'm going to open the
25 Senate, I should take with me a pushkeh. A

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1 pushkeh is a charity box. And I should take a

2 dollar, on the dollar it says "In God We
3 Trust," and I should put in a dollar in the
4 middle while I do the prayer.
5 I want to do the same today. And
6 the Rebbe said we should do that so that we
7 should know that we all have to do acts of
8 goodness and kindness and charity. I don't
9 want you to think that this is a fundraising
10 mission. It is not. It is a way of doing
11 more goodness and kindness.
12 I'm going to put in this one
13 dollar. If anyone wants to join me later in
14 doing a good deed, you are more than welcome
15 to do that.
16 And I want to tell you, in closing,
17 that in our synagogues every Saturday we say a
18 special prayer for each and every one of you.
19 We say the [in Hebrew], which means all of
20 those who serve the public faithfully, as you
21 do, we ask Almighty God to take care of you.
22 We ask Almighty God to watch you and your
23 families from all harm and to bestow all
24 blessings of goodness and kindness upon you.
25 And I have one more blessing to

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1 bless you all. May you pass the budget,
2 successfully, immediately.
3 Thank you.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.

5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
6 Skelos.
7 SENATOR SKELOS: Rabbi Butman,
8 it's a pleasure to have you with us once
9 again. And quite frankly, after the members
10 contribute to the charity box, I'm sure if you
11 brought it down to Governor Paterson it would
12 help us complete the budget this year.
13 But today this body celebrates the
14 106th birthday of Rabbi Schneerson. We passed
15 a resolution on April 1st honoring the Rabbi
16 and making April 16th through July 30th the
17 106 days of education. And I know how
18 important that is to you, Rabbi, as director
19 of the Lubavitch Youth Organization.
20 And it's really an honor to have
21 you here today as we celebrate the
22 distinguished life of Rabbi Schneerson. The
23 Rabbi will always be here in our hearts and
24 our minds. Rabbi Schneerson made it his
25 life's mission to educate people throughout

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1 the world, and in doing so he strengthened the
2 religious, educational, cultural, moral and
3 ethical fibers of everyone he met.
4 Rabbi Schneerson has made an
5 indelible imprint upon our world, and it is
6 incumbent upon us to all make sure that the
7 spirit of his work continues. I think it's

8 safe to say we all feel a deep sense of duty
9 and privilege to be able to carry on the
10 Rabbi's mission.
11 So again, once again, Rabbi, we
12 welcome you to this chamber. I would urge all
13 the members to contribute to the charity box.
14 And we look forward to your visit again next
15 year.
16 Thank you.
17 RABBI BUTMAN: Thank you very,
18 very much.
19 SENATOR SKELOS: I would urge --
20 there are a lot of members not in the chamber
21 right now. The contribution to the charity
22 box is voluntary. So I would urge them to
23 come in and join us at this time.
24 Mr. President, may we have the
25 reading of the Journal, please.

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1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
2 you, Senator Skelos.
3 Reading of the Journal. The clerk
4 shall read.
5 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
6 Sunday, April 6, the Senate met pursuant to
7 adjournment. Journal of Saturday, April 5,
8 was read and approved. On motion, Senate
9 adjourned.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Without

11 objection, the Journal stands approved as
12 read.
13 Presentation of petitions.
14 Messages from the Assembly.
15 Messages from the Governor.
16 Reports of standing committees.
17 Reports of select committees.
18 Communications and reports from
19 state officers.
20 Motions and resolutions.
21 Senator Schneiderman.
22 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Mr.
23 President, under the Senate rules we can't
24 proceed to the next provision for motions and
25 resolutions if there's not a quorum present.

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1 So I would request at this time a
2 quorum call.
4 Skelos.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
6 we'll stand at ease. I've noticed that there
7 are a number of members of the Minority not
8 here.
10 Senate stands at ease.
11 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
12 ease at 3:17 p.m.)

14 Bruno.
15 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
16 can we call the session to order.
18 Senate will return to order.
19 SENATOR BRUNO: Can we stand at
20 ease for just a minute here.
22 Senate will continue to stand at ease.
23 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
24 at 3:31 p.m.)
25 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President.

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2 Bruno.
3 SENATOR BRUNO: When we come to
4 order and when we have members in the chamber,
5 we are eventually going to get to do the
6 emergency bill so that the state employees can
7 get paid, since we don't have a budget. So we
8 need authorization for, I think, something in
9 the neighborhood of $83 million worth of
10 keeping government functioning.
11 So I've talked to the Minority
12 Leader a little while ago, and I expected that
13 he would be with his colleagues here in the
14 chamber. But his deputy is ably representing
15 him.
16 Should we proceed with the

17 noncontroversial calendar?
19 Schneiderman.
20 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
21 you, Mr. President, before the Senate stood at
22 ease, I had requested a quorum call. I don't
23 believe there's a quorum.
24 And accordingly, it's improper for
25 us to proceed on anything past the first

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1 provisions on page 7 of Rule 5 of the Senate.
3 Bruno.
4 SENATOR BRUNO: I believe the
5 Senator is correct in his procedural
6 observation.
7 And I think my colleagues here on
8 the Republican side of the aisle are going to
9 get very comfortable, and we can recess and we
10 can stay here just as long as you want to stay
11 until you get comfortable that the state needs
12 to function.
13 So I think it's rather childish to
14 play a game of not coming to the chamber at
15 the appointed hour at 3 o'clock. So you want
16 to spin our wheels.
17 And let's go through the quorum
18 call, Mr. President, as requested.

20 Secretary will call the roll on quorum.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Adams.
22 (No response.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Alesi.
24 SENATOR ALESI: Here.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senator

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1 Aubertine.
2 (No response.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bonacic.
4 SENATOR BONACIC: Here.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Breslin.
6 (No response.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno.
8 (Senator Bruno was recorded as
9 present.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Connor.
11 (No response.)
13 DeFrancisco.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Here.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Diaz.
16 (No response.)
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Dilan.
18 (No response.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Duane.
20 (No response.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Farley.
22 SENATOR FARLEY: Here.

23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Flanagan.
24 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Here.

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1 Fuschillo.
2 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Here.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Golden.
4 SENATOR GOLDEN: Here.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Gonzalez.
6 (No response.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Griffo.
8 SENATOR GRIFFO: Here.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon.
10 SENATOR HANNON: Here.
12 Hassell-Thompson.
13 (No response.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Huntley.
15 (No response.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
17 Johnson.
18 (No response.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator O.
20 Johnson.
21 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Here.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Klein.
23 (No response.)
25 L. Krueger.
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1 (No response.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
3 Kruger.
4 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Present.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lanza.
6 SENATOR LANZA: Here.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin.
8 SENATOR LARKIN: Here.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle.
10 SENATOR LaVALLE: Here.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Leibell.
12 SENATOR LEIBELL: Here.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Libous.
14 SENATOR LIBOUS: Here.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Little.
16 SENATOR LITTLE: Here.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maltese.
18 SENATOR MALTESE: Present.
20 Marcellino.
21 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Here.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maziarz.
23 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Here.
25 Montgomery.

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1 (No response.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Morahan.
3 SENATOR MORAHAN: Present.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Nozzolio.
5 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Present.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Onorato.
7 (No response.)
9 Oppenheimer.
10 (No response.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Padavan.
12 SENATOR PADAVAN: Here.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Parker.
14 (No response.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Perkins.
16 (No response.)
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Rath.
18 SENATOR RATH: Here.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Robach.
20 SENATOR ROBACH: Present.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Sabini.
22 (No response.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Saland.
24 SENATOR SALAND: Here.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Sampson.

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1 (No response.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Savino.
3 (No response.)

5 Schneiderman.
6 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Here.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Serrano.
8 (No response.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Seward.
10 SENATOR SEWARD: Present.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Skelos.
12 SENATOR SKELOS: Here.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith.
14 (No response.)
16 Stachowski.
17 (No response.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stavisky.
19 (No response.)
21 Stewart-Cousins.
22 (No response.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Thompson.
24 (No response.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Trunzo.

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1 SENATOR TRUNZO: Here.
3 Valesky.
4 (No response.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Volker.
6 SENATOR VOLKER: Present.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Winner.

8 SENATOR WINNER: Here.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Young.
10 SENATOR YOUNG: Here.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO:
12 Thirty-four members are present in the
13 chamber, which constitutes a quorum, Senator
14 Schneiderman.
15 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
16 Mr. President.
17 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, I
18 believe we have a substitution at the desk,
19 which we should make, and then proceed with
20 the noncontroversial calendar.
22 you, Senator Bruno.
23 The Secretary will read.
24 THE SECRETARY: On page 9,
25 Senator Seward moves to discharge, from the

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1 Committee on Insurance, Assembly Bill Number
2 9882, and substitute it for the identical
3 Senate Bill Number 6656, Third Reading
4 Calendar 144.
6 Substitution so ordered.
7 The Secretary will now conduct the
8 noncontroversial reading of the calendar.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 144, substituted earlier by Member of the

11 Assembly Morelle, Assembly Print Number 9882,
12 an act to amend Chapter 650 of the Laws of
13 1998 amending the Insurance Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
22 Calendar Number 144: Ayes, 34. Nays, 0.
24 bill is passed.

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1 335, by Senator Little, Senate Print 6856A, an
2 act to authorize.
3 SENATOR BRUNO: Lay it aside.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Lay it
5 aside.
7 354, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 6817 --
8 SENATOR BRUNO: Lay it aside.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Lay it
10 aside.
12 357, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
13 6661, an act to amend the Executive Law, in

14 relation to establishing.
20 the roll.
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 34.
24 bill is passed.

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1 405, by Senator C. Kruger, Senate Print 6886,
2 an act to amend Chapter 534 of the Laws of
3 2000 amending the Social Services Law.
5 the last section.
9 the roll.
13 bill is passed.
15 430, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 6764, an
16 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to the

17 definition of criminal act.
21 act shall take effect on the 90th day.
23 the roll.

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2 bill is passed.
4 586, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 6776, an
5 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
6 allowing.
8 the last section.
12 the roll.
16 bill is passed.
18 600, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 4660A, an
19 act to amend Chapter 672 of the Laws of 1993,

20 amending the Public Authorities Law.

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1 the roll.
5 bill is passed.
7 622, by Senator Young, Senate Print 7123, an
8 act to amend the Agriculture and Markets Law
9 and the State Finance Law, in relation to
10 licensure.
16 the roll.
20 bill is passed.
21 Senator Bruno, that completes the
22 noncontroversial reading of the calendar.

23 Senator Bruno.
24 SENATOR BRUNO: We just went
25 through the noncontroversial calendar, and I

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1 recognize our colleagues here are marked
2 absent on most of the votes that just took
3 place.
4 And I think that's unfortunate,
5 because they're elected to be representative
6 of a constituency. And they're being paid to
7 represent a constituency.
8 So we are here, and I'm waiting
9 patiently to see if our colleagues are going
10 to join us. And if not, I'm going to ask
11 Senator Schneiderman what his expectation is.
12 I talked to Senator Smith earlier
13 and expected him on the floor for general
14 consumption. We are not at this time talking
15 about any issues that are controversial.
16 So we're just trying to proceed,
17 and then the expectation is we'll recess,
18 subject to the call of the leader, to see
19 whether or not we can get a budget bill back
20 to the floor during daylight.
21 So the question for Senator
22 Schneiderman, where are your colleagues?
24 Schneiderman.

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1 President, thank you.
2 I have been here for nine years.
3 I've never seen a day where we had a scheduled
4 session and the night before or first thing in
5 the morning we did not have an active list.
6 Today, we received this short
7 active list of completely noncontroversial, in
8 many cases one-house bills around 11:30 a.m.
9 It is clear that the ordinary rules of
10 procedure in this house have gone by the
11 wayside.
12 My colleagues, I'm advised by our
13 leader, Senator Malcolm Smith, are here to do
14 budget bills, and they want to get to the
15 budget before we are undertaking any other
16 major business. They've requested this.
17 Senator Smith would like to speak
18 with Senator Bruno on the phone, if he will
19 make himself available, so that we can make
20 the rabbi's admonition come true and pass the
21 budget immediately and not engage in any other
22 games, activity or measures that interfere
23 with our ability to pass the budget. And
24 that's what my colleagues are waiting to do.

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1 Bruno.
2 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
3 many of us were here during the weekend,
4 trying to get the last budget bill done, while
5 our colleagues were out in my district acting
6 very Spitzerlike, putting politics ahead of
7 governing. And I was very disappointed in
8 that.
9 So if our colleagues don't want to
10 join us in governing, maybe they can go out
11 and have another political conference with
12 their colleagues.
13 I would move that we stand in
14 recess, subject to the call of the leader.
16 Senate stands at ease, on motion, until the
17 call of the Leader.
18 SENATOR BRUNO: And I would have
19 an immediate conference of the Majority.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There
21 will be an immediate meeting of the Majority
22 in the Majority Conference Room.
23 The Senate stands at ease.
25 recess at 3:45 p.m.)

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2 at 4:28 p.m.)

5 Senator Skelos.
7 there will be an immediate meeting of the
8 Finance Committee in the Majority Conference
9 Room.
11 will be an immediate meeting of the Senate
12 Finance Committee in the Majority Conference
13 Room.
14 SENATOR SKELOS: We'll stand at
15 ease, please.
17 Senate stands at ease.
19 at 4:29 p.m.)
21 at 4:34 p.m.)
24 Senator Skelos.

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1 if we could return to reports of standing
2 committees for the report of the Finance
3 Committee.
5 Secretary will read.
7 Johnson, from the Committee on Finance,

8 reports the following bill direct to third
9 reading:
10 Senate Print 7473, by the Senate
11 Committee on Rules, an act making
12 appropriations for the support of government.
14 bill is reported direct to third reading.
15 Senator Skelos.
16 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
17 believe the Assembly bill has passed, and it's
18 time to substitute it at this time.
20 Secretary will read the substitution.
22 Johnson, from the Committee on Finance, moves
23 to discharge Assembly Bill Number 10484 and
24 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
25 Number 7473, Third Reading Calendar 716.

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2 Substitution ordered.
3 Senator Skelos.
5 if we could take the bill up at this time,
6 controversial.
9 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Point of
10 order, Mr. President.

12 Schneiderman.
13 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Are we
14 going to lay the bill aside, is that what
15 you're saying?
16 SENATOR SKELOS: We're taking it
17 up controversial.
19 bill has to be read by the Secretary first.
20 The Secretary will read the bill to
21 bring before the house.
23 716, substituted earlier by the Assembly
24 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print Number
25 10484, an act making appropriations for the

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1 support of government.
2 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
3 explanation of the bill, please.
5 Explanation, Senator Johnson.
6 SENATOR O. JOHNSON: This bill
7 provides an all-funds appropriation of
8 $83.7 million, including $33 million General
9 Fund appropriations. These appropriations
10 would allow the state to make payments and
11 incur liabilities for the support of
12 government, and includes the following list,
13 which I can read if you'd like. Or you can

14 read it yourself. Thank you.
16 you, Senator Johnson.
17 Senator Padavan.
18 SENATOR PADAVAN: Yes, would the
19 chairman of Finance yield to a question?
21 Johnson, will you yield?
22 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Yes.
23 SENATOR PADAVAN: Senator, as I
24 read this bill, there's an indication that a
25 significant amount of the money indicated here

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1 would be used for services performed by
2 mentally ill or developmentally disabled
3 persons who are employed in state-operated
4 special employment work for pay or sheltered
5 workshop programs.
6 I have several in my district in
7 Queens, such as Lexington School for the Deaf
8 and some others whose names escape me for the
9 moment.
10 Is my assumption where these funds
11 are to be used correct?
12 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: The answer
13 is yes.
14 SENATOR PADAVAN: Therefore, if
15 this bill is not passed today -- if you'd
16 yield again, Senator -- these individuals

17 working in these capacities would not be paid?
18 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: That's
19 true, Senator.
20 SENATOR PADAVAN: I also note
21 that the messenger service here in the
22 Capitol, which as most of you know is
23 predominantly disabled young people and
24 adults, also would fall in that category. Am
25 I correct?

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1 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: You are
2 right again.
3 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you,
4 Senator.
6 DeFrancisco.
7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I just have
8 a question --
9 SENATOR SKELOS: If I could just
10 interrupt Senator DeFrancisco for a moment, I
11 believe there's a message of necessity at the
12 desk. And I would move that we accept it at
13 this time.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: A
15 message of necessity has arrived at the desk.
16 All in favor of its acceptance
17 signify by saying aye.
18 (Response of "Aye.")

20 Opposed, nay.
21 (No response.)
23 message is accepted.
24 Senator DeFrancisco.
25 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I just have

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1 a question of the floor leader, if we could,
2 for a moment.
3 Senator Skelos, concerning
4 procedurally, I would like to know how many
5 votes we need in order to pass these pay bills
6 to keep government going.
8 Skelos.
10 if I could respond, I believe under the rules
11 of the Senate you would need 38 -- 42, rather.
12 Forty-two.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: One last
14 question. Can you tell me how many Republican
15 Senators have checked in and are available for
16 this particular vote?
17 SENATOR SKELOS: All 32.
18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: All 32.
19 And the quorum call that was done
20 earlier, could someone tell me the total
21 number of votes that are available for this
22 vote?
23 SENATOR LIBOUS: Would you ask it
24 again, Senator?
25 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'm asking

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1 Senator Skelos to yield.
2 And the total number of votes that
3 were here on the quorum call, my question is
4 if he could tell me how many total votes are
5 now available in order to attempt to pass this
6 bill.
8 Skelos.
9 SENATOR SKELOS: I believe it's
10 34 -- 32. Thirty-two.
12 Schneiderman, why do you rise?
13 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
14 you, Mr. President, there are other members
15 who have come into the chamber since that
16 quorum call was taken some time ago, and I'm
17 not sure that's accurate. You may want to
18 have another quorum call so Senator
19 DeFrancisco can be deadly sure of the point
20 he's trying to make.
22 DeFrancisco.
23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No, I
24 don't -- thank you for the offer, but maybe if
25 Senator Skelos would yield and tell me how

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1 many people as of this moment have checked in
2 to vote on this particular piece of
3 legislation other than the 32 Republican
4 votes, the full Majority.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: A total of 35.
6 So if you take 32 from 35, that means there
7 are three Democrats that have checked in. And
8 that's at about twenty to 5:00, when session
9 was called at 3:00 p.m.
11 DeFrancisco.
12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Now, I just
13 wish to be heard for a moment here.
14 This bill is obviously very, very
15 important. And otherwise, government stops
16 and each of these individuals, each of these
17 individuals will not get paid.
18 And now I see -- I just want to
19 comment I see we have another vote coming in,
20 a couple more votes, Senator Aubertine and
21 Senator Stewart-Cousins.
22 That's all I wanted to say. I'm
23 ready to vote.
25 you, Senator DeFrancisco.

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1 Senator Schneiderman, why do you

2 rise?
4 Mr. President. If the sponsor would yield for
5 a few questions.
6 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes.
8 Senator yields.
9 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you.
10 Through you, Mr. President, does
11 this bill that we're seeking to vote on right
12 now address any issues that relate to revenue,
13 where we get the revenue to keep the payments
14 going to the worthy causes that have been
15 cited?
16 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: There is
17 no new revenue in this bill.
19 Mr. President. Does this --
21 Schneiderman, do you wish to ask the sponsor
22 to continue to yield?
23 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes, thank
24 you, Mr. President. Through you, if the
25 sponsor would continue to yield.

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2 Johnson, would you continue to yield?
3 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Yes, I
4 will.
6 Schneiderman.
8 Does this bill address the issue of
9 the settlement of the Campaign for Fiscal
10 Equity case and the urgent need to provide
11 additional funds to high-needs school
12 districts in our state?
13 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: This pays
14 the employees who are waiting for their
15 checks.
17 Through you, Mr. President.
19 Schneiderman, do you wish to continue to ask
20 questions?
21 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes, I do,
22 if the sponsor would yield.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Does
24 the sponsor, Senator Johnson, continue to
25 yield?

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1 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Yes.
2 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Are the
3 employees who you referred to who are waiting
4 for their checks, is that limited to state
5 employees or does that include any employees
6 who are employed by local governments who are
7 now waiting for state aid to help them close

8 their own budget gaps and meet payroll?
9 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: This
10 includes state employees.
11 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Excuse me?
12 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: It
13 includes state employees waiting for their
14 checks.
16 Thank you, Mr. President. If the
17 sponsor would yield for one more question.
19 Johnson, will you continue to yield for one
20 final question?
21 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Yes,
22 Mr. President.
24 Schneiderman.

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1 There has been a discussion about
2 issues related to the continuance of state
3 government, and Senator Padavan mentioned the
4 issue of people with disabilities and
5 employees of institutions that care for those
6 people.
7 We have not yet passed a budget or
8 negotiated a bill to provide funding for the
9 state's school districts. This legislation
10 will not provide for counseling services,

11 payment for teachers, or payment for any
12 services for children with disabilities in
13 this state, will it?
14 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Will you
15 rephrase the question, please?
17 Through you, Mr. President.
19 Schneiderman.
20 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: We've had
21 a discussion so far on this bill that included
22 reference to services for people with
23 disabilities. And my question to you is, one
24 of the major places where we provide services
25 to New Yorkers with disabilities is through

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1 our education system -- through our schools,
2 through special education, through the
3 counselors, teachers, therapists and others
4 who work through the school districts of
5 New York.
6 Does this bill provide any funding
7 for our school districts so that they may
8 continue to provide those services?
9 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Last week
10 we passed a bill of $1.2 billion for school
11 districts.
13 you, Senator Johnson.

15 Mr. President, on the bill.
17 Schneiderman, on the bill.
18 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I think
19 that the problem we're running into here, and
20 I think everyone is equally frustrated on both
21 sides of the aisle, is that the ordinary
22 processes by which we try to pass a budget,
23 even the minimal transparency that was
24 provided for in the last few years seems to
25 have fallen by the wayside.

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1 I know that there's a leaders'
2 meeting going on right now where our leader,
3 Senator Smith, is negotiating. We are
4 absolutely conscious of our obligation to be
5 here to provide votes for budget bills. We
6 hope the other side is equally conscious of
7 your obligation to include us in the
8 discussions so that we may participate and
9 fully represent our constituencies, as you
10 seek to do.
11 No further comments.
13 you, Senator Schneiderman.
14 Senator LaValle.
15 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you,
16 Mr. President. Just very briefly.

17 As I understand it, this bill
18 pertains to 4201 schools for the deaf and
19 blind that are state-supported. And so the
20 money for this is very critical, very
21 important, so that individuals who work in
22 these schools can continue to get paid.
23 As you might suspect, when you're
24 dealing with a special population, in order to
25 get people who are highly trained to stay and

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1 work through an entire year and subsequent
2 years, it becomes very, very difficult because
3 of the pay schedules that these schools have.
4 So when we come to the brink of not
5 paying people, it makes it even more difficult
6 to retain and recruit individuals to work in
7 these schools. The people who work there do
8 God's work, do a very, very special mission to
9 have individuals continue to grow and be as
10 productive citizens as those who do not have a
11 disability.
12 So we are not today sending a very
13 good message. Because when people find out
14 that they came a hair away from not getting
15 paid, that just shakes things up and is not a
16 good kind of thing, because people really do
17 have faith in our government that we are going
18 to do the right thing for them.
19 Thank you very much, Mr. President.

21 you, Senator LaValle.
22 Is there any other Senator wishing
23 to speak?
24 Senator Larkin.
25 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you,

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1 Mr. President.
2 Truthfully, we all ought to be
3 ashamed today. We're talking about some
4 unfortunate people who need to be cared for.
5 We have state employees to take care of them.
6 And we're at the last minute saying about
7 whether we would vote to have it.
8 When I see my colleagues just drift
9 in here so they can be counted, they're not
10 doing that to help those people get their
11 paycheck, they're doing it for their own
12 personal gain. They should be ashamed of
13 themselves.
14 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Point of
15 order.
18 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I rise for
19 a point of order.
20 This violates the Senate rules of
21 courtesy. They're here, as well as you, to
22 vote on the bill. Personal recriminations

23 have no place in this process. I understand
24 everyone is frustrated. Let's vote on the
25 bill --

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2 Larkin has the floor, Senator Schneiderman.
3 Senator Larkin, proceed.
4 SENATOR LARKIN: You know, thank
5 you very much, Mr. President. As my good
6 friend and colleague Senator Hannon said, I
7 had the floor.
8 But what about those people that
9 are worrying about their check? They're going
10 to be hearing the news. The Assembly already
11 passed the bill, and we couldn't get people
12 out of their conference. And then they had to
13 go in and bring them in one at a time to
14 protect them. Who did they protect? Those
15 that they worry about.
16 That's not an issue. The issue is,
17 what happened to the oath that you took? You
18 took an oath. You are going to come to
19 Albany, you're going to get paid 100-some
20 dollars per day for per diem, but you hide in
21 your conference room not doing the people's
22 business.
23 That's a shame. That is a shame.
24 And anybody who doesn't think it is, please
25 join me. Let's have a good debate in front of

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1 a TV with families of these people and then
2 find out how those families feel.
3 I have some people in my
4 district --
8 President, I'm rising to raise a point of
9 order.
10 This is not germane for the
11 discussion of the budget bill which we're all
12 here to vote on. This is simply personal
13 recriminations, in violation of the Senate
14 rules regarding courtesy.
15 I would seek a ruling from the
16 chair as to whether this discussion is
17 germane --
19 Larkin, I will rule on the point of order.
20 Senator Schneiderman, your point is
21 not well taken. Senator Larkin, you may
22 continue.
23 Senator Schneiderman, please be
24 seated. Senator Larkin, continue.
25 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you,

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1 Mr. President. To interrupt somebody who's

2 speaking out for those who can't be here on
3 this floor to speak out for themselves is a
4 shame. And anybody who doesn't think it is
5 ought to be ashamed to be here in this Senate
6 chamber.
7 We were sent here to do a job. We
8 took an oath. We get paid. And let's do our
9 job, and let's stop hiding. Because that's
10 exactly what they did; they went to hide
11 because they didn't want to do something that
12 they're paid for.
13 Thank you.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Is
15 there any other Senator that wishes to be
16 heard?
17 The debate is closed.
18 The Secretary will ring the bell.
19 Read the last section.
23 the roll.

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1 DeFrancisco, to explain his vote.
2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I would
3 like to explain my vote.
4 I vote aye on this bill. Obviously

5 everyone in this chamber, Democrat and
6 Republican alike, realizes the importance of
7 this bill.
8 And also, anybody who's followed
9 government at all realizes what just went on
10 between 3 o'clock and 5 o'clock, where the
11 entire Democrat conference was not here -- not
12 because of the lack of importance of a bill,
13 but because they wanted to make some type of
14 point. I'm not quite sure what it was.
15 But apparently that point wasn't
16 well taken when we started to vote on the
17 bill, as some members started drifting in the
18 chambers so they could be recorded in the
19 affirmative rather than stopping people from
20 getting paid.
21 We're in a budget process that may
22 not be as transparent as Senator Schneiderman
23 wants. But that same transparency is aided by
24 his Minority Leader, who he admitted is in
25 that closed-door meeting right now. So I'm

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1 not quite sure what the point was.
2 And to suggest that we should do an
3 entire budget before we do this -- everybody
4 wants to do an entire budget. And that's what
5 people are working toward at this time. So I
6 would hope that the remainder of this budget
7 process is no longer how long it takes, but

8 that everybody participate and not try this
9 gamesmanship that does nothing other than
10 delay the proceedings and put fear in those it
11 affects if the bill does not get passed.
12 I vote in the affirmative.
14 DeFrancisco will be recorded in the
15 affirmative.
16 Senator Robach, to explain his
17 vote.
18 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes,
19 Mr. President, let me rise to vote yes.
20 I do agree that we're all here and
21 there is some frustration. I want to
22 negotiate school aid that's good for the
23 districts I represent, economic development
24 packages, things that are important. Property
25 tax relief initiatives. And that is all

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1 critically important.
2 But equally important is truly that
3 we do our job and live up to our
4 responsibility. This is related to the
5 budget. If we don't get it done for our lack
6 of agreement, to punish those people that work
7 in government, contract with the government --
8 whether they're taking care of handicapped
9 kids, everyday citizens, whatever it may be --
10 would just be wrong.

11 So I'm glad we're here joining the
12 Assembly on doing this. There was questions
13 on what the priorities were in this. This is
14 the emergency bill sent to us by the Governor
15 of New York State that everybody in this
16 Senate should be voting for, since we don't
17 have agreement on this budget, to keep
18 government going. I think not doing that
19 would be pragmatically wrong, even morally
20 wrong not to do that.
21 So while all of our colleagues from
22 the other side of the aisle have not joined
23 us, it is good that we have enough votes here
24 today -- I'm proud to say everyone on this
25 side of the aisle -- to keep going and do the

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1 right thing. I vote in the affirmative.
3 Robach to be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Senator Schneiderman, to explain
5 his vote.
7 Mr. President, to explain my vote.
8 I obviously am having trouble
9 communicating with my colleagues on the other
10 side of the aisle. When I spoke earlier today
11 I made it very clear that our objection to the
12 proceeding here is the fact that we didn't get
13 an active list, as we always have in the nine

14 years I've been here on a session day, the
15 night before or this morning.
16 I objected to the fact that on the
17 budget process -- we are here passing, ladies
18 and gentlemen, an emergency pay bill because
19 the budget process has failed and we haven't
20 passed a budget. Your side of the aisle, oh
21 great and righteous ladies and gentlemen, has
22 not included our staff in meetings --
24 Skelos, why do you rise?
25 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: -- your

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1 side of the aisle has not included our leader
2 in meetings. You know this. The process has
3 broken down. Our objection --
4 SENATOR SKELOS: Senator
5 Schneiderman, will you yield for a question?
6 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I'm
7 explaining my vote. I don't believe I can
8 yield for a question at this time.
9 SENATOR SKELOS: You're right.
11 President, if I may finish without
12 interruption. Our conference is ready to
13 work --
15 Skelos, do you have a point of order?
16 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: We were

17 here, many of us, over the weekend. We stand
18 at the call of our leader. Senator Smith has
19 attempted to reach out to Senator Bruno on
20 numerous occasions.
21 But make it clear, we have said our
22 priority is budget bills. We are here to
23 ensure that this pay bill gets passed. You
24 know, this business of, oh, you're not here --
25 we're here. We're just not here for other

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1 nonsense, other bills that we don't have
2 notice of, and other bills that pass through
3 this nontransparent, undemocratic process.
4 I vote yes, Mr. President. And I
5 hope everyone looks in the mirror and takes
6 responsibility for their own part in this
7 broken process this year.
8 Thank you.
10 Schneiderman to be recorded in the
11 affirmative.
12 Senator Skelos.
14 just to explain my vote quickly.
15 We're doing our job by voting on
16 legislation, and unfortunately many members of
17 the Minority have chosen not to be here. I
18 thank you, Senator Kruger, Carl Kruger, for
19 being here at the beginning, and you too,

20 Senator Schneiderman. And a few individuals
21 happened to find their way in a little bit
22 late, once they became concerned that they
23 were going to be voted perhaps absent.
24 But, Senator Schneiderman, to talk
25 about a failure of government and all that, I

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1 think that Governor Paterson would be very
2 disappointed in you in the statement that you
3 just made. Here's an individual that came
4 into office upon the resignation of Governor
5 Spitzer, at a very difficult time. And
6 certainly I think it's been appropriate that
7 he be given the opportunity to negotiate a
8 budget.
9 And I think, all in all, both
10 houses are doing pretty well. The Governor,
11 both majorities, minorities have been included
12 in the negotiations. And for you to stand
13 here and decry the procedures and everything
14 as you do every year I think is unfair to
15 Governor Paterson.
16 I vote aye.
18 Skelos to be recorded in the affirmative.
19 Senator Hassell-Thompson, to
20 explain her vote.
21 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
22 you, Mr. President. I rise to explain my

23 vote.
24 I will in fact be voting yes. I
25 think I want to go on the record, however, as

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1 saying that I take exception to the aspersion
2 that has been cast upon me and my colleagues
3 in the Democratic Senate.
4 I've been here eight years, and
5 I've seen each side of this aisle take
6 techniques and strategies that they think will
7 gain them advantage. And it's interesting how
8 when you have the opportunity to play to the
9 camera and to the audience, of course the
10 other guy is always such a bad guy.
11 Well, those of us who came to vote
12 understand very clearly the importance of
13 making sure that those who serve us in this
14 state -- and serve us very well -- should get
15 paid. That was the reason. And I don't have
16 to be ashamed of the fact that I rebelled
17 against a process that is exclusionary. And
18 if it excludes me, then I don't have to
19 appear. But I think that standing close to
20 7 feet tall, it's a little difficult for me to
21 hide.
22 I face up to my responsibility and
23 my obligation. And I didn't come not to be
24 absent. Because if I'm absent, the few times
25 in the eight years that I've been here,

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1 believe me, my constituents are very aware of
2 why I'm absent, and when I vote no, because I
3 explain why it's in the best interests of my
4 constituents to vote no.
5 The way in which you proceed in
6 these chambers are always to a certain
7 advantage. But unfortunately, it's never to
8 the advantage of the people of the State of
9 New York. And as stakeholders, I think that
10 you ought to be ashamed -- not me, but you
11 should be ashamed of the way you carry on and
12 conduct yourself in these chambers.
13 I thank you.
15 Hassell-Thompson, how do you vote?
16 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: I vote
17 in the affirmative.
19 Hassell-Thompson to be recorded in the
20 affirmative.
21 Senator Libous, to explain his
22 vote.
23 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you,
24 Mr. President. I too want to explain my vote.
25 And I stand here with my

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1 colleagues, all 32 on this side of the aisle,

2 to vote on this emergency bill that will help
3 our hardworking, dedicated workers get paid.
4 But I have to tell you, at 3:30
5 when there was a quorum call, this bill
6 wouldn't have passed. This bill wouldn't have
7 passed because there were only two Democrats
8 in the chamber at the time.
9 And, you know, I think -- I find it
10 very interesting that my colleagues who have
11 drifted in -- and I congratulate them for
12 drifting in -- but for those who have drifted
13 in all of a sudden become somewhat offensive,
14 because many, if not the majority, of their
15 colleagues refused to be here to do their job
16 today. And that job is to vote on the bill to
17 make sure that the state workers get paid.
18 Now, as I look across the aisle,
19 Mr. President -- and in all due respect to my
20 colleague Senator Schneiderman, who said that
21 the Democrat minority is here to work, I see
22 quite a few empty chairs. Now, unless these
23 are invisible beings that are actually going
24 to take up a vote, I would say that the
25 majority of their conference is not here to

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1 work.
2 So therefore, on this bill that I'm
3 going to vote aye on that will pay the state
4 workers of this state, I tend to disagree with

5 some of the comments, as my colleagues explain
6 their votes, in saying that their conference
7 on the Democratic side was here. Because at
8 3:30, when there was a quorum call in this
9 house, there were only three members here.
10 I vote aye.
12 Libous to be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Senator Diaz, to explain his vote.
14 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 I honestly would like to say that
17 I'm not here to blame anybody, call shame
18 there or shame here.
19 I think that we in the Democratic
20 conference, Mr. President, the members, we are
21 being -- since we got here since 2 o'clock, we
22 have been involved in a very, very intense
23 negotiation and starting of the budget. So it
24 is not -- you know, to call -- to say that we
25 are not responsible is not -- that's not the

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1 truth. We have been negotiating. As of now
2 there are members that are not here now
3 because there are negotiations to be done, and
4 people are really, really in a very, very
5 serious, very important and very intense
6 negotiation.
7 So I'm here, we're here. And of

8 course we don't want people to be left without
9 getting paid. And that's why we came, because
10 we want to get paid. We don't want them to
11 pay for the failures of the leadership. So we
12 don't want them to pay for that. So we're
13 here to be sure that they get paid.
14 But on the other hand, the
15 negotiations that we in the Democratic
16 conference have been doing today, I am so
17 proud, I am so honored of myself -- and by the
18 way, Mr. President, all my colleagues here
19 know when I have to speak or say something or
20 vote, I don't vote Democrat, I don't vote
21 Republican, I don't vote Communist, I don't
22 vote Independent, I vote with my conscience
23 what I believe. I don't care who else
24 believes.
25 So I'm not playing politics. We

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1 trying to do the best for our community. And
2 because the workforce of New York State needs
3 to get paid, I'm voting proudly yes.
4 Thank you.
6 Diaz to be recorded in the affirmative.
7 Senator Stachowski, to explain his
8 vote.
9 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yes,
10 Mr. President. I'd just like to rise and say

11 that I'm here also to support this bill.
12 I find it interesting that we're
13 pointing out how this almost didn't pass on
14 time and people almost didn't get paid on
15 time. And it's interesting because, first of
16 all, then they're mentioning that at 3:15 or
17 3:30 this bill would have not passed. Well,
18 at 3:30 this bill wasn't on the calendar yet.
19 And if I'm not mistaken, I got a
20 call this morning saying "Would you have any
21 problem with this bill going from Finance to
22 the floor without going through Rules and
23 without going through extra -- jumping through
24 extra hoops," and I said absolutely not.
25 And so that I find it difficult for

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1 some people to get up and lecture and talk
2 about how this bill almost didn't pass. Well,
3 that's interesting, but it's not -- it doesn't
4 hold any water. It's kind of confusing.
5 The fact is that nobody felt that
6 way last week when we had a pay bill for the
7 rest of the people and we had the bill and the
8 message on the floor at 3:00 something. It
9 had to pass by 7:00. Well, we didn't come in
10 until well after 7:00, and everybody got their
11 paycheck a day late.
12 Now, normally that wouldn't make a
13 difference unless you're a single mom and you

14 have a lot of bills that were due and now
15 you've got late fees because you were a day
16 late paying your bills.
17 And that wasn't a concern last
18 week. I don't know why it wasn't a concern,
19 but it was not a concern. This week it's a
20 concern.
21 The fact is there's enough people
22 here to pass it. Close doesn't mean anything;
23 "horseshoes and hand grenades" I think is the
24 old thing I used to hear.
25 And I also am bothered when someone

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1 gets up and they don't lecture me, they kind
2 of get insulting when they're telling us we
3 don't care and "I want to debate you in front
4 of a television camera" and "you don't care
5 about these people and you don't care about
6 those people."
7 Well, that may be your opinion, but
8 we're here, we're voting, the bill will pass,
9 and it's not necessary in the process to be
10 insulting. It's okay to gain political
11 advantage. It's okay to say what you have to
12 say in defense of why you're voting. But you
13 don't have to beat, excessively, people in a
14 manner that isn't -- as a matter of fact isn't
15 becoming on the Senate floor.
16 And if you want to do that, that's

17 fine. That's your prerogative. And I'm not
18 picking anybody out in particular, but some
19 people chose to do that. And I just don't
20 think that this chamber is the place for that.
21 From the day I got here, I've always had great
22 respect for this chamber and this institution,
23 and I would wish that everybody else had the
24 same respect and feelings for this place.
25 Anyway, that's basically my

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1 explanation. I'm happy that I'm here in time
2 to vote. Nobody wants to see government shut
3 down. And it would have been nice if we had
4 the same drive and desire to make sure
5 everybody got paid --
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: How do
7 you vote, Senator Stachowski?
8 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: -- on time
9 last week.
10 I vote yes. Thank you.
12 Stachowski to be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Senator Parker, to explain his
14 vote.
15 SENATOR PARKER: Mr. President,
16 to explain my vote.
17 I'm happy to have an opportunity to
18 vote in the affirmative on this bill. I want
19 to join my colleagues, all of you here, in

20 just saying that I'm glad that we're finally
21 doing this.
22 But we also ought to be very clear
23 that the reason why we're doing this, an
24 emergency bill, is because we have failed to
25 meet our collective responsibility of passing

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1 a budget on time. Which is why an emergency
2 bill is necessary.
3 It is ridiculous, ridiculous to in
4 fact blame the new Governor on this or to say
5 that anything that we do in any way reflects
6 on the Governor. We have a new Governor who's
7 been here less than a month. He did his part,
8 which was resubmission of an Executive Budget,
9 and it's now the Legislature's part.
10 Your leader on the other side of
11 the aisle is fond of talking about how we are
12 a separate branch of government. And you're
13 right, we are. But it's our part now to
14 actually pass the budget, not the Governor's
15 part. The Governor did his part. There was
16 an Executive Budget, there was a resubmission
17 of the Executive Budget. The Governor even
18 came in and bailed you guys out by saying he'd
19 take on the 2 percent, and did his job in
20 doing that.
21 So -- but what did you do? No, you
22 closed budget subcommittee meetings without

23 resolving even the piddly amount of money that
24 were given to our tables, because you did not
25 want to agree with reducing the amount of

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1 money that we were spending.
2 Because the reality is that we're
3 in tough fiscal times. And we all need to
4 share the burdens and at the same time make
5 sure we're not balancing the budget on the
6 backs of our constituents and the least of
7 those.
8 So we're here to pass an emergency
9 budget bill that I agree with and I'm voting
10 aye on. But be clear that this has been a
11 failure for us to get an on-time budget. And
12 certainly no one in this chamber ought to be
13 standing up high and mighty like they're doing
14 something great when we should have resolved
15 this a week ago, literally.
16 And so, Mr. President, I'm voting
17 aye, and I'm hoping that in the future we find
18 a way to get the budget done on time.
20 Parker to be recorded in the affirmative.
21 Senator Adams, to explain his vote.
22 SENATOR ADAMS: Yes, to explain
23 my vote briefly in my two minutes.
24 First of all, in my short stint
25 here, on both sides of the aisle I don't think

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1 I've found a greater group of men and women
2 that represent their state. And I think the
3 level of passion that we bring on the floor is
4 our concern and desire to ensure that our
5 constituents are able to continue to have a
6 decent form of living, a decent form of life.
7 And I would not participate in
8 pointing fingers across any side of the aisle
9 when it comes down to that level of
10 commitment. I know I'm committed. And I
11 believe when we leave our primary and our
12 general elections and we step on this floor,
13 our commitment is to the people of this state.
14 And I do not subscribe to any
15 theory of any newspaper that says we are
16 dysfunctional in our desire to commit and live
17 up to that commitment. I vote aye, and I'm
18 glad to see that we will be able to allow our
19 employees of this state to continue to be
20 paid.
21 Thank you.
23 Adams to be recorded in the affirmative.
24 Senator Hannon, to explain his
25 vote.

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1 SENATOR HANNON: I'd just like to

2 recall to people's minds, because there's been
3 a little bit of shifting of what the facts
4 are, what we're doing right now.
5 This is a bill is that is a
6 Governor's program bill. It's labeled
7 "Program Bill Number 50," Senate 7473. This
8 means the Governor wrote it. This means it
9 came in from the Governor's counsel's office.
10 SENATOR SKELOS: At 12:00 noon.
11 SENATOR HANNON: This means we
12 got it at, the Majority Leader informs me,
13 12:00 noon.
14 We were doing our job because we
15 were told that there were services that are
16 vital for residents of this state to receive
17 from people that are paid from this bill. We
18 were here at 3 o'clock, at the appointed hour,
19 and there was nobody but Senator Schneiderman
20 on the other side.
21 He then suggested that we call a
22 quorum. There were 32 votes for the quorum --
23 no, I'm sorry, there were 34. There were two
24 members of the Minority. That meant we could
25 not pass an emergency bill.

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1 You know what? We were doing our
2 job. Any suggestion otherwise is totally
3 inappropriate.
4 I vote aye.
6 Hannon to be recorded in the affirmative.
7 Is there any other Senator wishing
8 to be heard?
9 Announce the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
11 Calendar Number 716: Ayes, 45. Nays, 0.
12 Absent from voting: Senators
13 Breslin, Connor, Dilan, Duane, Gonzalez,
14 Huntley, Klein, L. Krueger, Montgomery,
15 Oppenheimer, Perkins, Sabini, Sampson, Savino,
16 Serrano, Stavisky and Thompson.
18 bill is passed.
19 Senator Skelos.
21 if we could return to the regular calendar, I
22 believe two bills were laid aside temporarily.
23 If we could take up Calendar Number
24 335, by Senator Little.

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3 335, by Senator Little, Senate Print 6856A, an
4 act to authorize the County of Washington.
6 the last section.

10 is a home-rule message at the desk.
11 Call the roll.
15 bill is passed.
16 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.
18 Skelos.
19 SENATOR SKELOS: Calendar 354, by
20 Senator Morahan, was laid aside temporarily.
21 If we could bring it up at this time.
25 354, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 6817, an

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1 act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law and
2 Chapter 568 of the Laws of 2005.
4 the last section.
8 the roll.

12 bill is passed.
13 Senator Skelos.
15 if we could stand at ease, at the call of the
16 Majority Leader.
18 Senate stands at ease, at the call of the
19 Majority Leader.
21 ease at 5:14 p.m.)
23 at 6:20 p.m.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT HANNON: Senator
25 Skelos.

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2 the Senate will stand adjourned until Tuesday,
3 April 8th, at 11:00 a.m. And that's in the
4 form of a motion.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT HANNON: Any
6 objection? So adopted.
7 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT HANNON: On
9 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
10 Tuesday, April 8th, at 11:00 a.m.
11 (Whereupon, at 6:21 p.m., the
12 Senate adjourned.)
13
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18
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(518) 371-8910

April 7, 2008

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Top of Form 1

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE

4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD

9 ALBANY, NEW YORK

18 SENATOR JOSEPH A. GRIFFO, Acting President

19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary

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2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The

3 Senate will come to order.

4 I ask all to rise and join with me

5 as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance to our

7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited

8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)

9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Today

10 the invocation will be given by Rabbi Shmuel

11 Butman, of the Lubavitch Youth Organization

12 from Brooklyn, New York.

14 RABBI BUTMAN: Let us pray.

15 [In Hebrew] Our Heavenly Father,

16 we ask You to bestow Your blessings upon all

17 the men and women serving in the New York

18 State Senate, who are serving the people of

19 the great State of New York with honesty,

20 decency, and distinction.

21 We want to thank you for passing a

22 resolution proclaiming 106 days in honor of

23 the Rebbe's 106th birthday. The Rebbe, the

24 Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rebbe Menachim M.

25 Schneerson. The Rebbe stood for education of

1 all children, of all children of the world,

2 and you are helping to make this possible.

3 In Psalm 107, which is the psalm we

4 start saying on the first day of the Rebbe's

5 107th year, the psalmist speaks about thanks

6 giving, about thanking Almighty God for all

7 the good things that are happening to a

9 We, the Jewish people, can

10 appreciate thanks giving very, very much,

11 because for many, many years -- and we're

12 going to celebrate Passover -- we were

13 oppressed, so we understand the gift of

14 freedom and the gift of democracy.

15 You, the people of the great Senate

16 of this great State of New York, are fighting

17 for democracy and for freedom for all the

18 people in the State of New York, for all the

19 people in the United States of America, and

20 for all the people in the world.

21 Many years ago, I opened the Senate

22 of a little town called Washington. Before

23 that, I went to see the Rebbe. And the Rebbe

24 said to me that while I'm going to open the

25 Senate, I should take with me a pushkeh. A

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1 pushkeh is a charity box. And I should take a

3 Trust," and I should put in a dollar in the

4 middle while I do the prayer.

5 I want to do the same today. And

6 the Rebbe said we should do that so that we

7 should know that we all have to do acts of

8 goodness and kindness and charity. I don't

9 want you to think that this is a fundraising

10 mission. It is not. It is a way of doing