Regular Session - January 24, 2013
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1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
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3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
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9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 January 24, 2013
11 11:13 a.m.
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13
14 REGULAR SESSION
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18 SENATOR JOSEPH GRIFFO, Acting President
19 FRANCIS W. PATIENCE, Secretary
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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 present to please rise
5 and join me as we recite the Pledge of
6 Allegiance to our Flag. All rise.
7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: In the
10 absence of clergy, I ask all to bow your heads
11 in a moment of silent prayer and reflection.
12 (Whereupon, the assemblage
13 respected a moment of silence.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
15 reading of the Journal.
16 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
17 Wednesday, January 23rd, the Senate met pursuant
18 to adjournment. The Journal of Tuesday,
19 January 22nd, was read and approved. On motion,
20 Senate adjourned.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Without
22 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
23 Presentation of petitions.
24 Messages from the Assembly.
25 Messages from the Governor.
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1 Reports of standing committees.
2 Reports of select committees.
3 Communications and reports from
4 state officers.
5 Motions and resolutions.
6 Senator Libous.
7 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, at
8 this time may we please adopt the
9 Resolution Calendar, with the exception of
10 Resolution 228.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: All in
12 favor of adopting the Resolution Calendar, with
13 the exception of Resolution 228, signify by
14 saying aye.
15 (Response of "Aye.")
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO:
17 Opposed?
18 (No response.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
20 Resolution Calendar is adopted.
21 Senator Libous.
22 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I
23 believe there's a previously adopted resolution
24 by Senator Parker, Number 107, at the desk.
25 May we have the resolution read in
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1 its entirety, move for its immediate adoption,
2 but I would assume that Senator Montgomery will
3 speak on behalf of the resolution.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
5 Secretary will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
7 Resolution Number 107, by Senator Parker,
8 mourning the death of New York State Court of
9 Appeals Judge Theodore T. Jones, Jr.
10 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this
11 Legislative Body to pay tribute to those
12 singular individuals who devoted their
13 purposeful lives to preserving the rights and
14 protecting the welfare of the citizens of their
15 community and the State of New York; and
16 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such
17 concern, and in full accord with its
18 long-standing traditions, it is the sense of
19 this Legislative Body to mourn the death of
20 New York State Court of Appeals Judge Theodore
21 T. Jones, Jr.; and
22 "WHEREAS, Judge Theodore Jones,
23 Jr., one of seven jurists on New York's top
24 court, died on Monday, November 5, 2012, at the
25 age of 68; and
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1 "WHEREAS, Judge Theodore Jones, Jr.,
2 became a State Supreme Court Justice in Brooklyn
3 in 1990 and joined the Court of Appeals in 2007
4 after being nominated by Governor Eliot Spitzer.
5 He was co-chairman of the court's task force on
6 wrongful convictions, which recommended
7 videotaping police interrogations, steps to
8 prevent suggestive police lineups for witnesses,
9 and expanding defense access to DNA evidence. He
10 was the current court's only African-American and
11 chaired its diversity committee; and
12 "WHEREAS, Theodore Jones, Jr., was
13 born on March 10, 1944. His mother was a
14 teacher, and his father worked on the Long Island
15 Railroad, becoming a stationmaster; and
16 "WHEREAS, Judge Theodore Jones, Jr.
17 graduated from Hampton University in Virginia and
18 later joined the United States Army in 1967,
19 serving in the Vietnam War and attaining the rank
20 of captain; and
21 "WHEREAS, Judge Theodore Jones, Jr.
22 graduated from St. John's University School of
23 Law in 1972. He worked at the Legal Aid Society,
24 focusing on criminal defense work. He was
25 elected twice to the State Supreme Court; and
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1 "WHEREAS, Judge Theodore Jones, Jr.
2 is survived by his wife, Joan, and sons, Wesley
3 and Theodore III; now, therefore, be it
4 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
5 Body pause in its deliberations to mourn the
6 death of New York State Court of Appeals Judge
7 Theodore T. Jones, Jr.; and be it further
8 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this
9 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to
10 the family of Judge Theodore T. Jones, Jr."
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
12 Montgomery.
13 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 I appreciate you allowing me to say
16 a few words regarding the Honorable Ted Jones,
17 Theodore T. Jones, who was one of the few times
18 that I had an opportunity to actually see and
19 participate in having one of the people that I
20 knew very personally nominated and advanced to
21 the highest court in our state.
22 I want to thank you for listing many
23 of the accomplishments of his. I did not hear
24 but you probably did say he was a member of the
25 Omega Psi Phi fraternity, and in that capacity as
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1 a fraternal member he was very much involved in
2 monitoring and working with young people and
3 being an inspiration for them and many others,
4 especially people who were engaged in the field
5 of law.
6 I want to just mention as well that
7 Judge Jones was affiliated with organizations in
8 his own community. He was connected with people,
9 worked with those of us who were trying to figure
10 out how to address issues as it related to
11 juvenile justice and criminal justice, and was a
12 very, very committed and special and unique
13 person.
14 He was not just a judge. He was a
15 family man. His sons were very, very important
16 to him; he was very much involved in their
17 lives. He and his wife were very much a part of
18 our community. And I really felt so proud that
19 he as a friend was able to advance to such a high
20 position in our state.
21 I want to memorialize him as one of
22 the great and important leaders, especially
23 African-American leaders, in the State of
24 New York. And I thank you for allowing me to say
25 a few words to honor him and memorialize him.
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1 Thank you.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
3 you, Senator Montgomery.
4 Can I have some order in the
5 chamber, please.
6 Senator Carlucci.
7 SENATOR CARLUCCI: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 And I want to echo the words of my
10 colleague Senator Montgomery. Judge Theodore
11 Jones was someone that I got to know. He was a
12 neighbor of mine, lived in New City. And I got
13 to know him when I was the town clerk; he would
14 come to the clerk's office. And I had the good
15 fortune of being able to pick his brain.
16 And what an outstanding man of
17 character and served this state so well. And as
18 Senator Montgomery had mentioned, not only was he
19 a tireless advocate for equal justice and for
20 making sure that he served as a role model for
21 future generations, but before he was even
22 involved in legal service, he served our nation
23 in Vietnam and came back and continued to serve
24 or community.
25 So I'm so honored and privileged to
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1 be in this body today as we recognize the life,
2 the legacy, and the good work that Judge Theodore
3 Jones committed his life towards this state. So
4 thank you for honoring his life, his legacy, and
5 I thank my colleagues for voting on this
6 resolution.
7 Thank you, Mr. President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
9 you, Senator Carlucci.
10 Senator DeFrancisco.
11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I rise
12 in support of this resolution, and I thank
13 Senator Montgomery for bringing it to the floor.
14 I was chairman of the
15 Judiciary Committee at the time when Theodore
16 Jones was nominated by the Governor to be
17 appointed to the highest court of the state. And
18 I never knew him before. We were contemporaries,
19 starting and conducting our lives in totally
20 different areas of the state but on a parallel
21 course.
22 And I learned that when I met him in
23 New York City for the first time. I was in
24 New York City, we'd made a meeting to talk before
25 he came up before the full Senate or even before
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1 the committee, the Judiciary Committee.
2 What an outstanding, class guy. We
3 immediately bonded, we immediately talked about
4 things that we had in common about our lives.
5 And I knew that day, without even reviewing the
6 various qualifications that he had, that he would
7 be an outstanding judge. And the reason I knew
8 that is because he had impeccable character, he
9 was a class individual, and he was very
10 empathetic. He was someone who I knew as a judge
11 would listen to both sides.
12 And later I learned his background.
13 In his background he worked for the Legal Aid
14 Society, he moved up into private practice, he
15 became a Supreme Court judge where he heard a
16 very, very politically controversial case in
17 New York City and got a lot of heat over it but
18 held his course and I believe made the right
19 decision.
20 And I'm just proud to have known
21 him. I got to know him better once he became a
22 Court of Appeals judge. And it's just a terrible
23 thing, a terrible loss that we've experienced in
24 the State of New York by losing this great jurist
25 and great person.
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1 So I wholeheartedly endorse this
2 resolution, and I'm very proud to vote aye at the
3 appropriate time.
4 Thank you, Mr. President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
6 DeFrancisco, thank you.
7 Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson.
8 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
9 you, Mr. President.
10 I rise to congratulate my colleague
11 on bringing forth the resolution for Justice
12 Ted.
13 He was the first judge -- I remember
14 serving with Senator DeFrancisco on that
15 committee, and I really was concerned because we
16 really almost interrogated him. There were so
17 many questions that were asked of him at his
18 nomination.
19 But I was very proud of the way he
20 handled himself, and I was also proud of the fact
21 that it was the first African-American justice
22 that I had the opportunity to vote for and to
23 make a recommendation for. And he never allowed
24 himself to let down the people who had faith in
25 him.
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1 And I remember one of the cases that
2 came before his court that I had some real angst
3 about, because my husband used to work for the
4 Transit Authority and I remember when they did
5 that strike and Roger Toussaint went to prison.
6 And so I'm saying, Gee, you know, here are two
7 men that I revere and like, and yet they were at
8 cross-purposes.
9 But that's what life brings you to
10 sometimes. And the decisions that he made were
11 the ones that I think he believed were fair and
12 correct.
13 But he was an awesome person to our
14 community as a whole, and he certainly brought,
15 as Senator DeFrancisco says, he brought a lot of
16 class I thought to the bench.
17 And thank you for the opportunity to
18 say a few words on behalf of him and a family who
19 will be devastated for a very long time at the
20 loss of a true father and an upstanding man for
21 the community in which he lived and beyond.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
23 you, Senator Hassell-Thompson.
24 The resolution was adopted on
25 Tuesday, January 15th, unanimously.
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1 I would ask all the members to
2 please rise in a moment of silence as we remember
3 the late Justice Theodore T. Jones of the
4 New York State Court of Appeals.
5 (Whereupon, the assemblage rose and
6 respected a moment of silence.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
8 Libous.
9 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, the
10 resolution was previously adopted, but the
11 sponsor would like to open this up to all the
12 members for cosponsorship.
13 So as we normally do here in the
14 chamber, all members will be placed on the
15 resolution. Unless for some reason you choose
16 not to have your name added, and then please let
17 the desk know.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: So noted.
19 The resolution is open for
20 cosponsorship. Please notify the desk if you do
21 not want to be a cosponsor.
22 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
25 Libous.
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1 SENATOR LIBOUS: I believe there's
2 a resolution at the desk by Senator Perkins,
3 Number 228. And may we please have the
4 resolution read in its entirety and then we'll
5 move for its adoption, and I would assume that
6 Senator Perkins would wish to speak on the
7 resolution.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
9 Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
11 Resolution Number 228, by Senator Perkins,
12 commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the
13 Emancipation Proclamation.
14 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this
15 Legislative Body to commemorate significant
16 events which represent turning points in our
17 unique history and which are indelibly etched in
18 the saga of our great nation; and
19 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern,
20 and in full accord with its long-standing
21 traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud
22 to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the
23 Emancipation Proclamation; and
24 "WHEREAS, On January 1, 1863,
25 Abraham Lincoln presided over the annual White
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1 House New Year's reception. Late that afternoon,
2 he retired to his study to sign the
3 Emancipation Proclamation; and
4 "WHEREAS, The Emancipation
5 Proclamation arose from many causes and was the
6 work of many individuals. It began at the outset
7 of the Civil War, when slaves sought refuge
8 behind Union lines, and did not end until
9 December 1865, with the ratification of the
10 13th Amendment, which irrevocably abolished
11 slavery throughout the nation; and
12 "WHEREAS, A crucial turning point in
13 history, the Emancipation Proclamation embodied a
14 double emancipation: for the slaves, since it
15 ensured that if the Union emerged victorious,
16 slavery would perish; and for Abraham Lincoln
17 himself, for whom it marked the abandonment of
18 his previous assumptions about how to abolish
19 slavery and the role blacks would play in
20 post-emancipation American life; and
21 "WHEREAS, The Emancipation
22 Proclamation marked a dramatic transformation in
23 the nature of the Civil War and in Abraham
24 Lincoln's own approach to the problem of slavery,
25 as no longer did he seek the consent of
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1 slave holders; and
2 "WHEREAS, Within the Emancipation
3 Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln addressed blacks
4 directly, not as property subject to the will of
5 others, but as men and women whose loyalty the
6 Union must earn; and
7 "WHEREAS, For the first time,
8 Abraham Lincoln welcomed black soldiers into the
9 Union Army. Over the next two years, some
10 200,000 black men would serve in the Army and
11 Navy, playing a critical role in achieving Union
12 victory; and
13 "WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln also urged
14 freed slaves to go to work for reasonable wages
15 in the United States; and
16 "WHEREAS, From the first days of the
17 Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own
18 liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed
19 their insistence that the war for the Union must
20 become a war for freedom; and
21 "WHEREAS, The Emancipation
22 Proclamation added moral force to the Union cause
23 and strengthened the Union both militarily and
24 politically. As a milestone along the road to
25 slavery's final destruction, the Emancipation
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1 Proclamation has assumed a place among the great
2 documents of human freedom; now, therefore, be it
3 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
4 Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate
5 the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation
6 Proclamation."
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
8 Perkins.
9 SENATOR PERKINS: Mr. President,
10 this past weekend I was in Washington, D.C.,
11 celebrating with my wife one of the most
12 monumental moments in our country's history, the
13 second inauguration of President Barack Obama.
14 As the first elected official in New York State
15 to endorse President Obama in 2007, this event
16 was especially moving for me.
17 Today, however, I stand before you
18 to celebrate another significant event in our
19 country's history. One hundred and fifty years
20 ago, Abraham Lincoln asserted the equality of
21 African-Americans in the United States through
22 the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
23 Our nation was at a seemingly
24 irreversible tipping point, Confederate and Union
25 soldiers spilling the blood of thousands of
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1 Americans to establish state's rights versus the
2 collective betterment.
3 The Emancipation Proclamation
4 acknowledged blacks as more than shackled labor,
5 but as whole individuals, as men and women who
6 could fight for this country and choose their own
7 pathways.
8 This courageous act on the part of
9 Abraham Lincoln, who faced opposition from both
10 sides as to whether he should incorporate blacks
11 into the American fabric post-slavery inspired
12 and continues to inspire in all of us the courage
13 to be our better selves, to listen to the voices
14 of the oppressed and to fight for their rights.
15 Women's suffrage, the civil rights
16 movement, and the movement for equal marriage
17 rights have all stemmed from Lincoln's assertion
18 that no matter what creed, gender or preference,
19 we are all equal under the law. Great people who
20 have touched our lives -- such as Dr. Martin
21 Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, President
22 Kennedy, Barack Obama -- have continued Lincoln's
23 legacy of promoting civil rights and justice for
24 all people.
25 Today I urge my colleagues in the
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1 Senate to acknowledge and uphold the tenets
2 surrounding the Emancipation Proclamation not
3 only through thoughts but through actions, to
4 hold ourselves accountable for the unheard voices
5 of our constituents and act under the goals of
6 fairness and equality.
7 Thank you.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
9 you, Senator Perkins.
10 Senator Hassell-Thompson.
11 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
12 you, Mr. President.
13 I too went to the inaugural this
14 year. And the position of where I was sitting
15 allowed me to turn around and look behind me, and
16 you can't imagine what the sight of one million
17 people looks like in an orderly congregation.
18 But it was awesome, and to have
19 celebrated so many events on the same day -- the
20 birth of Dr. King, the inauguration of my
21 president, and the 150th anniversary of the
22 Emancipation Proclamation.
23 It was interesting that I watched
24 the movie Lincoln the night before. And I had
25 read two years ago the book Team of Rivals from
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1 which the movie came. And I watched the
2 struggle, and that struggle didn't seem very much
3 different than the struggle that we have here in
4 this chamber, every day, fighting to keep rights
5 of people from being rolled back.
6 It is important to us, particularly
7 as we come to this hallmark of the celebration of
8 the Emancipation Proclamation, as a woman of
9 African heritage to be able to stand here in
10 these chambers with a sense of pride and an
11 understanding of the obligation that I continue
12 to have to invoke policies that move us toward
13 the freedom to which we are all entitled.
14 Senator Perkins talked about the
15 fact that the Emancipation Proclamation was the
16 door-opener. And it is and has been for every
17 immigrant group who has come to this country, and
18 to everyone who maybe appeared different in the
19 eyes of other people.
20 And America continues to be a place
21 that people want to come because there is the
22 illusion of freedom. It is our job as we stand
23 here every day to make it a reality. At this
24 moment, it's still only a virtual. We must work
25 harder to make sure that every document of the
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1 Constitution is held sacred.
2 Thank you, Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
4 you, Senator Hassell-Thompson.
5 Senator Maziarz.
6 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very
7 much, Mr. President.
8 I rise in support of this
9 resolution.
10 And just a little anecdotal story
11 here, that the State of New York actually has in
12 its possession an original copy of President
13 Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. You know, I
14 think there were three of them that he drafted in
15 different forms. And one, through a story that's
16 much too long to tell now, ended up in the
17 possession of the New York State Archives.
18 And Governor Spitzer, when he first
19 took office, for the first time ever actually put
20 on public display that Emancipation Proclamation
21 in the Red Room right downstairs. And he opened
22 it up for members of the Legislature, the
23 Assembly and the Senate, to go down and view it.
24 And I have to tell you that not very
25 many members did that, except Senator Libous,
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1 myself, Senator DeFrancisco, and Senator Griffo.
2 Senator Lanza. Now all of a sudden everybody
3 did.
4 (Laughter.)
5 SENATOR MAZIARZ: But be that as it
6 may -- however -- however -- however, when
7 Governor Spitzer opened it up to the public, it
8 was on a Sunday. And I come up here on Sunday
9 afternoons, and the line was around this building
10 to see it.
11 If Governor Cuomo is listening --
12 and he's always listening --
13 (Laughter.)
14 SENATOR MAZIARZ: -- I would
15 suggest maybe that the Governor may want to
16 consider doing something like that again.
17 It is a remarkable document.
18 President Lincoln -- you know, you see those
19 reprints of it and you can hardly read them.
20 President Lincoln's penmanship was perfect. And
21 he had sent it to Secretary Seward for
22 corrections, and you can see where Secretary
23 Seward crossed out some of Lincoln's writing and
24 then he would initial it, "William Henry
25 Seward."
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1 So a little story. Thank you. I
2 rise in support of it.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
4 you, Senator Maziarz.
5 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Oh, and Senator
6 Robach was there too.
7 (Laughter.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: It was a
9 pleasure viewing with you.
10 Senator Krueger.
11 Can I have some order in the
12 chamber, please.
13 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 I also rise to congratulate my
16 colleagues for recognition of the Emancipation
17 Proclamation and the importance of what it meant
18 to this country and the recognition, as my
19 colleague Ruth Hassell-Thompson pointed out, that
20 we take steps in this country and we still have
21 farther to go. And she pointed out the pride she
22 has in the accomplishments of emancipation and
23 equal rights and equality for African-Americans
24 in this country.
25 I had a resolution that is not on
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1 the calendar today honoring the 40th anniversary
2 of Roe v. Wade, which also was a giant step in
3 this country for women's equality and family
4 equality, which I think should have been
5 recognized in the Resolution Calendar today and
6 I'm disappointed it was not.
7 But again, this is a road to
8 emancipation for us all in this country. And
9 proudly, the State of New York recognized women's
10 rights to make their own decisions even earlier
11 than Roe v. Wade. So this country, like my
12 colleagues just discussing Mr. Lincoln and
13 emancipation, this state has a proud history and
14 a proud future going forward, with some bumps in
15 the road, it appears.
16 Thank you, Mr. President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
18 you, Senator Krueger.
19 The question is on the resolution.
20 All in favor signify by saying aye.
21 (Response of "Aye.")
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Opposed?
23 (No response.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
25 resolution is adopted.
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1 Senator Libous.
2 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
3 Senator Perkins would like to open this up to all
4 members.
5 And certainly, as I've mentioned and
6 will mention more frequently on this floor as we
7 move through the legislative session, you will
8 all be placed on the resolution. If for any
9 reason at all you wish not to be placed on the
10 resolution, please let the desk know.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: So noted.
12 The resolution is open to
13 cosponsorship, and please let the desk know if
14 you do not want to be a cosponsor.
15 Senator Libous.
16 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
17 there is a another resolution that we passed this
18 morning on the Resolution Calendar by
19 Senator Larkin, Resolution 259.
20 He too would like to open that up
21 for cosponsorship. And we will do so. And if
22 members would just look at the
23 Resolution Calendar. If they have an issue with
24 it, then let the desk know. But I don't believe
25 you will have an issue with it. But that's not
327
1 for me to determine, that's for you to determine.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO:
3 Resolution 259 is open for cosponsorship. If you
4 choose not to, please notify the desk.
5 Senator Libous.
6 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, is
7 there any further business at the desk?
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There is
9 currently no further business before the desk.
10 SENATOR LIBOUS: Okay. I would ask
11 members to listen very carefully as to the
12 announcements that are going to take place.
13 First off, there will be an
14 immediate Health Committee meeting in Room 124,
15 Health Committee meeting in Room 124.
16 The Health Committee was handed up
17 yesterday. So members who may not know if
18 they're on the Health Committee, just check with
19 the desk and they will inform them.
20 That will be immediately following
21 session. Or right now off the floor, but we're
22 going to end session anyway.
23 We are not going to adjourn. We are
24 going to stand at ease. But members need not be
25 around. And for the members' information, the
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1 Senate will, after it adjourns later today, will
2 reconvene on Monday, January 28th, at 3:00 p.m.,
3 intervening days being legislative days.
4 Mr. President, will you call on
5 Senator DeFrancisco for purposes of an
6 announcement.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
8 DeFrancisco.
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Just a brief
10 announcement. We're on sort of an expedited
11 schedule this year. The budget hearings start
12 Monday. Everyone should have a calendar. And we
13 will follow the same rules as we did the last
14 couple of years.
15 Thank you.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
17 you, Senator DeFrancisco. So noted.
18 Senator Libous.
19 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, in
20 the spirit of full disclosure, because I saw some
21 looks on faces on both sides of the aisle, the
22 reason why we are standing at ease is that the
23 leaders are finishing up committee assignments.
24 We would like to hand up those
25 committee assignments today so the committees can
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1 be full-functioning on Monday or even
2 beforehand. And so that's why the Senate will
3 stand at ease and not adjourn.
4 But I believe a member of each
5 conference will be here to adjourn the session
6 later on today once those committee
7 assignments are handed up.
8 So, Mr. President, at this time
9 could the Senate please stand at ease.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
11 Libous, we will renote that there's an immediate
12 meeting of the Health Committee in Room 124.
13 The Senate will stand at ease, but
14 we'll reconvene on Monday the 28th at 3:00 p.m.
15 The Senate is at ease in
16 anticipation of hand-up of committee
17 assignments. The Senate stands at ease.
18 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
19 at 11:41 a.m.)
20 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
21 5:55 p.m.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCHIONE: The
23 Senate will come to order.
24 Senator Savino.
25 SENATOR SAVINO: Madam President,
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1 Senator Klein and Senator Skelos hand up the
2 following committee assignments and ask that such
3 assignments be filed in the Journal.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCHIONE: So
5 ordered.
6 Senator Savino.
7 SENATOR SAVINO: Madam President,
8 is there any other business at the desk?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCHIONE: There
10 is no further business.
11 SENATOR SAVINO: There being no
12 further business, I move that we adjourn until
13 Monday, January 28th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening
14 days being legislative days.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCHIONE: On
16 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until Monday,
17 January 28th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening days
18 being legislative days.
19 (Whereupon, at 5:45 p.m., the Senate
20 adjourned.)
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