Regular Session - June 8, 2021
4461
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 June 8, 2021
11 1:08 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR BRIAN A. BENJAMIN, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
20
21
22
23
24
25
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
3 Senate will come to order.
4 I ask everyone present to please
5 rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: In the
9 absence of clergy, let us bow our heads in a
10 moment of silent reflection or prayer.
11 (Whereupon, the assemblage respected
12 a moment of silence.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
14 reading of the Journal.
15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Monday,
16 June 7, 2021, the Senate met pursuant to
17 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, June 6,
18 2021, was read and approved. On motion, the
19 Senate adjourned.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Without
21 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
22 Presentation of petitions.
23 Messages from the Assembly.
24 The Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kaminsky
4463
1 moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
2 Assembly Bill Number 5029A and substitute it for
3 the identical Senate Bill 2936A, Third Reading
4 Calendar 335.
5 Senator Sanders moves to discharge,
6 from the Committee on Codes, Assembly Bill
7 Number 2354 and substitute it for the identical
8 Senate Bill 911, Third Reading Calendar 386.
9 Senator Skoufis moves to discharge,
10 from the Committee on Investigations and
11 Government Operations, Assembly Bill Number 5470
12 and substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
13 6017, Third Reading Calendar 679.
14 Senator Harckham moves to discharge,
15 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
16 Number 1005A and substitute it for the identical
17 Senate Bill 5434A, Third Reading Calendar 844.
18 Senator Benjamin moves to discharge,
19 from the Committee on Corporations, Authorities
20 and Commissions, Assembly Bill Number 1237 and
21 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 1182,
22 Third Reading Calendar 1070.
23 Senator Comrie moves to discharge,
24 from the Committee on Investigations and
25 Government Operations, Assembly Bill Number 1228A
4464
1 and substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
2 Number 1150A, Third Reading Calendar 1139.
3 Senator Comrie moves to discharge,
4 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
5 Number 7688 and substitute it for the identical
6 Senate Bill 6312, Third Reading Calendar 1209.
7 Senator Kaplan moves to discharge,
8 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
9 Number 6500 and substitute it for the identical
10 Senate Bill 3101, Third Reading Calendar 1373.
11 Senator Brisport moves to discharge,
12 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
13 Number 7576 and substitute it for the identical
14 Senate Bill 7101, Third Reading Calendar 1473.
15 Senator Gaughran moves to discharge,
16 from the Committee on Environmental Conservation,
17 Assembly Bill Number 2140B and substitute it for
18 the identical Senate Bill 966B, Third Reading
19 Calendar 1482.
20 Senator Serino moves to discharge,
21 from the Committee on Cities 2, Assembly Bill
22 Number 5399 and substitute it for the identical
23 Senate Bill 5300, Third Reading Calendar 1491.
24 Senator Parker moves to discharge,
25 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
4465
1 1953 and substitute it for the identical Senate
2 Bill 2911, Third Reading Calendar 1527.
3 Senator Parker moves to discharge,
4 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
5 Number 3965 and substitute it for the identical
6 Senate Bill 4421, Third Reading Calendar 1541.
7 Senator Brooks moves to discharge,
8 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
9 Number 6249A and substitute it for the identical
10 Senate Bill 5245A, Third Reading Calendar 1548.
11 Senator Parker moves to discharge,
12 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
13 Number 7214A and substitute it for the identical
14 Senate Bill 5868A, Third Reading Calendar 1552.
15 Senator Parker moves to discharge,
16 from the Committee on Codes, Assembly Bill
17 Number 3766 and substitute it for the identical
18 Senate Bill 6269, Third Reading Calendar 1558.
19 Senator Kennedy moves to discharge,
20 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
21 Number 7192A and substitute it for the identical
22 Senate Bill 6335A, Third Reading Calendar 1560.
23 Senator Gaughran moves to discharge,
24 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
25 Number 7176A and substitute it for the identical
4466
1 Senate Bill 6415A, Third Reading Calendar 1561.
2 Senator Weik moves to discharge,
3 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
4 Number 7485A and substitute it for the identical
5 Senate Bill 6437A, Third Reading Calendar 1562.
6 Senator Kavanagh moves to discharge,
7 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
8 Number 7671 and substitute it for the identical
9 Senate Bill 7026, Third Reading Calendar 1584.
10 Senator Hinchey moves to discharge,
11 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
12 Number 2396A and substitute it for the identical
13 Senate Bill 7028, Third Reading Calendar 1586.
14 Senator Bailey moves to discharge,
15 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
16 Number 7729 and substitute it for the identical
17 Senate Bill 7073, Third Reading Calendar 1589.
18 Senator Persaud moves to discharge,
19 from the Committee on Commerce, Economic
20 Development and Small Business, Assembly Bill
21 Number 3149 and substitute it for the identical
22 Senate Bill 7109, Third Reading Calendar 1591.
23 Senator Brooks moves to discharge,
24 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
25 Number 7388B and substitute it for the identical
4467
1 Senate Bill 7124A, Third Reading Calendar 1592.
2 Senator Persaud moves to discharge,
3 from the Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
4 Number 7714 and substitute it for the identical
5 Senate Bill 7133, Third Reading Calendar 1593.
6 And Senator Stavisky moves to
7 discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
8 Assembly Bill Number 7390 and substitute it for
9 the identical Senate Bill 7151, Third Reading
10 Calendar 1596.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: All
12 substitutions so ordered.
13 Messages from the Governor.
14 Reports of standing committees.
15 Reports of select committees.
16 Communications and reports from
17 state officers.
18 Motions and resolutions.
19 Senator Gianaris.
20 SENATOR GIANARIS: Good to have you
21 back, Mr. President. Good afternoon.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Good to
23 be back.
24 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's begin with
25 moving to amend, on behalf of yourself,
4468
1 Senate Bill 1163B by striking out the amendments
2 made on June 1, 2021, and restoring it to its
3 previous print number, 1163A.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: It is
5 so ordered.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: And on behalf of
7 Senator Bailey, I wish to call up Senate Bill
8 3374, recalled from the Assembly, which is now at
9 the desk.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
11 Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 440, Senate Print 3374, by Senator Bailey, an act
14 to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to
16 reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
18 Secretary will call the roll on reconsideration.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
22 bill is restored to its place on the
23 Third Reading Calendar.
24 SENATOR GIANARIS: I offer the
25 following amendments.
4469
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 amendments are received.
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please recognize
4 Senator Lanza.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
6 Lanza.
7 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President, on
8 behalf of Senator Boyle, on page 44 I offer the
9 following amendments to Calendar Number 1571,
10 Senate Print Number 6730, and ask that said bill
11 retain its place on Third Reading Calendar.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 amendments are received, and the bill shall
14 retain its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
15 Senator Gianaris.
16 SENATOR GIANARIS: I now move to
17 adopt the Resolution Calendar, with the exception
18 of Resolutions 1012 and 1196.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: All in
20 favor of adopting the Resolution Calendar, with
21 the exception of Resolutions 1012 and 1196,
22 please signify by saying aye.
23 (Response of "Aye.")
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
25 Opposed, nay.
4470
1 (No response.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
3 Resolution Calendar is adopted.
4 Senator Gianaris.
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: Okay, let's
6 begin -- we're going to simultaneously have a
7 Rules Committee meeting while the resolutions are
8 being adopted.
9 And so let's begin by taking up
10 Resolution 1196, by Senator Kennedy, read its
11 title only and recognize Senator Kennedy.
12 And please also call an immediate
13 meeting of the Rules Committee in Room 332.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
15 will be an immediate meeting of the
16 Rules Committee in Room 332.
17 The Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
19 1196, by Senator Kennedy, congratulating
20 Richard Lipsitz upon the occasion of his
21 retirement after many years of distinguished
22 service as President of the Western New York Area
23 Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
25 Kennedy on the resolution.
4471
1 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 It's my personal honor to rise today
4 to congratulate Richard Lipsitz, a dear friend,
5 upon his retirement as president of the Western
6 New York Area Labor Federation, capping an
7 extraordinary career that bettered the lives of
8 thousands and thousands of hardworking Western
9 New Yorkers.
10 Richard, known to his friends as
11 Dick, is just the third ALF president, which was
12 formed 20 years ago in 2001. He first took
13 office in 2011, overseeing dozens and dozens of
14 affiliated local, regional and national unions
15 representing 130,000 workers across five separate
16 labor councils, and he's helped to put Western
17 New York Area Labor Federation at the center of
18 the fight for the rights of workers all across
19 New York State.
20 When this body passed the New York
21 Call Center Jobs Act, Richard Lipsitz was there
22 on the front lines of the fight.
23 When we restored devastating
24 education cuts, Richard Lipsitz was there on the
25 front lines of the fight.
4472
1 And just this year, when we finally
2 passed safe staffing, Richard Lipsitz was once
3 again leading the charge.
4 If I listed all of his
5 accomplishments, Mr. President, we would be here
6 all day and all night. From his earliest days,
7 Dick was fighting for workers going all the way
8 back to 1973, when he helped to organize the
9 employees of George Washington University
10 Hospital in Washington, D.C. He later cut his
11 teeth organizing with major unions, including
12 SEIU and the Teamsters.
13 Forty-eight years later, that work
14 has not stopped. Whether it's protecting
15 existing union jobs, like the recent strike at
16 General Motors, organizing a new union at
17 SPoT Coffee locations in Buffalo and
18 Western New York, or ensuring new businesses all
19 throughout Western New York are backed up and
20 making sure that the workers have someone
21 who's there for them at all times watching their
22 backs, it's hard to find a sector that has not
23 been impacted by Richard Lipsitz and his
24 extraordinary efforts to make sure that workers
25 get that fair shake.
4473
1 And he doesn't do it by imposing
2 decrees upon local unions, he does it by bringing
3 people together, by building consensus and
4 bridging divides. That's the mark of true
5 leadership, someone who understands the power of
6 unity and solidarity. That's Richard Lipsitz.
7 At the end of the day, what mattered
8 most to him in his role as president was ensuring
9 that the lives all around us are better off, that
10 the living standards and working conditions of
11 workers were upheld and protected.
12 Beyond his role with the Area Labor
13 Federation, Richard's most important job is
14 husband to his wife Liz of 42 years, father to
15 two daughters, Josie and Cassie, and grandfather
16 to his two granddaughters.
17 And because of his hard work there
18 are thousands and thousands of families that will
19 enjoy the retirement benefits they deserve, that
20 will allow them to treasure their time with their
21 own families.
22 Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't
23 note that the Area Labor Federation will be left
24 in good hands. Because of Dick's leadership,
25 because of him cultivating that environment of
4474
1 leadership and bringing people together and
2 making sure that the Area Labor Federation has
3 bench strength, the Area Labor Federation
4 recently made Peter DeJesus of 1199 SEIU the next
5 in line. Not only is the AFL-CIO in good stead
6 under his leadership, but Richard is staying on
7 as president emeritus.
8 So we're very proud of that and very
9 proud of his work. And we know that there is
10 more work to do, and he will continue to be there
11 for us in a different role, but certainly with
12 his leadership and experience.
13 So to Richard Lipsitz, we hope he
14 enjoys a well-deserved retirement and thank him
15 for a lifetime of service to the cause of workers
16 in Western New York and New York State and across
17 the nation. We are all better off because of his
18 efforts.
19 Mr. President, thank you very much.
20 I vote aye.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
22 question is on the resolution.
23 All in favor signify by saying aye.
24 (Response of "Aye.")
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
4475
1 Opposed?
2 (No response.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 resolution is adopted.
5 Senator Serrano.
6 SENATOR SERRANO: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 We will now move to Resolution
9 Number 1012, by myself, Senator Serrano. We'll
10 read the resolution's title, and I'll speak on
11 the resolution.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
15 1012, by Senator Serrano, mourning the death of
16 Mary Eileen Fitzgerald, a dedicated Bronxite,
17 pioneering and distinguished detective with the
18 NYPD, and devoted member of the community.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
20 Serrano on the resolution.
21 SENATOR SERRANO: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 I stand here to mourn the passing of
24 Mary Fitzgerald. She passed away on May 19th at
25 the age of 98. And she is my former Woman of
4476
1 Distinction honoree.
2 She was born in the South Bronx in
3 1923 to Irish immigrant parents, and in 1952 was
4 sworn into the NYPD at a time when very few women
5 were on the force. She was promoted to detective
6 in 1959 and was tasked with protecting some of
7 the 20th century's most iconic women, including
8 First Lady Jackie Kennedy.
9 She retired in 1983 and lived out
10 her long retirement on Roosevelt Island, also in
11 my district, where she volunteered for various
12 causes.
13 She was a true trailblazer in the
14 NYPD and in her community, and I always enjoyed
15 our conversations and hearing about growing up in
16 the South Bronx in the 1930s and the legacy of
17 immigration that the South Bronx has always
18 maintained. And always grateful for her service
19 over the years.
20 And with that, I ask all of my
21 colleagues to join me in supporting this
22 resolution memorializing Mary Fitzgerald.
23 Thank you.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 question is on the resolution.
4477
1 All in favor signify by saying aye.
2 (Response of "Aye.")
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
4 Opposed?
5 (No response.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 resolution is adopted.
8 Senator Serrano.
9 SENATOR SERRANO: Thank you.
10 May we stand at ease for a moment.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
12 Senate will stand at ease.
13 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
14 at 1:23 p.m.)
15 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
16 1:29 p.m.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
18 Senate will return to order.
19 Senator Gianaris.
20 SENATOR GIANARIS: At this time,
21 Mr. President, let's take up previously adopted
22 Resolution 980, by Senator Thomas, read its title
23 and recognize Senator Thomas.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 Secretary will read.
4478
1 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
2 980, by Senator Thomas, commemorating the
3 50th Anniversary of the independence of the
4 United Arab Emirates.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
6 Thomas on the resolution.
7 SENATOR THOMAS: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 I am honored to stand and introduce
10 this legislative resolution to commemorate the
11 50th Independence Day of the United Arab Emirates
12 by declaring December 2, 2021, as Emirati Day in
13 New York State.
14 My colleagues here know that I was
15 born in Dubai, the UAE, and emigrated to New York
16 with my family at the age of 10. That was back
17 in 1995. At the time I left, the country that I
18 know was modernizing and emerging as an economic
19 and tourist hub in the region. Let's look back
20 at how this nation emerged.
21 Back on December 2, 1971, a union of
22 six small gulf kingdoms announced their
23 independence from Britain and became the United
24 Arab Emirates. Later on Ras al-Khaimah, the
25 seventh emirate, also joined this union.
4479
1 The UAE has a rich history rooted in
2 trade and tied to Islam, which came to the region
3 in 8630. Today the UAE is a modern oil-exporting
4 country with a highly diversified economy, with
5 Dubai in particular developing into a global city
6 and a hub for tourism, retail and finance, home
7 to the world's tallest building, the Burj
8 Khalifa, and the Palm Islands and other
9 architectural wonders.
10 National Day, which is celebrated on
11 December 2nd each year, commemorates the founding
12 of the UAE. But this year it's a very different
13 type of celebration because the country will be
14 celebrating the 50th Independence Day.
15 His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan
16 Al Nahyan, president of the UAE, proclaimed 2021
17 as the Year of the 50th, which represents a
18 defining moment in the country's history.
19 From business to trade to fashion
20 education, New York State has always had strong
21 ties to the UAE. New York remains one of the
22 most popular destinations for Emirati students
23 pursuing higher education. New York is one of
24 the top five exporting states to the UAE,
25 supporting thousands of American jobs annually.
4480
1 I'm pleased to have the opportunity
2 to recognize this important cultural event by
3 declaring December 2, 2021, as Emirati Day here
4 in the great State of New York, and
5 congratulations to the UAE as well.
6 Thank you.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
8 resolution was previously adopted on June 2nd.
9 Senator Gianaris.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: At the request
11 of the cosponsors, all the resolutions taken up
12 today are open for cosponsorship.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
14 resolutions are open for cosponsorship. Should
15 you choose not to be a cosponsor of the
16 resolutions, please notify the desk.
17 Senator Gianaris.
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: I believe
19 there's a report of the Rules Committee at the
20 desk. Let's take that up.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
22 Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator
24 Stewart-Cousins, from the Committee on Rules,
25 reports the following bills:
4481
1 Senate Print 592, by Senator May, an
2 act to amend the State Finance Law;
3 Senate Print 600, by
4 Senator Benjamin, an act to amend the
5 Election Law;
6 Senate Print 699B, by
7 Senator Hoylman, an act to amend the
8 Environmental Conservation Law;
9 Senate Print 737A, by
10 Senator Biaggi, an act to amend the
11 General Business Law;
12 Senate Print 924, by Senator Ramos,
13 an act to amend the Social Services Law;
14 Senate Print 979A, by
15 Senator Gaughran, an act to amend the
16 Real Property Law;
17 Senate Print 1603, by
18 Senator Gianaris, an act to amend the
19 Public Housing Law;
20 Senate Print 2025, by Senator May,
21 an act to amend the Education Law;
22 Senate Print 2045, by
23 Senator Tedisco, an act to amend the County Law;
24 Senate Print 2122A, by
25 Senator Rivera, an act to amend the
4482
1 Public Health Law;
2 Senate Print 2630, by
3 Senator Sanders, an act to amend the
4 Correction Law and the Executive Law;
5 Senate Print 2743, by Senator Ramos,
6 an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage
7 Control Law;
8 Senate Print 2757B, by
9 Senator Ramos, an act to amend the Vehicle and
10 Traffic Law;
11 Senate Print 2999B, by
12 Senator Harckham, an act to amend the
13 Executive Law;
14 Senate Print 3080A, by
15 Senator Salazar, an act directing the New York
16 State Energy Research and Development Authority
17 to establish a Ride Clean Rebate Program;
18 Senate Print 3152A, by
19 Senator Comrie, an act to amend the Agriculture
20 and Markets Law;
21 Senate Print 3687A, by
22 Senator Felder, an act to amend the Vehicle and
23 Traffic Law;
24 Senate Print 3764, by
25 Senator Comrie, an act to amend the
4483
1 General Business Law;
2 Senate Print 3789, by
3 Senator Comrie, an act to amend the
4 Public Service Law;
5 Senate Print 4060, by
6 Senator Comrie, an act to amend the
7 General Business Law;
8 Senate Print 4306A, by
9 Senator Gianaris, an act to amend the
10 Election Law;
11 Senate Print 4347A, by
12 Senator Brouk, an act to amend the Education Law
13 and the Social Services Law;
14 Senate Print 4367A, by
15 Senator Mayer, an act to amend the
16 Public Officers Law;
17 Senate Print 4432, by Senator May,
18 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
19 Senate Print 4467B, by
20 Senator Mannion, an act to amend the
21 Domestic Relations Law and the Family Court Act;
22 Senate Print 4486A, by
23 Senator Harckham, an act to amend the
24 Public Health Law and the Social Services Law;
25 Senate Print 4539, by
4484
1 Senator Kaplan, an act to amend the General
2 Municipal Law and the Public Buildings Law;
3 Senate Print 4849A, by
4 Senator Reichlin-Melnick, an act to amend the
5 Vehicle and Traffic Law;
6 Senate Print 5257C, by
7 Senator Gianaris, an act to amend the
8 Private Housing Finance Law;
9 Senate Print 5488A, by
10 Senator Biaggi, an act to establish the
11 Marshall Plan for Moms Interagency Task Force;
12 Senate Print 5517A, by
13 Senator Kennedy, an act to amend the
14 State Finance Law;
15 Senate Print 6654B, by
16 Senator Harckham, an act to amend the Village Law
17 and the Public Officers Law;
18 Senate Print 6664, by Senator May,
19 an act to amend the Public Health Law;
20 Senate Print 6738, by
21 Senator Jordan, an act to amend the Highway Law;
22 Senate Print 6777, by
23 Senator Salazar, an act to amend the
24 Executive Law;
25 Senate Print 6815, by
4485
1 Senator Kavanagh, an act to amend the
2 Education Law;
3 Senate Print 6822, by
4 Senator Palumbo, an act in relation to granting
5 Kevin Moriarty Tier IV status in the New York
6 State Teachers' Retirement System;
7 Senate Print 6850A, by
8 Senator Kennedy, an act to amend the Agriculture
9 and Markets Law;
10 Senate Print 6875, by
11 Senator Persaud, an act to amend the
12 Social Services Law;
13 Senate Print 6877, by
14 Senator Kavanagh, an act to amend the
15 General Obligations Law;
16 Senate Print 6962, by Senator Ryan,
17 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation
18 Law;
19 Senate Print 7014, by
20 Senator Addabbo, an act to amend the Racing,
21 Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law;
22 Senate Print 7075, by
23 Senator Breslin, an act to amend the
24 Insurance Law;
25 Senate Print 7083A, by
4486
1 Senator Hinchey, an act to amend the Town Law;
2 Senate Print 7106A, by
3 Senator Mannion, an act to amend the
4 Social Services Law;
5 Senate Print 7136, by
6 Senator Serino, an act to amend the Highway Law;
7 Senate Print 7139, by
8 Senator Palumbo, an act to amend the Highway Law;
9 Senate Print 7145, by Senator Ryan,
10 an act to amend the Public Service Law;
11 Senate Print 5527, by
12 Senator Brooks, an act to amend the
13 Public Authorities Law;
14 Senate Print 5722, by
15 Senator Thomas, an act in relation to restricting
16 certain practices from remote supervision by
17 licensed pharmacists;
18 Senate Print 5750, by
19 Senator Palumbo, an act relating to authorizing
20 the district superintendent of the
21 Eastport-South Manor Central School District to
22 adjust the improper apportionment of the school
23 tax levy;
24 Senate Print 5988B, by
25 Senator Mattera, an act to amend the Vehicle and
4487
1 Traffic Law;
2 Senate Print 6052B, by
3 Senator Reichlin-Melnick, an act to amend
4 Chapter 89 of the Laws of 2016;
5 Senate Print 6230, by
6 Senator Sanders, an act to amend the
7 General Municipal Law;
8 Senate Print 6234, by
9 Senator Kennedy, an act to amend the Vehicle and
10 Traffic Law;
11 Senate Print 6323, by
12 Senator Gaughran, an act to amend the
13 General Municipal Law;
14 Senate Print 6441, by
15 Senator Breslin, an act to amend the
16 Public Authorities Law;
17 Senate Print 6516A, by
18 Senator Mannion, an act to amend the
19 Education Law;
20 Senate Print 6537, by
21 Senator Reichlin-Melnick, an act to amend the
22 Education Law;
23 Senate Print 6542, by
24 Senator Kaplan, an act relating to a review of
25 reimbursement rates for ambulette transportation;
4488
1 Senate Print 6555A, by
2 Senator Breslin, an act to amend the
3 Real Property Tax Law;
4 Senate Print 6562A, by
5 Senator Jordan, an act to amend the Highway Law;
6 Senate Print 6617, by
7 Senator Gounardes, an act to amend the
8 State Finance Law;
9 Senate Print 7150, by
10 Senator Gianaris, an act to amend Chapter 17 of
11 the Laws of 2012;
12 Senate Print 7163, by Senator Boyle,
13 an act authorizing the West Babylon Church of God
14 of Prophecy, Inc., to file an application for
15 retroactive real property tax exemption;
16 Senate Print 7179, by
17 Senator Persaud, an act to amend the
18 Family Court Act and the Executive Law;
19 Senate Print 7190, by
20 Senator Thomas, an act to amend the
21 General Municipal Law;
22 Senate Print 7191, by Senator Ryan,
23 an act to amend the Election Law; and
24 Senate Print 7197, by
25 Senator Skoufis, an act to amend Chapter 704 of
4489
1 the Laws of 1991.
2 All bills reported direct to third
3 reading.
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to accept
5 the report of the Rules Committee.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: All
7 those in favor of accepting the report of the
8 Rules Committee signify by saying aye.
9 (Response of "Aye.")
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
11 Opposed, nay.
12 (No response.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
14 Rules Committee report is accepted.
15 Senator Gianaris.
16 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's take up
17 the calendar, Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 335, Assembly Bill 5029A, substituted earlier by
22 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the
23 Environmental Conservation Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
25 the last section.
4490
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
7 Brisport to explain his vote.
8 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 This bill relates to public health.
11 Combustion of this fuel oil creates soot,
12 composed of toxic mixes of pollutants that are
13 easily inhaled and can cause a range of serious
14 diseases that affect infants, children and the
15 elderly, including asthma, bronchitis, cancer,
16 heart disease and pneumonia.
17 What else do these illnesses have in
18 common besides arising from the combustion of
19 these fuel oils? At least two things. They are
20 all dangerous comorbidities that lead to higher
21 rates of complication and death from COVID-19, a
22 disease that was more common and more deadly for
23 New York's communities of color, who are more
24 likely to be exposed to environmental pollutants
25 and less likely to have access to consistent
4491
1 primary care.
2 Under our current profit-driven
3 healthcare system, getting treatment for these
4 illnesses is very often prohibitively expensive
5 for the very people most likely to be impacted.
6 An inability to access care early can lead to
7 worse health outcomes. New Yorkers often have to
8 put off treatment of these illnesses because of
9 cost -- because they weren't insured, hadn't
10 reached their deductible, or weren't sure where
11 they could receive care without getting a denial
12 from their insurance company.
13 Far too often these delays mean that
14 the illnesses caused by the combustion of this
15 fuel oil become more serious or even deadly.
16 Hand in hand with our profit-driven healthcare
17 system, burning oil full of pollutants and
18 carcinogens in our homes and offices is making
19 people sicker, putting the most vulnerable among
20 us at the highest risks, and creating long-term
21 problems that will only get worse the longer we
22 don't address them.
23 We need to pass the New York Health
24 Act to stop this vicious cycle. I'm voting aye
25 and urge my colleagues to join me in demanding
4492
1 the New York Health Act.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
3 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar 335, those Senators voting in the
7 negative are Senators Akshar and Oberacker.
8 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 386, Assembly Bill 2354, substituted earlier by
13 Assemblymember Dinowitz, an act to amend the
14 Criminal Procedure Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
18 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
19 shall have become a law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
24 Announce the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4493
1 Calendar 386, those Senators voting in the
2 negative are Senators Borrello, Gallivan, Griffo,
3 Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci, Mattera,
4 Oberacker, O'Mara, Rath, Serino, Stec and Weik.
5 Ayes, 49. Nays, 14.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 515, Senate Print 4402B, by Senator Hoylman, an
10 act to amend the Civil Rights Law, the Vehicle
11 and Traffic Law and the Public Health Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
13 the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 12. This
15 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
16 shall have become a law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
18 the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
21 Jackson to explain his vote.
22 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 Can I ask for clarification? Is
25 this regarding S4402?
4494
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Yes,
2 sir.
3 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you.
4 So my colleagues, I rise this
5 afternoon to explain my support for
6 Senator Hoylman's bill S4402. The Gender
7 Recognition Act is an important step we must take
8 to make interacting with government easier for
9 our trans and gender-nonbinary constituents.
10 I've heard from several constituents
11 about the urgent need for passing this bill,
12 including my own deputy chief of staff, Chris
13 Nickell, who is nonbinary. It can be a scary
14 experience for people whose gender doesn't match
15 the sex on their state-issued government
16 documents to present those documents for
17 verification or services. Just think about how
18 many times you're asked to present your I.D. --
19 to a car renter, to law enforcement, airport
20 security, or even just to get into a secure
21 building.
22 These issues and concerns extend
23 even further when the mismatch prevents someone
24 from getting social services.
25 By allowing the use of an "X" to
4495
1 mark gender on state-issued I.D., by removing the
2 necessity of medical verification for trans
3 people to change their sex, by making it easier
4 for parents to be listed as a parent or not as
5 either a mother or father, all these changes will
6 make life easier and safer for hundreds of
7 thousands of New Yorkers.
8 Since June is Pride Month, let's do
9 the right thing on this to bill for all trans and
10 nonbinary New Yorkers like Chris. And I vote aye
11 for those simple fixes to the way our government
12 treats sex and gender.
13 Thank you, Mr. President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
15 Jackson to be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Senator Brisport to explain his
17 vote.
18 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 This bill takes important steps
21 toward providing necessary rights and protections
22 for people of all genders. All of us deserve
23 care and respect, but transgender and
24 gender-nonconforming people have been denied that
25 care and respect for far too long.
4496
1 Recognition on official documents
2 will go a long way to turning that tide. But as
3 anti-trans legislation sweeps across the country,
4 New York must set an example by radically
5 addressing the unmet needs of our trans
6 constituents.
7 A major barrier to the well-being of
8 transgender and gender-nonconforming New Yorkers
9 is a shameful lack of access to comprehensive
10 healthcare, especially gender-affirming care.
11 Equality and justice across gender cannot be
12 realized until people have access to the care
13 they need regardless of their age, income,
14 employment and immigration status.
15 As it stands, gender-affirming
16 healthcare is difficult to access and
17 prohibitively expensive for a huge number of our
18 trans siblings. Even when gender-affirming care
19 is covered, insurance companies and payers place
20 discriminatory requirements and restrictions in
21 the way of necessary care, forcing people to jump
22 through hoops, and even then often arbitrarily
23 denying payment for services.
24 The problem is so severe that
25 GoFundMe even offers a how-to guide on
4497
1 fundraising strategies for gender-affirming care.
2 We can't leave people's survival,
3 dignity and well-being up to the whims of a
4 crowd-funding website. The New York Health Act
5 would cover comprehensive healthcare for all
6 New Yorkers -- including providing for
7 gender-affirming care -- free of cost, and it
8 would mean that the insurance companies no longer
9 get to place arbitrary burdens on doctors and
10 patients to stay in-network or get authorization
11 for the care they know they need.
12 We can and we must remove
13 bureaucratic obstacles to the rights of trans and
14 gender-nonconforming New Yorkers, like this bill
15 aims to do. But until our low-income,
16 undocumented, uninsured, and underinsured
17 neighbors are able to access the care they need
18 through the New York Health Act, we're not done
19 yet.
20 I'm voting aye, and urge my
21 colleagues to join me in demanding the New York
22 Health Act.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
24 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
25 Announce the results.
4498
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar 515, those Senators voting in the
3 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
4 Felder, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
5 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Rath, Ritchie, Serino,
6 Stec and Tedisco.
7 Ayes, 46. Nays, 17.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 679, Assembly Bill 5470, substituted earlier by
12 Assemblymember Englebright, an act to amend the
13 Public Officers Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
22 Announce the results.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: In
24 relation to Calendar 679, those Senators voting
25 in the negative are Senators Akshar, Gallivan,
4499
1 Griffo, Helming, Lanza, Oberacker, O'Mara, Rath
2 and Tedisco.
3 Ayes, 54. Nays, 9.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 725, Assembly Bill 126A, substituted earlier by
8 Assemblymember Gottfried, an act to amend the
9 Public Health Law. Calendar Number 725.
10 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Lay it
12 aside.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 744, Senate Print 52A, by Senator Kaplan, an act
15 relating to establishing the Nassau County and
16 Queens County Border Task Force.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
18 the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This
20 act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
25 Brisport to explain his vote.
4500
1 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 Attempting to reach emergency
4 personnel at the border between Nassau County and
5 Queens County has been a challenge for some
6 callers. Dispatchers often do not recognize the
7 location of the caller as within their
8 jurisdiction and refer them to another
9 jurisdiction.
10 This confusion and uncertainty
11 endangers citizens as they wait to be connected
12 to the correct responder, something that they
13 should not need to do in an emergency situation.
14 I rise because I understand that,
15 living in one of the wealthiest societies on
16 earth, those who have never faced an emergency
17 might assume that reliable systems exist to
18 provide urgent assistance if they do have an
19 emergency.
20 People probably hear about
21 situations like this, and their natural response
22 is to think that this is an absurd. If someone
23 is calling an emergency services dispatcher, it's
24 because there's an emergency, because their life,
25 safety or health is at risk if they don't receive
4501
1 services right away.
2 In such a situation doesn't it seem
3 ridiculous to quibble over something trivial like
4 where the border between Queens and Nassau County
5 is, or to direct a person with an emergency to a
6 different operator, wasting crucial time in what
7 could be a life-or-death situation? What kind of
8 people are we if we let something like that
9 happen? Isn't it inhumane to be so concerned
10 with details like that when there are lives on
11 the line?
12 But that is the exact situation that
13 we found ourselves in when it comes to
14 healthcare -- the same situation we found
15 ourselves in for years. We let the insurance
16 industry bureaucracy get more and more entrenched
17 as people die waiting for authorization of a
18 procedure or rationing their insulin because they
19 can't afford more, or being unable to get to a
20 hospital in time because they live in a
21 low-income area where hospitals are underfunded
22 and can't afford to stay open.
23 We've gotten accustomed to this, but
24 we need to remind ourselves that it's not normal.
25 There's a solution that gives us back some of the
4502
1 humanity that we've lost by failing to care for
2 each other's needs. Under the New York Health
3 Act, we can get the care that we need when we
4 need it.
5 Just like someone who was in an
6 accident on the Jericho Turnpike shouldn't have
7 to wait to be connected to the correct responder
8 when they make an emergency call, no one should
9 have to leave the pharmacy without the medication
10 they need to survive because the insurance
11 industry hasn't approved it or explain to the
12 hospital how they're going to pay for
13 immunosuppressive drugs before they'll be
14 approved for a life-saving transplant.
15 I'm voting aye, and urge my
16 colleagues to join me in demanding the New York
17 Health Act.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
19 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
20 Announce the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
22 Calendar Number 744, voting in the negative:
23 Senator Akshar.
24 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4503
1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 753, Senate Print 4614A, by Senator Kaplan, an
4 act to authorize every governing body of an
5 assessing unit and every local assessor in
6 certain situations to accept a late application
7 for certain tax exemptions.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
16 Announce the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
18 Calendar Number 753, voting in the negative:
19 Senator Akshar.
20 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
22 bill is passed.
23 There is a substitution at the desk.
24 The Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kaminsky
4504
1 moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
2 Assembly Bill Number 2591A and substitute it for
3 the identical Senate Bill 542A, Third Reading
4 Calendar 775.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 substitution is so ordered.
7 The Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 775, Assembly Bill Number 2591A, by
10 Assemblymember Carroll, an act to amend the
11 State Finance Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
13 the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
16 shall have become a law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
18 the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
21 Announce the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
23 Calendar 775, those Senators voting in the
24 negative are Senators Akshar, Gallivan, Griffo,
25 Jordan, Oberacker, O'Mara and Ortt.
4505
1 Ayes, 56. Nays, 7.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
3 bill is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 819, Senate Print 6085, by Senator Skoufis, an
6 act to amend the Real Property Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
11 shall have become a law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
16 Announce the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
18 Calendar 819, those Senators voting in the
19 negative are Senators Borrello, Griffo, Helming
20 and Tedisco.
21 Ayes, 59. Nays, 4.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 844, Assembly Bill 1005A, substituted earlier by
4506
1 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the
2 Mental Hygiene Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
4 the last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
8 the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
11 Announce the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
13 Calendar 844, those Senators voting in the
14 negative are Senators Akshar, Gallivan, Griffo,
15 Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Oberacker, Ortt, Palumbo,
16 Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec and Tedisco.
17 Ayes, 49. Nays, 14.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 bill is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 929, Senate Print 6397, by Senator Kaplan, an act
22 to amend the Economic Development Law.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: Lay it aside for
24 the day.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4507
1 bill will be laid aside for the day.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 957, Senate Print 6401, by Senator Gaughran, an
4 act to amend the General Municipal Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
13 Brisport to explain his vote.
14 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 This legislation, for my colleagues,
17 relates to traffic collisions that involve
18 turtles and the ability of municipalities to post
19 "Turtle Crossing" signs on local roads as a
20 preventative measure.
21 When a turtle is involved in a
22 traffic collision on Long Island, they can
23 receive free healthcare from Sweetbriar Nature
24 Center, a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation
25 center, and other animal rescues. The 12,000
4508
1 New York human residents who are involved in
2 traffic accidents each year, however, may not
3 have such luck.
4 Taking care of our turtle families
5 rises to the highest ideals of this legislative
6 body. Turtles cannot vote. They cannot donate
7 to our campaigns. They have no voice in Albany,
8 so we must be their voice. But while we consider
9 how best to care for turtles, our humane
10 constituents are also dying.
11 Turtles are known for their slow
12 pace, and the time needed to cross the road can
13 be extraordinary. They need the protection of
14 municipal street signs, just as New York
15 residents need the protection of the New York
16 Health Act. Local municipalities know where
17 their turtle populations are, and are best suited
18 to identify and locate signs, just as the
19 New York Health Act divides New York State into
20 regional bodies so each can manage their own
21 healthcare needs.
22 But most importantly, all victims of
23 automobile collisions need to be free from
24 healthcare bills whether they cross the road
25 slowly, quickly, or drive cars. S6401 will
4509
1 provide that help to turtles. The New York
2 Health Act would provide that help to all of us
3 human New Yorkers.
4 I'm voting aye and urge my
5 colleagues to join me in demanding the New York
6 Health Act.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
8 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
9 Announce the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
11 Calendar Number 957, voting in the negative:
12 Senator Akshar.
13 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 974, Senate Print 1232, by Senator Gianaris, an
18 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4510
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
2 Announce the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar 974, those Senators voting in the
5 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Griffo,
6 Jordan, Oberacker, O'Mara, Rath and Stec.
7 Ayes, 55. Nays, 8.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 978, Senate Print 4630B, by Senator Kaminsky, an
12 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
13 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Lay it
15 aside.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 979, Senate Print 5116C, by Senator Harckham, an
18 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 12. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4511
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
2 Harckham to explain his vote.
3 SENATOR HARCKHAM: Thank you very
4 much, Mr. President.
5 First, I want to thank the Majority
6 Leader for bringing this to the floor and
7 advancing this package.
8 I want to thank Senator Kaminsky for
9 chairing the committee and his leadership on this
10 issue.
11 I'd also like to thank environment
12 counsel Chris Amato and my legislative director,
13 Joelle Foskett, for their tireless work on this
14 important issue.
15 Wetlands are nature's filters. They
16 absorb excess stormwater, they absorb nutrients
17 that poison our waterways. And for too many of
18 our communities, our wetlands have been denuded
19 by overdevelopment and poor planning. And the
20 structure in New York has been rather a patchwork
21 of how we deal with our freshwater wetlands.
22 And the federal government used to
23 administer to the regulation of wetlands less
24 than 12 acres, and the prior administration in
25 Washington got out of the wetland-regulation
4512
1 business.
2 So we stepped in as a state and we
3 came up with a plan, working in collaboration
4 with developers and with the Forestry Institute
5 and with a number of environmental groups intent
6 on protecting water quality, where we now have a
7 system in place with this bill that will add a
8 criteria that could allow DEC to get involved to
9 regulate significant wetlands, but would also
10 allow owners of property and developers to get an
11 expedited review process, which they don't have
12 now because of the antiquated system we have in
13 New York.
14 I'm very proud of all the hard work
15 and collaboration that went into this bill. It
16 will be a win for clean water, it will be a win
17 for property owners and the development
18 community. And I'm glad colleagues are
19 supportive, and I will be voting aye.
20 Thank you, Mr. President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
22 Harckham to be recorded in the affirmative.
23 Announce the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
25 Calendar 979, those Senators voting in the
4513
1 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
2 Griffo, Jordan, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo,
3 Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec and Weik.
4 Ayes, 49. Nays, 14.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 981, Senate Print 6172, by Senator Hoylman, an
9 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
11 the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
13 act shall take effect on the 30th day after it
14 shall have become a law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
21 Calendar Number 981, voting in the negative:
22 Senator Oberacker --
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Oh, oh,
24 oh, hold on.
25 Senator Brisport to explain his
4514
1 vote.
2 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
3 Mr. President.
4 A recent study by the United States
5 Environmental Protection Agency determined that
6 emission controls have been removed from over
7 500,000 heavy-duty vehicles in the last decade,
8 resulting in excess emissions of more than
9 5,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 5,000 tons of
10 particulate matter.
11 EPA estimates that in New York, more
12 than 13,000 heavy-duty vehicles have disabled or
13 removed emission controls, resulting in excess
14 emissions of over 13,000 tons of nitrogen oxides
15 and over 100 tons of particulate matter.
16 This bill prohibits the tampering
17 with devices for emission control systems on
18 motor vehicles. We know this is necessary
19 because there have been scandals in recent years
20 where certain car manufacturers were involved in
21 a major scandal where they cheated pollution
22 emissions tests in order to boost their profits.
23 Transportation emissions from the
24 combustion of diesel fuels results in particle
25 pollutants that have been linked to lung and
4515
1 heart disease. Low-income communities and
2 communities of color face increased levels of
3 vehicle pollution, as these communities are often
4 intersected by heavily trafficked areas,
5 transportation corridors, expressways, and routes
6 populated by heavy-duty vehicles such as ports.
7 Requiring pollution control devices
8 to be intact will help reduce this
9 disproportionate emissions burden, thereby
10 improving health outcomes. This bill recognizes
11 that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
12 cure and seeks to avoid adverse health outcomes
13 for New York residents. This also underscores
14 the necessity of preventative care, something
15 that New York residents all too often can't
16 afford or access under our for-profit healthcare
17 system.
18 Just as we need to pass this bill
19 before us today, we also need to pass the
20 New York Health Act. I'm voting aye and urge my
21 colleagues to join me in demanding the New York
22 Health Act.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
24 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
25 Announce the results.
4516
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar Number 981, voting in the negative:
3 Senator Oberacker.
4 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 984, Senate Print 6532A, by Senator Kaminsky, an
9 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
11 the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
18 Palumbo to explain his vote.
19 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
20 Mr. President, for allowing me to interrupt the
21 proceedings for the purposes of explaining my
22 vote.
23 I certainly would like to commend
24 the chairman of the Environmental Conservation
25 Committee and sponsor. This is a bill that I put
4517
1 in in the Assembly last year. When I submitted
2 it here, he called me, was kind enough to include
3 me as a sponsor, and said, "We need to move
4 this," being a fellow Long Islander.
5 This bill gives authority to
6 Suffolk County to cultivate kelp in the
7 aquaculture industry. We have a nitrogen problem
8 on Long Island. In the Peconic Bay estuary,
9 which are the Peconic Bays and Gardiner Bays, we
10 basically have Miracle Grow with the extensive
11 nitrogen, which creates to the -- to algal blooms
12 flourishing, fish die-offs, and many other very
13 significant and concerning environmental factors.
14 And it's essentially a crop that's
15 usually grown on buoy lines. It's set in the
16 fall, and they retrieve them in the spring. But
17 this winter crop provides a complement to the
18 oysters of Long Island that many of the
19 leaseholders are currently farming. Kelp is
20 enjoyed around the world and there is growing
21 local interest by culinary experts, brewers and
22 others looking to incorporate fresh, locally and
23 sustainably grown aquaculture ingredients to
24 their menus and recipes.
25 So this legislation is also
4518
1 supported by the Long Island shellfish
2 aquaculture community, by a wide group of
3 ocean-health advocates, including the scientific
4 community, and Stony Brook University School of
5 Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. This also
6 received unanimous support from the New York
7 State Marine Resources Advisory Council.
8 So I thank you for allowing me the
9 opportunity to speak. I'm proud to be a
10 cosponsor on this bill, and I vote in the
11 affirmative.
12 Thank you, Mr. President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
14 Palumbo to be recorded in the affirmative.
15 Senator Brisport to explain his
16 vote.
17 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
18 Mr. President.
19 As the bill's authors point out,
20 kelp has significant health benefits and is a
21 nutritious food with a growing market.
22 The lack of affordable, nutritious
23 food is a problem for so many communities in
24 New York, and this bill would help us change
25 that. Because kelp contains large amounts of
4519
1 iodine, it is also used to produce supplements
2 for treating hypothyroidism, a condition
3 affecting approximately one in every 300 people
4 in the State of New York.
5 Hypothyroidism is a very serious and
6 potentially life-threatening condition, since the
7 thyroid glands produce the hormones regulating
8 metabolism, mental functions and energy level.
9 Yet kelp-based iodine supplements are rarely an
10 adequate or even appropriate solution to this
11 condition.
12 While a healthy diet is important,
13 New Yorkers need preventative healthcare,
14 affordable prescription drugs, and routine,
15 stable access to medical service -- all things
16 that they are often denied under the current
17 system. Kelp can help, if it's paired with a
18 single-payer healthcare system.
19 I'm voting aye, and I urge my
20 colleagues to demand the New York Health Act.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
22 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
23 Announce the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4520
1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1003, Senate Print 5724A, by Senator Thomas, an
4 act to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 7 --
8 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Lay it
10 aside.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1054, Senate Print 4413, by Senator May, an act
13 to amend the Election Law.
14 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Lay it
16 aside.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1070, Assembly Bill 1237, substituted earlier by
19 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the
20 Business Corporation Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
22 the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
4521
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1139, Assembly Bill 1228A, substituted earlier by
10 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the
11 Public Officers Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
13 the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect on the 30th day after it
16 shall have become a law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
18 the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
21 Announce the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4522
1 1165, Senate Print 5909, by Senator Kaminsky, an
2 act to amend the Insurance Law.
3 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Lay it
5 aside.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1179, Senate Print 6455C, by Senator Kaminsky, an
8 act to amend Part B of Chapter 173 of the Laws of
9 2013.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
11 the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
18 Announce the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
20 Calendar Number 1179, those Senators voting in
21 the negative are Senators Akshar, Griffo, Ortt,
22 Palumbo and Serino.
23 Ayes, 58. Nays, 5.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 bill is passed.
4523
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1192, Senate Print 3683B, by Senator Felder, an
3 act to amend the Family Court Act.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1209, Assembly Bill 7688, substituted earlier by
18 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the
19 New York State Medical Care Facilities Finance
20 Agency Act.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
22 the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
4524
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1262, Senate Print 6256A, by Senator Hinchey, an
10 act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
14 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
15 shall have become a law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
20 Brisport to explain his vote.
21 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 COVID has been devastating for
24 New Yorkers' livelihoods as much as for their
25 health. Estimated job losses in the state due to
4525
1 the pandemic range from 500,000 to 1 million.
2 New York City lost 13.6 percent of its payroll
3 jobs -- twice the national rate, and more than
4 the next 14 largest U.S. cities.
5 Before the pandemic, New York
6 breweries supported more than 20,000 jobs. For
7 each one of those jobs, there are significant
8 costs that are incurred paying for employees'
9 healthcare.
10 The bill that's under review right
11 now would support breweries in New York by
12 allowing them to open immediately without waiting
13 for certain licenses to be issued. Not waiting
14 on licenses can be a big deal for small
15 businesses. Having healthy employees without
16 having to shoulder the cost of health insurance
17 would go even further.
18 I vote aye and invite my colleagues
19 to join me in demanding the New York Health Act.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
21 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
22 Announce the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 bill is passed.
4526
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1264, Senate Print 396A, by Senator Oberacker, an
3 act relating to legalizing, validating, ratifying
4 and confirming a transportation contract of the
5 Oneonta City School District.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
7 the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
14 Brisport to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
16 Mr. President.
17 Mistakes happen. This bill
18 recognizes that simple fact and would validate
19 two transportation contracts for a school
20 district notwithstanding a late filing of
21 paperwork, so that the school district can get
22 necessary transportation aid.
23 I rise as a recent public
24 schoolteacher because this bill acknowledges a
25 mistake in certain paperwork is not a legitimate
4527
1 reason to deny funding to a school district for a
2 necessary expense. Some things are more
3 important than the existing rules and procedures
4 as they currently exist. We need to be able to
5 get our children to their schools because
6 education is a basic right.
7 The idea that an error in paperwork
8 can lead to a denial of a necessity is all too
9 familiar to the residents of New York. Our
10 current healthcare system, with private insurance
11 middlemen, creates situations like this every
12 day. Much like the situation that led to this
13 current legislation, it is very common today for
14 someone to see an error in paperwork lead to the
15 denial of their healthcare. I have seen
16 firsthand what happens when a child's basic
17 rights are denied.
18 I'm happy that the Legislature is
19 acting on this bill today to clarify that
20 children should not be denied basic rights with
21 respect to the education, and I hope that the
22 Legislature will similarly act with respect to
23 healthcare. No child should live with a
24 treatable illness because their family is
25 struggling to pay a bill or to manage their care
4528
1 across multiple providers and platforms. The
2 fact that children and adults alike are denied
3 healthcare because of errors in paperwork should
4 be troubling to us all.
5 By passing the New York Health Act,
6 we can drastically streamline the way healthcare
7 is paid for and distributed in New York, taking
8 the onus off the patient to grapple with the
9 system designed to deny them essential care. We
10 can recognize that providing basic rights is our
11 guiding principle.
12 I vote aye and invite my colleagues
13 to join me in demanding the New York Health Act.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
15 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Announce the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 bill is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1349, Senate Print 5985B, by Senator Palumbo, an
22 act to amend the authorizing the Town of
23 Southampton, County of Suffolk, to alienate
24 certain parcels of land used as parkland.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
4529
1 is a home-rule message at the desk.
2 Read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
9 Announce the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1373, Assembly Bill 6500, substituted earlier by
15 Assemblymember Abbate, an act to amend the
16 Retirement and Social Security Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
18 is a home-rule message at the desk.
19 Read the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
23 the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
4530
1 Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1382, Assembly Bill 5386A, substituted earlier by
7 Assemblymember Lupardo, an act to amend the
8 Agriculture and Markets Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
10 the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
17 Hinchey to explain her vote.
18 Oh. Calendar 1382, Senator Hinchey.
19 (Discussion off the record.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
21 May to explain her vote.
22 SENATOR MAY: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 My daughter, who hated mushrooms as
25 a child, has spent the last year working in
4531
1 regenerative agriculture, and she discovered the
2 astonishing richness, variety and importance of
3 fungi and the underground mycelium they spring
4 from. In short, she now loves mushrooms.
5 We are only beginning to understand
6 the complexity of what goes on in healthy soil
7 and how important it is to healthy ecosystems and
8 a healthy planet. I want to thank Senator
9 Hinchey for bringing this bill forward and my
10 colleagues for supporting it, and I vote aye.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
12 May to be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Senator Hinchey to explain her vote.
14 SENATOR HINCHEY: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 Agriculture is the only industry
17 that can be carbon-negative. And our farmers are
18 on the front lines in our fight against climate
19 change in the middle of the climate crisis that
20 we are all facing. And the partnerships between
21 our environmental advocates on our environmental
22 side and our agriculture side is one that needs
23 to be strengthened. When we work together, we
24 can solve these complex, very difficult problems.
25 And this soil health bill is
4532
1 transformational in what it will mean for our
2 fight against climate change. If we have a
3 healthy soil, we are capturing more carbon, we
4 have healthier food and we have a better economy.
5 So this bill is something that I'm
6 incredibly passionate about. I thank everyone
7 who has worked on this bill, my partner in the
8 Assembly, Assemblywoman Lupardo, and all of the
9 advocates across the industries, from our
10 agriculture industry to our environmental
11 industry, to make sure that this bill came to the
12 floor and passed both houses today. It is
13 something that we need to be focusing more on,
14 and this is a real step that we will be working
15 on now in our fight against climate change.
16 So thank you very much.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
18 Hinchey to be recorded in the affirmative.
19 Just as a reminder, masks are still
20 required in the chamber.
21 Announce the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4533
1 1473, Assembly Bill 7576, substituted earlier by
2 Assemblymember Jean-Pierre, an act to amend the
3 Education Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar 1473, those Senators voting in the
15 negative are Senators Borrello, Jordan and Ortt.
16 Ayes, 60. Nays, 3.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1478, Senate Print 311, by Senator Liu, an act to
21 amend Chapter 802 of the Laws of 1947.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
23 the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
4534
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
5 Announce the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar 1478, those Senators voting in the
8 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
9 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
10 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
11 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
12 Weik.
13 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1481, Senate Print 951, by Senator Gaughran, an
18 act to amend the Navigation Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4535
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
2 Gaughran to explain his vote.
3 SENATOR GAUGHRAN: Thank you,
4 Mr. President.
5 In 2020, New York had the highest
6 fatal boating accidents recorded in nearly two
7 decades: 31 people. That is an astonishing
8 number.
9 Since 2005, about 25 percent of all
10 boating deaths resulted from actions of
11 intoxicated boaters. That is intolerable. More
12 people are getting out on the water, but they
13 must do it safely. That means we must have a
14 zero-tolerance policy for drunk boating.
15 Today's bill will revoke a person's
16 driver's license if they are convicted of drunk
17 boating. Because if someone is reckless enough
18 to operate a boat while intoxicated, they'll be
19 reckless enough to drive drunk.
20 This bill will act as a deterrent to
21 those irresponsible enough to put lives at risk
22 by getting behind the wheel of a boat or a car
23 while intoxicated. Today's bill will keep our
24 waterways and our roads safe.
25 I vote in the affirmative,
4536
1 Mr. President.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
3 Gaughran to be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar 1481, those Senators voting in the
7 negative are Senators Akshar, Hinchey, Myrie,
8 Savino and Serino.
9 Ayes, 58. Nays, 5.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1482, Assembly Print 2140B, substituted earlier
14 by Assemblymember Griffin, an act to direct the
15 Department of Environmental Conservation and
16 other state departments and agencies to conduct a
17 study on the quality of life and human health
18 impacts at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4537
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
2 Brisport to explain his vote.
3 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
4 Mr. President.
5 I rise in defense of people like my
6 brother, Mel. As a child I heard him coughing so
7 often that it seemed like just a part of who he
8 was. As an adult, I understand that Mel was
9 struggling to breathe because of his asthma, and
10 that it is no coincidence that it is so often
11 black boys from the city like Mel who end up with
12 asthma.
13 People in transportation hubs across
14 the state experience respiratory issues as a
15 result of the poor air quality caused by planes,
16 cars and buses. In New York State, 210 out of
17 every 100,000 children experience respiratory
18 issues, and the rates are even higher near
19 transportation hubs.
20 This bill is an important stop into
21 looking at the health impacts caused by some of
22 our transportation centers. But what about the
23 people in the Bronx or my home borough of
24 Brooklyn who live near tens of intersecting bus
25 routes and experience twice the statewide rates
4538
1 of childhood asthma?
2 As we work to protect the health of
3 future children, we cannot abandon those already
4 living with asthma to a healthcare system
5 designed to profit off of their struggle to
6 breathe. We need to ensure that the people who
7 are already impacted have the care they need to
8 treat their respiratory issues.
9 I vote aye and invite my colleagues
10 to join me in demanding the New York Health Act.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
12 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Announce the results.
14 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
15 Calendar 1482, those Senators voting in the
16 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Griffo,
17 Jordan, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Rath, Serino and
18 Stec.
19 Ayes, 53. Nays, 10.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1488, Senate Print 4981, by Senator Lanza, an act
24 directing the Port Authority of New York to study
25 the alignment of the Outerbridge Crossing.
4539
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
2 the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
9 Announce the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1489, Senate Print 5027A, by Senator Kavanagh, an
15 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
17 the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
19 act shall take effect one year after it shall
20 have become a law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
25 Announce the results.
4540
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar 1489, those Senators voting in the
3 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Felder,
4 Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Oberacker, O'Mara and
5 Rath.
6 Ayes, 54. Nays, 9.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1491, Assembly Bill 5399, substituted earlier by
11 Assemblymember Jacobson, an act to amend the
12 General City Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
14 the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
18 the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
21 Announce the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4541
1 1493, Senate Print 5406, by Senator
2 Reichlin-Melnick, an act in relation to
3 authorizing Harvey Eilbaum to file a request for
4 change of beneficiary with the New York State and
5 Local Employees' Retirement System.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
7 the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
14 Announce the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1495, Senate Print 6223, by Senator
20 Reichlin-Melnick, an act in relation to
21 authorizing Thomas Collins to file a request for
22 change of benefit coverage with the New York
23 State Teachers' Retirement System.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
25 the last section.
4542
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
7 Announce the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1497, Senate Print 6331, by Senator Palumbo, an
13 act to amend Chapter 1001 of the Laws of 1966.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
15 is a home-rule message at the desk.
16 Read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
23 Announce the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
25 Calendar Number 1497, voting in the negative:
4543
1 Senator Skoufis.
2 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1522, Senate Print 760, by Senator Biaggi, an act
7 to amend the Banking Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
11 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
12 shall have become a law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
17 Announce the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
19 Calendar Number 1522, voting in the negative:
20 Senator Serino.
21 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1523, Senate Print 1019A, by Senator Kaminsky, an
4544
1 act to amend the Education Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
3 the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
5 act shall take effect on the first of July.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
10 Announce the results.
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1524, Senate Print 1022A, by Senator Ramos, an
16 act to amend the Workers' Compensation Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
18 the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
20 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
21 shall have become a law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
23 the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
4545
1 Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
3 Calendar 1524, those Senators voting in the
4 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
5 Gallivan, Jordan, Lanza, Martucci, Oberacker,
6 O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino,
7 Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
8 Ayes, 46. Nays, 17.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1525, Senate Print 1165, by Senator Kaminsky, an
13 act to amend the General Municipal Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 10. This
17 act shall take effect one year after it shall
18 have become a law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
23 Announce the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
25 Calendar Number 1525, voting in the negative:
4546
1 Senator Ritchie.
2 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1527, Assembly Bill 1953, substituted earlier by
7 Assemblymember Cruz, an act to amend the
8 Mental Hygiene Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
10 the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
13 shall have become a law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
18 Announce the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1528, Senate Print 3081, by Senator Salazar, an
24 act to amend the General Business Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
4547
1 the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
5 the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
8 Salazar to explain her vote.
9 SENATOR SALAZAR: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 Every year there are reports of
12 New Yorkers dying essentially due to drug
13 shortages. We also know that many deaths due to
14 drug shortages still go unreported. Most of
15 these cases involve the price gouging of
16 life-saving generic drugs that ordinarily would
17 be inexpensive.
18 In many cases, drugs sold to
19 hospitals by secondary distributors are marked up
20 by 650 percent. In an extreme case reported by
21 the Premier Healthcare Alliance, a vendor was
22 offered a generic drug for high blood pressure --
23 normally priced at $25.90 per dose -- for $1200
24 per dose.
25 Too many Americans go without the
4548
1 medicine that they need because drug companies
2 constantly raise prices, extend patents
3 unnecessarily, and focus on extracting as much
4 profit as they can possibly get away with.
5 Recent studies have found that Americans pay much
6 more for the exact same medications than
7 consumers in other countries do.
8 Since the beginning of the COVID-19
9 pandemic last year, drug manufacturers have
10 announced further price increases at an average
11 cost of triple the rate of inflation for more
12 than 500 different medications. And while
13 New York's families are struggling to pay rent
14 and healthcare bills, the pharmaceutical industry
15 is raising prices on the medicines they need to
16 survive.
17 We cannot allow the price gouging of
18 medicine to continue. Passing the New York
19 Health Act is the only action we can take in our
20 state to make sure that medically necessary drugs
21 are available to patients without a copay.
22 Nonetheless, in passing this bill
23 today, we can take an important step to curb
24 price gouging, to protect consumers and hopefully
25 even save people's lives.
4549
1 Mr. President, I vote aye.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
3 Salazar to be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1529, Senate Print 3160A, by Senator Comrie, an
10 act to amend the Public Authorities Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
22 bill is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1530, Senate Print 3227, by Senator Persaud, an
25 act to amend the Agriculture and Markets Law.
4550
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
2 the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
9 Announce the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
11 Calendar 1530, those Senators voting in the
12 negative are Senators Akshar and Helming.
13 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1531, Senate Print 3345, by Senator Felder, an
18 act to amend the Education Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect on the first of September.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4551
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
2 Announce the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1532, Senate Print 3468A, by Senator Kennedy, an
8 act to amend the Executive Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
10 the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect April 1, 2022.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
17 Kennedy to explain his vote.
18 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 This legislation that I stand in
21 support of today will create the Office of Racial
22 Equity and Social Justice here in New York State,
23 with the goal of improving opportunities and
24 outcomes for all people in our great state.
25 The Office of Racial Equity and
4552
1 Social Justice will serve as the official state
2 planning and coordinating office for changes in
3 policy, practice and allocation of state
4 resources so that race or social constructs do
5 not predict an individual's success.
6 Local jurisdictions across the
7 country such as Kings County, Washington, and
8 Montgomery County, Maryland, have already
9 established offices focusing on equity and social
10 justice but we will be the first state in the
11 nation to do so.
12 With this legislation we are putting
13 the State of New York at the forefront of
14 addressing systematic racism, inequality and
15 disparities nationwide. This office will help us
16 as policymakers fight against institutional
17 racism and biases, to help us create a more
18 equitable state for everyone in New York
19 regardless of their race, gender, age, ethnicity,
20 religious background, sexual orientation or
21 socioeconomic status.
22 This office will help all
23 departments and agencies create more inclusive
24 policies and procedures and will ensure all state
25 employees are educated about the values of equity
4553
1 and social justice.
2 I'm proud to carry this legislation
3 alongside a historic majority leader, my great
4 friend Crystal Peoples-Stokes in the Assembly,
5 and I want to give special thanks to Hazel Dukes,
6 the president of the New York State chapter of
7 the NAACP for her support of this legislation and
8 tireless advocacy for equity and social justice.
9 I also want to recognize the
10 extraordinary work of the Racial Equity
11 Roundtable in Buffalo, who played a significant
12 role in this bill moving forward here today.
13 And finally, Mr. President, I'd like
14 to thank Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
15 for bringing this bill to the floor and her
16 commitment to ensuring opportunities for all
17 people in our state are equitable, regardless of
18 where they come from or what they look like.
19 Creating an Office of Racial Equity
20 and Social Justice demonstrates our commitment to
21 our values and reaffirms who we are as
22 New Yorkers. With that, Mr. President, I vote
23 aye.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
25 Kennedy to be recorded in the affirmative.
4554
1 Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
3 Calendar 1532, those Senators voting in the
4 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
5 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
6 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
7 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
8 Weik.
9 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1534, Senate Print Number 3759, by
14 Senator Kaplan, an act to amend the
15 Retirement and Social Security Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
17 is a home-rule message at the desk.
18 Read the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
20 act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
25 Announce the results.
4555
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
3 bill is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1535, Senate Print 4110A, by Senator Breslin, an
6 act to amend the State Finance Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
10 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
11 shall have become a law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
16 Announce the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 bill is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1536, Senate Print Number 4150B, by
22 Senator Reichlin-Melnick, an act to amend the
23 Public Health Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
25 the last section.
4556
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
2 act shall take effect on the 120th day after it
3 shall have become a law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
5 the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
8 Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1537, Senate Print 4254, by Senator Gianaris, an
14 act to amend the Insurance Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
19 shall have become a law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
24 Announce the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4557
1 Calendar 1537, those Senators voting in the
2 negative are Senators Borrello, Gallivan, Griffo,
3 Helming, Jordan, Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker,
4 O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath, Serino and Stec.
5 Ayes, 49. Nays, 14.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 bill is passed.
8 There is a substitution at the desk.
9 The Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Mayer moves
11 to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
12 Assembly Bill Number 4742B and substitute it for
13 the identical Senate Bill 4410C, Third Reading
14 Calendar 1540.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
16 substitution is so ordered.
17 The Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1240, Assembly Print Number 4742B, by
20 Assemblymember Woerner, an act to amend the
21 Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
23 the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
4558
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
5 Announce the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1541, Assembly Print 3965, substituted earlier by
11 Assemblymember Abinanti, an act to amend the
12 Tax Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
14 the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
17 shall have become a law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
22 Announce the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 bill is passed.
4559
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1542, Senate Print 4535, by Senator Gaughran, an
3 act to amend the Public Authorities Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1543, Senate Print 4687B, by Senator Mayer, an
18 act to amend the Public Officers Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
23 shall have become a law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
25 the roll.
4560
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
3 Announce the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
5 Calendar 1543, those Senators voting in the
6 negative are Senators Helming and Ortt.
7 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1544, Senate Print 4697, by Senator Breslin, an
12 act to amend the General Obligations Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
14 the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
18 the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
21 Announce the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4561
1 1547, Senate Print 5199, by Senator Hinchey, an
2 act to amend the Public Health Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
4 the last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
8 the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
11 Announce the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
14 bill is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1548, Assembly Bill 6249A, substituted earlier by
17 Assemblymember Buttenschon, an act to amend the
18 Education Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
22 act shall take effect July 1, 2022.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4562
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
2 Announce the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1549, Senate Print 5286, by Senator Parker, an
8 act to amend the Social Services Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
10 the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect on the 120th day after it
13 shall have become a law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
18 Announce the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
20 Calendar 1549, those Senators voting in the
21 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Helming,
22 Martucci and Tedisco.
23 Ayes, 58. Nays, 5.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 bill is passed.
4563
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1550, Senate Print 5389, by Senator Parker, an
3 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar 1550, those Senators voting in the
15 negative are Senators Akshar, Cooney, Gaughran
16 and Weik.
17 Ayes, 59. Nays, 4.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 bill is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1552, Assembly Print 7214A, substituted earlier
22 by Assemblymember De La Rosa, an act to amend the
23 Public Service Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
25 the last section.
4564
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
3 shall have become a law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
5 the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
8 Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1553, Senate Print 5872, by Senator Savino, an
14 act to amend the General Business Law and the
15 Penal Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
17 the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
24 Announce the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4565
1 Calendar Number 1553, voting in the negative:
2 Senator Brisport.
3 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1555, Senate Print 6156, by Senator Boyle, an act
8 to amend the Highway Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
10 the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
17 Announce the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
19 Calendar Number 1555, voting in the negative:
20 Senator Brisport.
21 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1556, Senate Print 6194B, by Senator Brouk, an
4566
1 act to amend the County Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
3 the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
5 act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
10 Brouk to explain her vote.
11 SENATOR BROUK: Thank you.
12 Today I rise to explain the
13 importance of this bill that we're passing today.
14 As chair of the Mental Health Committee, I have
15 spent the better part of the past year talking to
16 people about the increasing crisis of mental
17 health in this state.
18 One of the key parts of that crisis
19 is that we currently do not have a way for
20 someone who is in a mental health crisis to call
21 for help. The only choice we are giving to
22 people who are in a substance abuse crisis, an
23 overdose situation or other mental health crisis
24 is that they call 911. And too often we have
25 seen that they are not given an option that is
4567
1 both compassionate and will care for them in the
2 way that they need and give them the support that
3 they need to get better.
4 That's why the passage of this bill
5 is so crucial. "988" is going to be a short
6 code, easy-to-remember number that anyone in a
7 mental health crisis can either call or text when
8 they know that they need that type of care. They
9 can now call a number where there will be trained
10 counselors and mental health professionals ready
11 to help them deescalate this crisis and make sure
12 they get to a cool, calm moment.
13 The reason it's so important that we
14 pass this bill today is because New York State
15 cannot delay another moment in building the
16 necessary infrastructure, hiring the necessary
17 employees, making sure that as of July 2022, when
18 a federal mandate has called for this state to
19 have 988 up and running, that New York State will
20 be ready. And by passing this bill this year, we
21 are allowing that to happen.
22 I'm grateful to the staff for
23 helping us get to this point and for helping us
24 put this important bill forward. And today as I
25 cast my vote aye on this bill, I also do so in
4568
1 remembrance of two Rochester men who lost their
2 lives because we didn't act quick enough on
3 passing something like a 988: And that's
4 Tyshon Jones and Daniel Prude.
5 Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
7 Brouk to be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1558, Assembly Print 3766, substituted earlier by
14 Assemblymember Dickens, an act to amend the
15 Social Services Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
17 the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect June 30, 2022.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
24 Announce the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
4569
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1559, Senate Print 6310B, by Senator Ryan, an act
5 to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
7 the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
14 Ryan to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR RYAN: Thank you very much
16 for allowing me an opportunity to explain my
17 vote.
18 Way back in the Carter
19 administration, interest rates were 12 to
20 18 percent, and there was a problem getting
21 people to pay their property taxes because they
22 could take that money and put it into a
23 certificate of deposit and make the spread.
24 Things have changed a lot since
25 then, and now interest rates are well below
4570
1 3 percent, but the delinquency rate allowed to be
2 charged by municipalities is still stuck in the
3 Carter administration. We have a state law that
4 mandates that every municipality charge no less
5 than 12 percent interest on delinquent property
6 taxes.
7 What this does, it leads to the
8 interest rates being greater than the principal
9 originally owned, and it's leading to
10 dispossessions of houses all over New York State.
11 We generously fund projects that we
12 started, you know, during the last financial
13 crisis to help keep people in their houses and we
14 were afraid of the zombie homes -- but right now,
15 more than 50 percent of what we call the HOPP
16 money designed to prevent foreclosures is not
17 going to mortgage foreclosures from banks, it's
18 going to foreclosures from municipalities. It
19 strips communities of generational wealth, and
20 it's an all-around bad idea.
21 So this bill just does a little
22 inversion. Under the current law, you have to
23 charge at least 12 percent interest. Under this
24 bill, it will be so you cannot charge more than
25 7.5 percent interest. And we are hoping that
4571
1 will make it so that people who get behind on
2 their tax bills can catch up and not be subjected
3 to unreasonable and unnecessary foreclosures,
4 dispossession of their homes, but also
5 sacrificing generational wealth that should stay
6 in the community.
7 Thank you so much for giving me the
8 opportunity to vote, and I cast my vote in the
9 affirmative.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
11 Ryan to be recorded in the affirmative.
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1560, Assembly Print 7192A, substituted earlier
18 by Assemblymember Lupardo, an act to amend the
19 Vehicle and Traffic Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
23 act shall take effect on the 120th day after it
24 shall have become a law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
4572
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar 1560, those Senators voting in the
7 negative are Senators Felder, May and Skoufis.
8 Ayes, 60. Nays, 3.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1561, Assembly Print 7176A, substituted earlier
13 by Assemblymember Jean-Pierre, an act to amend
14 the Social Services Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
23 Announce the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4573
1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1562, Assembly Bill 7485A, substituted earlier by
4 Assemblymember Ramos, an act to amend Chapter 719
5 of the Laws of 1982.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
7 is a home-rule message at the desk.
8 Read the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
15 Announce the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1563, Senate Print Number 6445A, by
21 Senator Reichlin-Melnick, an act to amend the
22 General Municipal Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
24 the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
4574
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
3 the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1564, Senate Print 6486B, by Senator Parker, an
12 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
13 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Lay it
15 aside.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1566, Senate Print 6548, by Senator Gallivan, an
18 act to amend the Highway Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4575
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
2 Announce the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar Number 1566, voting in the negative:
5 Senator Brisport.
6 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1567, Senate Print 6676A, by Senator Brouk, an
11 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
13 the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect on the first of January.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
20 Brouk to explain her vote.
21 SENATOR BROUK: Thank you,
22 Mr. President, for allowing me to explain my vote
23 on this bill that has a lot of local significance
24 as well.
25 Throughout COVID-19, so many of us
4576
1 talked about our frontline workers, our essential
2 workers, the first responders that answered when
3 we needed help. Two of those groups include
4 firefighters and ambulance personnel. In
5 Monroe County, a number of our ambulance and
6 firefighters are all volunteers. That means that
7 they are putting their lives at risk every day,
8 under strenuous physical circumstances, to serve
9 us, our loved ones and our families and our
10 neighborhoods.
11 Especially during COVID-19, when we
12 dealt with a respiratory illness, these brave
13 people ran into burning buildings to help us and
14 save our lives. Meanwhile, our ambulance
15 personnel have been on the front lines even when
16 COVID-19 was at its height.
17 That's why this bill is a way that
18 we can say thank you for the service that they
19 are providing our communities. In Monroe County
20 alone, we are seeing a decline in volunteer
21 firefighters and volunteer ambulance personnel.
22 This property tax break is a way to say thank you
23 for the work that they're doing and to encourage
24 more folks to enter this incredibly crucial line
25 of work.
4577
1 I'm grateful to have carried this
2 legislation in the Senate, and I'm grateful to
3 our local leaders who have brought this to our
4 attention. And I'm grateful to our leadership in
5 the Senate for passing it today and showing these
6 essential workers that they are worth it and that
7 they are valued.
8 For those reasons, I vote aye.
9 Thank you.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
11 Brouk to be recorded in the affirmative.
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1569, Senate Print 6702, by Senator Rath, an act
18 to incorporate the East Amherst Fire Department
19 Benevolent Association.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
25 the roll.
4578
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
3 Announce the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1570, Senate Print 6708, by Senator Parker, an
9 act to amend the Labor Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
11 the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect January 1, 2022.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
18 Announce the results.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: In
20 relation to Calendar 1570, those Senators voting
21 in the negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello,
22 Boyle, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
23 Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Ritchie, Stec
24 and Tedisco.
25 Ayes, 48. Nays, 15.
4579
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 bill is passed.
3 Calendar Number 1571 is high and
4 will be laid aside for the day.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1572, Senate Print 6744, by Senator Salazar, an
7 act to amend the Education Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
16 Announce the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
18 Calendar 1572, those Senators voting in the
19 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Lanza,
20 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
21 Palumbo and Weik.
22 Ayes, 53. Nays, 10.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4580
1 1573, Senate Print 6781A, by Senator Kavanagh, an
2 act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
4 the last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
8 the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
11 Announce the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
14 bill is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1574, Senate Print 6799, by Senator Oberacker, an
17 act to amend the Highway Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
19 the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
23 the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
4581
1 Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
3 Calendar Number 1574, voting in the negative:
4 Senator Brisport.
5 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1575, Senate Print 6825, by Senator Mayer, an act
10 to amend the Education Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
14 act shall take effect on the 30th day after it
15 shall have become a law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
20 Announce the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1576, Senate Print 6839, by Senator Kaminsky, an
4582
1 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
3 the last section.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
5 is a home-rule message at the desk.
6 Read the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
13 Announce the results.
14 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
15 Calendar 1576, those Senators voting in the
16 negative are Senators Lanza and Skoufis.
17 Ayes 61. Nays, 2.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 bill is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1579, Senate Print 6893, by Senator Liu, an act
22 to amend Chapter 602 of the Laws of 1980.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
24 the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
4583
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
3 the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1580, Senate Print 6959A, by Senator Cooney, an
12 act in relation to certain credits for any future
13 application for a license to sell alcohol.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
22 Announce the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 bill is passed.
4584
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1581, Senate Print Number 6961A, by
3 Senator Reichlin-Melnick, an act in relation to
4 authorizing the Cong Yeshiva Zera Yakov, Inc., to
5 file an application for a real property tax
6 exemption.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
15 Announce the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
17 Calendar Number 1581, voting in the negative:
18 Senator Akshar.
19 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1582, Senate Print 6976, by Senator Gounardes, an
24 act to amend the Retirement and Social Security
25 Law.
4585
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
2 is a home-rule message at the desk.
3 Read the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
5 act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
10 Brisport to explain his vote.
11 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
12 Mr. President.
13 It should be the right of all
14 workers to retire with dignity. It should be the
15 right of workers to have healthcare. Retirement
16 and pension programs provide a necessary safety
17 net for workers and their families. We should
18 continue to expand these programs.
19 However, we must go beyond just
20 expanding these programs in this instance.
21 Healthcare is a human right. That is why our
22 public-sector safety net should be expanded to
23 all New Yorkers.
24 I'm voting aye and urge my
25 colleagues to join me in demanding the New York
4586
1 Health Act.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
3 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1583, Senate Print 7010C, by Senator Kaminsky, an
10 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
22 bill is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1584, Assembly Print 7671, substituted earlier by
25 Assemblymember Pheffer Amato, an act to amend the
4587
1 Private Housing Finance Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
3 the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
5 act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
10 Announce the results.
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1585, Senate Print 7027, by Senator Parker, an
16 act in relation to maintaining the continued
17 viability of the state's existing large-scale
18 renewable energy resources.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4588
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
2 Announce the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar 1585, those Senators voting in the
5 negative are Senators Akshar and Ortt.
6 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1586, Assembly Bill 2396A, substituted earlier by
11 Assemblymember Woerner, an act to amend the
12 Public Service Law.
13 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Lay it
15 aside.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1589, Assembly Print 7729, substituted earlier by
18 Assemblymember Peoples-Stokes, an act to amend
19 the Executive Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
25 the roll.
4589
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
3 Announce the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1590, Senate Print 7089, by Senator Liu, an act
9 to amend Chapter 188 of the Laws of 1978.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
11 the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
18 Announce the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1591, Assembly Print 3149, substituted earlier by
24 Assemblymember Hevesi, an act to amend the
25 Social Services Law.
4590
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
2 the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
5 shall have become a law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
10 Announce the results.
11 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
12 Calendar 1591, those Senators voting in the
13 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
14 Griffo, Jordan, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Rath,
15 Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
16 Ayes, 50. Nays, 13.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1592, Assembly Print 7388B, substituted earlier
21 by Assemblymember Barrett, an act to amend the
22 Real Property Tax Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
24 the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4591
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
3 the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1593, Assembly Bill 7714, substituted earlier by
12 Assemblymember Hunter, an act to amend the Social
13 Services Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
17 act shall take effect June 30, 2021.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
22 Announce the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 bill is passed.
4592
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1595, Senate Print 7149, by Senator Krueger, an
3 act to amend the Private Housing Finance Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1596, Assembly Print 7390, substituted earlier by
18 Assemblymember Williams, an act to amend the
19 Executive Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
25 the roll.
4593
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
3 Announce the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1597, Senate Print 7155, by Senator
9 Reichlin-Melnick, an act in relation to
10 authorizing NYSARC, Inc., Rockland County Chapter
11 to file with the Town of Clarkstown assessor an
12 application for certain real property tax
13 exemptions.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
22 Announce the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
24 Calendar 1597, those Senators voting in the
25 negative are Senators Akshar and O'Mara.
4594
1 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
3 bill is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1598, Senate Print 7156, by Senator
6 Reichlin-Melnick, an act to authorize the
7 assessor of the Town of Clarkstown, County of
8 Rockland, to accept from the Nyack Union Free
9 School District an application for exemption from
10 real property taxes.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
21 Calendar 1598, those Senators voting in the
22 negative are Senators Akshar and O'Mara.
23 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 bill is passed.
4595
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1599, Senate Print 7157, by Senator Parker, an
3 act to amend the Public Service Law and the
4 General Business Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
13 Brisport to explain his vote.
14 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 This bill recognizes that our
17 safety, our physical dignity is more important
18 than a private profit, that it is wrong to keep
19 people trapped in an abusive relationship just so
20 a company can make a profit.
21 You have no doubt heard from your
22 own constituents who have remained in violent
23 marriages, often with children in the home,
24 because their choices were to stay or go without
25 health insurance. We have heard of abusive
4596
1 husbands manipulating their spouses with the
2 health insurance, threatening to cut it off for
3 them or their kids.
4 Every place our social safety net
5 fails is a vacuum where violence festers. People
6 don't stay in abusive marriages because of their
7 Spectrum packages. They do stay because their
8 abusive husband is the only source of healthcare
9 for them and their kids.
10 As we vote for this bill, we are
11 making a choice and saying that the phone
12 company's profits are not as important as your
13 safety. The cable company's bottom line is worth
14 less than your life. I think you would have a
15 hard time saying otherwise.
16 And yet every day we choose to
17 maintain the American health system, we are
18 making the opposite choice. We are saying that
19 your lives are less important than Aetna's
20 quarterly profits. Endure violence in your own
21 home so that United can exceed its growth
22 targets.
23 We cannot throw up our hands and
24 pretend we don't have a choice. There is a
25 better way -- the only way -- and that is
4597
1 publicly funded health insurance via the New York
2 Health Act.
3 I am voting aye, and urge my
4 colleagues to join me in demanding the New York
5 Health Act.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
7 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1600, Senate Print 7159, by Senator Gounardes, an
14 act to amend the Administrative Code of the City
15 of New York.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
17 the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
19 act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
24 Announce the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
4598
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1601, Senate Print 7160, by Senator Gounardes, an
5 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
7 the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
14 Announce the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1606, Senate Print 7177, by Senator Krueger, an
20 act to amend the Workers' Compensation Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
22 the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
4599
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1608, Senate Print 7185, by Senator May, an act
10 to amend the Public Authorities Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
21 Calendar Number 1608, voting in the negative:
22 Senator Ortt.
23 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 bill is passed.
4600
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1609, Senate Print 7186, by Senator Brooks, an
3 act to amend the General Municipal Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
7 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
8 shall have become a law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
13 Announce the results.
14 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
15 Calendar 1609, those Senators voting in the
16 egative are Senators Brisport and Skoufis.
17 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 bill is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1611, Senate Print 7189, by Senator Mayer, an act
22 to amend the Education Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
24 the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This
4601
1 act shall take effect on the same date and in the
2 same manner as a chapter of the Laws of 2021.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
7 Announce the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1612, Senate Print 7194, by Senator Rivera, an
13 act to amend the State Finance Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
22 Rivera to explain his vote.
23 SENATOR RIVERA: Thank you,
24 Mr. President.
25 This is a fantastic bill that I am
4602
1 incredibly happy to be able to pass today on the
2 floor of the Senate, Mr. President.
3 As we all know, the opioid crisis
4 has struck around the country, and in many
5 instances you've had people who were victims of a
6 system that pushed prescription drugs on them,
7 pain medication on them that became highly
8 addictive. We have seen the scourge of this
9 around the country, certainly in the State of
10 New York.
11 And so now that we are in a position
12 to understand that private corporations, for
13 profit, cause damages in communities all across
14 the state and all across the country, we want to
15 make sure we hold those companies accountable.
16 And our Attorney General, Letitia James -- not
17 only the first woman to be in that position, the
18 first Black woman to be in that position, and
19 somebody who's doing an amazing job -- is
20 negotiating along with other states to hold those
21 companies accountable. And eventually there will
22 be an agreement that is reached with those
23 companies and a settlement that will be reached
24 with these companies.
25 And when this money is there, we
4603
1 want to make sure, Mr. President, that that money
2 gets to the places that can help us to actually
3 repair the harm that has been caused by these
4 private companies, who again -- for profit,
5 Mr. President -- caused pain and deaths across
6 the entire country.
7 And so to make sure that this money
8 is not used for other purposes, doesn't -- as
9 many times happens, settlements go into the
10 General Fund and are used for whatever purpose,
11 to cover whatever different thing that the
12 Governor might have an interest in at that
13 particular moment. We want to make certain that
14 this money is utilized to repair the harm that
15 has been caused by these companies.
16 And so the bill that we are passing
17 today, Mr. President, will make sure and
18 guarantee that that is the case, that when this
19 settlement is reached that it actually goes
20 directly to the purposes of repairing that harm.
21 To increase harm reduction services, to increase
22 treatment, to increase beds for folks who have
23 substance abuse issues.
24 That is the reason why we need to
25 pass this bill today, Mr. President. And I'm
4604
1 incredibly proud to have worked along with the
2 Attorney General and her staff to make sure this
3 happens.
4 And just quickly as I finish,
5 Mr. President, I just want to give a special
6 shout out to a particular staffer in my office, a
7 brilliant knucklehead by the name of Jay Baez.
8 He is a young man who joined my staff a few years
9 ago and always told me -- he started as one of my
10 schedulers, and he was somebody who always
11 expressed an interest in doing something for
12 policy. He has now risen to become my policy
13 director.
14 Not only that, Mr. President, a
15 brilliant, brilliant young man who worked
16 tirelessly with the Attorney General's office to
17 make sure we got this right.
18 I'm incredibly proud to vote for
19 this today. I'm incredibly proud to be able to
20 mention that Jay is a big part of this.
21 Mr. President, I proudly vote in the
22 affirmative. Thank you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
24 Rivera to be recorded in the affirmative.
25 Senator Akshar to explain his vote.
4605
1 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
2 thank you.
3 It must be something in the water,
4 because this is like the second or third or
5 fourth time in the last 30 days that
6 Senator Rivera and I have agreed on a particular
7 matter.
8 You know, addiction is an insidious
9 disease. It has claimed far too many lives in
10 every corner of this state, and it has impacted
11 New Yorkers regardless of race, regardless of zip
12 code, regardless of your income level. And I've
13 said this many times, that it is my opinion that
14 it is the state's really fundamental obligation,
15 and we have a moral obligation to take care of
16 those that are suffering, invest in their issue
17 to ensure that we can get them the help that they
18 so desperately need.
19 And it is incumbent upon all of us,
20 regardless of our politics, to ensure that every
21 dollar of any settlement that this state may
22 enter into actually gets into the hands of
23 community-based providers who are providing these
24 life-saving services.
25 I think about VOICES Recovery back
4606
1 at home in Binghamton. This year a very, very
2 tough budget year. They had to lay staff off
3 because there just simply weren't the dollars.
4 And if you look back at McKinsey and this
5 settlement, the truth is -- to Senator Rivera's
6 point -- that McKinsey, Purdue Pharma took
7 advantage of Americans, they took advantage of
8 New Yorkers for 20 years.
9 And the Attorney General got this
10 settlement, got this agreement in which they were
11 held accountable financially. Our friend Senator
12 Harckham described that as blood money. That's
13 exactly what that was.
14 The unfortunate part, though, is
15 that this Executive swept $21 million of that
16 settlement. And who knows what it's going to be
17 spent on -- filling a pothole, building a bridge,
18 planting a tree? I have no idea. What I do know
19 is that it didn't get to where it needed to be.
20 So, Senator Rivera, I stood in this
21 very place, you and I had a very spirited debate
22 around the budget process, and you told me that
23 day that we were going to continue to look into
24 this issue. I believed you, but I also submitted
25 my own bill, very similar to this.
4607
1 But my mother raised me right. It
2 doesn't matter who gets the credit. What matters
3 is that we're here today and we in fact are
4 advancing a bill that would put all future
5 settlements into a lockbox and ensure that that
6 money gets into the hands of these dedicated
7 community-based providers that are saving lives.
8 So, Senator Rivera, you describe it
9 as a fantastic bill. I second that. This is
10 exactly what we are supposed to be doing.
11 So, Mr. President, I proudly vote
12 aye.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
14 Akshar to be recorded in the affirmative.
15 Announce the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1613, Senate Print 7196, by Senator Myrie, an act
21 to amend the General Business Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
23 the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
4608
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
5 Brisport to explain his vote.
6 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 Look, y'all, my constituents are
9 dying, all of our constituents are dying.
10 They're dying because of the gun violence.
11 They're dying because of COVID. They're dying
12 because of homelessness. But increasingly, what
13 I've seen compounding is that they are dying from
14 lack of access to healthcare. And if we don't
15 address this now, their deaths will be upon us.
16 Downstairs in the food court there's
17 a woman who works there who has suffered from
18 cancer in her jaw whose colleagues are currently
19 doing a GoFundMe to raise money so she can pay
20 for the surgery that her insurance does not
21 cover. She has likely served food to legislators
22 who do not support her right to universal
23 healthcare.
24 So I know you're all probably tired
25 of hearing my voice at this point, but I don't
4609
1 know what else to do when my constituents are
2 dying and we are not voting on the bill which I
3 know could save so many of them, the New York
4 Health Act.
5 I'm voting aye on this bill, and I
6 urge my colleagues to join me in demanding the
7 New York Health Act.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
9 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
10 Announce the results.
11 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
12 Calendar 1613, those Senators voting in the
13 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
14 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
15 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
16 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
17 Weik.
18 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
20 bill is passed.
21 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
22 reading of today's calendar.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now take
24 up the supplemental calendar, please.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4610
1 Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1617, Senate Print 699B, by Senator Hoylman, an
4 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
5 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Lay it
7 aside.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1624, Senate Print 2122A, by Senator Rivera, an
10 act to amend the Public Health Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect one year after it shall
15 have become a law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
20 Jackson to explain his vote.
21 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
22 Mr. President. Is this regarding S2122?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Yes,
24 sir.
25 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
4611
1 Mr. President.
2 So I rise to explain my support for
3 Senator Rivera's bill S2122. The bill before us
4 today builds on important grassroots work done in
5 Community Education Council 6 in my district --
6 my chief of staff, Johanna Garcia, and another
7 member, Cory Frye, who were both members of the
8 CEC 6 -- and other parent leaders throughout
9 New York.
10 Several years ago parents demanded a
11 better response from the Department of Education
12 to the crisis of lead in school water. The
13 community demanded DOE to disclose testing
14 methodologies contrasting proper public health
15 experts' testing methods. DOE would flush the
16 water for a long period of time before testing
17 it. But parent activists demanded lead results
18 without flushing, because kids don't flush the
19 water when they drink it, they just go to a water
20 fountain, they turn it on and they drink it.
21 CEC 6 pushed the DOE to stop
22 cherry-picking when they tested water and for
23 centralized results from these tests. Comparing
24 this crisis to the water crisis started in Flint,
25 Michigan, parent activists highlighted testimony
4612
1 of medical doctors in the community who reported
2 that the Department of Education thresholds for
3 triggering remediation were too high and would
4 lead to developmental impact in children.
5 Supporting this bill is a
6 no-brainer, Mr. President. By expanding water
7 testing in schools, increasing testing frequency,
8 removing testing exemptions and lowering the lead
9 levels, our state will provide our children with
10 drinking water in schools that is truly safe and
11 free of lead contamination.
12 I vote aye in support of this bill
13 because our children have the right to clean
14 water in their schools.
15 Thank you, Mr. President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
17 Jackson to be recorded in the affirmative.
18 Senator Rivera to explain his vote.
19 SENATOR RIVERA: Thank you,
20 Mr. President.
21 It's great to speak after
22 Senator Jackson, because I think that he, in the
23 great loud way that he always does, explained it
24 very well. At the end of the day, Mr. President,
25 this is about making sure that we test schools
4613
1 all across the state for lead.
2 We don't have to go over all
3 obviously the damages that lead can cause to a
4 young person's mind, to a young child's mind.
5 And so making sure that we test it, we test it
6 often, is the way to make sure that we can
7 identify the places that it needs to be
8 remediated.
9 And I will also say, Mr. President,
10 that I'm very glad to say that this is one -- I
11 believe another one that that brilliant
12 knucklehead that I mentioned earlier was very
13 busy with. Because I don't think, Mr. President,
14 that I've ever had a bill that has as many
15 support memos as this one does.
16 So I'm very proud to be voting in
17 the affirmative, Mr. President. Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
19 Rivera to be recorded in the affirmative.
20 Announce the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
23 bill is passed.
24 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
25 reading of today's supplemental calendar.
4614
1 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 We're going to stand at ease
4 momentarily because we're waiting for our
5 Judiciary chair to arrive for the nominations.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 Senate will stand at ease.
8 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
9 at 3:13 p.m.)
10 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
11 3:19 p.m.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 Senate will return to order.
14 Senator Gianaris.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
16 there's a report of the Judiciary Committee at
17 the desk. Please take it up and recognize
18 Senator Hoylman on that report.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
20 Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hoylman,
22 from the Committee on Judiciary, offers the
23 following nominations.
24 As Associate Judges of the Court of
25 Appeals: Madeline Singas and Anthony Cannataro.
4615
1 As judges of the Court of Claims:
2 Damaris E. Torrent; Rhonda Ziomaida Tomlinson;
3 Philippe Solages; Ramon E. Rivera; Gary Francis
4 Miret; Honorable Linda Kelly Mejias; Honorable
5 Debra L. Givens; and Alicia Gerez.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
7 Hoylman.
8 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 I move the nominations to the floor.
11 Please recognize any Senator wishing
12 to speak on said nominations.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
14 Jackson on the nominations.
15 SENATOR JACKSON: Mr. President,
16 what nomination are we referring to?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: All the
18 judicial nominations that were just recognized by
19 Senator Hoylman.
20 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you. Thank
21 you, Mr. President.
22 So I rise this afternoon to explain
23 my support for the nomination of Justice Anthony
24 Cannataro to the Court of Appeals.
25 First of all, let me congratulate
4616
1 the Majority counsel and our Senate leader for
2 moving the process of confirming the nomination
3 of Justice Cannataro along with such civility
4 that I believe speaks well of the New York State
5 Senate.
6 The decision concerning
7 Justice Cannataro's nomination was an easy one
8 for me to make. As some of you know,
9 Justice Cannataro has been a continuing legal
10 education instructor on many vital topics,
11 including ethics, LGBT, custody law, child
12 welfare law, and municipal litigation. He is the
13 citywide administrative judge for the Civil Court
14 of the City of New York, and he has held several
15 judicial offices, being first elected to the
16 Civil Court in 2011 and the Supreme Court in
17 2007.
18 Before serving on the bench,
19 Justice Cannataro served as a law clerk to the
20 Supreme Court in New York County and assistant
21 corporation counsel in the Tort Division of the
22 City Law Department.
23 In addition, he is cochair of the
24 Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission of the State
25 Courts and serves on other judicial committees.
4617
1 Given the background, I'm happy to
2 vote for Justice Cannataro based on his resume,
3 professional conduct, because we have known each
4 other for quite some time now and he's a
5 constituent of mine. And I know him to be a good
6 person, an honorable man, and one of good moral
7 character. There is absolutely no doubt in my
8 mind that Justice Cannataro is qualified to sit
9 on the highest court in the State of New York.
10 Moreover, he seems to have the
11 comportment and the temperament that makes for a
12 good judge. He is humble, personally decent, and
13 respectful of different points of view.
14 Therefore, Mr. President, I vote yes
15 to confirm Justice Anthony Cannataro.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
17 Senator --
18 SENATOR JACKSON: Mr. President --
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Oh,
20 sorry.
21 SENATOR JACKSON: -- I have a
22 statement regarding the other Supreme Court
23 nominee. Do I continue or wait?
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
25 Continue, please.
4618
1 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 So I take this vote today to confirm
4 nominees for the highest court in the State of
5 New York very seriously.
6 Having been before the Court of
7 Appeals on three different times in the Campaign
8 for Fiscal Equity lawsuit as a plaintiff myself
9 during CFE, to cast a vote on these nominations
10 as a State Senator is a full-circle moment for
11 me.
12 I rise to explain my no vote for
13 Madeline Singas' nomination to the Court of
14 Appeals.
15 During District Attorney Singas'
16 career as a prosecutor, she has too often sided
17 with destructive criminal justice policies that
18 have disproportionately harmed Black and Brown
19 communities.
20 It would be a mistake to appoint a
21 prosecutor with no appellate legal experience who
22 has shown nothing but antagonism toward reforms
23 we've made to our unjust criminal justice system.
24 It is well documented that she opposed the
25 historic bail reform legislation we passed in
4619
1 2019.
2 District Attorney Singas has
3 consistently advocated for increased punishment,
4 even for nonviolent offenses. Her refusal to
5 press charges against eight police officers who
6 were caught on video physically assaulting fellow
7 Nassau County resident Akbar Rogers troubles me.
8 As a man of principle and as a legislator of
9 conscience committed to dismantling systemic
10 racism rooted within our criminal justice system,
11 I cannot ignore District Attorney Singas' record
12 on harm to communities like mine.
13 I vote no, Mr. President, on
14 District Attorney Singas' nomination. I do not
15 believe that she is the right fit to serve on our
16 state's highest court.
17 Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
19 Gaughran on the nominations.
20 SENATOR GAUGHRAN: Thank you,
21 Mr. President.
22 First I would like to offer my
23 congratulations to all of the nominees and to
24 thank them for their willingness to provide
25 service to this great state. In particular,
4620
1 though, I would like to rise in support of the
2 nomination of Madeline Singas to the Court of
3 Appeals.
4 I know our district attorneys across
5 this state face many difficulties, and every day
6 they have to make life-changing decisions. They
7 have the unique power to revoke somebody's
8 liberties, and they also have the tremendous
9 responsibility of being a voice for the
10 voiceless.
11 And that's who Madeline Singas is.
12 And in Nassau County we have one of the best
13 attorneys in the State of New York. She has been
14 a lifelong voice for the voiceless.
15 Madeline Singas is a career public
16 servant who has worked long and hard to
17 effectuate change. She's spent almost her entire
18 career championing equity for all, especially
19 furthering the rights of the disenfranchised. A
20 daughter of immigrants, Madeline Singas
21 understands the difficulties facing those who
22 come to our nation to seek a better life. And as
23 a mother and as a prosecutor, she has been a
24 fierce advocate for women's rights.
25 From her work in the Domestic
4621
1 Violence Bureau, it was this day-to-day
2 commitment to work and to public service that
3 brought Madeline Singas to Nassau County, where
4 she created the Special Victims Bureau, a unit
5 committed to helping all, because she has been
6 fighting her whole life.
7 So today I have the true honor of
8 casting my vote in favor of Madeline Singas to
9 the Court of Appeals, where I am confident she
10 will be a fair and impartial judge.
11 Mr. President, I vote in the
12 affirmative.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
14 Rivera on the nominations.
15 SENATOR RIVERA: Thank you,
16 Mr. President.
17 I rise to speak on two nominations
18 that are before us, one for Madeline Singas for
19 the Court of Appeals, and one for Rhonda Ziomaida
20 Tomlinson, Esquire, for the Court of Claims. I
21 will speak on the latter very quickly. And this
22 is actually in relationship to both of these
23 nominations.
24 We have to certainly consider who
25 the people are as individuals. And from
4622
1 everything that I've heard certainly about
2 Ms. Singas -- or let's say District Attorney
3 Singas, she seems to be a very wonderful person,
4 wonderful mother, et cetera.
5 My goal as a legislator, however,
6 and the responsibility that I believe we all have
7 is to make a determination about whether we
8 should agree with an appointment from the
9 Governor based on what her actions have actually
10 been while in office, what her actions have been
11 professionally, Mr. President.
12 And I believe that in both cases
13 there have been actions which, to my view,
14 disqualify both of these individuals from serving
15 either in the Court of Claims or in the Court of
16 Appeals.
17 In the case of Ms. Tomlinson, when
18 she served as an administrative law judge for
19 Rikers, there's many reports that she was
20 actually encouraging folks to find technical
21 violations to make sure that people stayed in
22 Rikers, as opposed to figuring out how these
23 folks could be actually bailed out.
24 But most specifically for
25 Ms. Singas, there's just a few instances that
4623
1 I'll mention. Earlier today there was a
2 Judiciary meeting in which she was asked directly
3 whether she -- and this is a recent report of
4 a -- a recent article, I should say, that talks
5 about a report which she edited, which she
6 admitted that she had done so. And although
7 certainly it happened many years ago and she
8 could not remember every single page in this
9 report, it was made clear by one of my
10 colleagues -- as was made clear by one of my
11 colleagues, there was an acknowledgement of this
12 editing, and then some of the sections that were
13 edited out of this report had information that
14 was ultimately used to exonerate the three people
15 who were found -- who were convicted earlier in
16 Ms. Singas' career.
17 That is not in question. These
18 folks were convicted. They were later
19 exonerated. And the information that was edited
20 out of this report, which she admitted today she
21 edited, was information that was used to
22 exonerate. That is incredibly problematic,
23 Mr. President.
24 And then if we consider what we've
25 done in the last couple of years in trying to
4624
1 change our criminal justice system to one that is
2 not purely punitive -- and we certainly have had
3 a lot of debates, both privately and publicly and
4 on the floor of this Senate about changing the
5 criminal justice system -- there's instances in
6 which she has not only expressed resistance to
7 some of the changes that we've done but, as has
8 also been reported and has not been -- it has not
9 been -- she has not denied that this has
10 occurred, senior attorneys in her office are
11 actually teaching district attorneys around the
12 state, after we passed our bail reform, how to
13 make sure that we could keep those pesky
14 criminals still in prison and make sure that
15 we're not -- that folks that were not eligible
16 for bail would still -- we can figure out how to
17 teach you how to work around the system. This
18 was something that was reported at the time after
19 we approved our changes.
20 So bottom line, again, she might be
21 a wonderful person, and I know that there are --
22 that there are some communities which feel that
23 they have not had representation at this level
24 and that they are seeking to do so, and I'm proud
25 for them. And she certainly has been somebody
4625
1 who has been -- who has achieved a lot, and I do
2 not question her professional achievements.
3 However, I do think that at this
4 moment we should ask ourselves not only whether
5 she is a good mom or whether she is for a
6 particular ethnic community, but more importantly
7 what are her actions, what are her stances, and
8 ultimately what do we think -- we have to judge
9 what her potential actions might be as a Court of
10 Appeals judge.
11 And I believe that every action that
12 I've seen her take tells me that this is not
13 someone that we should appoint. So I will be
14 voting in the negative.
15 Thank you, Mr. President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
17 Biaggi on the nominations.
18 SENATOR BIAGGI: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 I rise today to explain my
21 opposition to District Attorney Madeline Singas's
22 nomination to the New York State Court of
23 Appeals.
24 In a moment I believe when our state
25 and our country really are experiencing not only
4626
1 this unprecedented and long overdue racial
2 justice reckoning, but our judiciary across this
3 country is experiencing a national reckoning.
4 And I think it's extremely harmful to appoint a
5 judge who shown an active resistance to a
6 criminal equitable legal system -- equitable
7 criminal legal system, excuse me.
8 Throughout D.A. Singas's long career
9 as a prosecutor, what has occurred to me is that
10 she has sided with harmful criminal justice
11 policies. And let me give you an example.
12 Earlier today I had the opportunity to question
13 D.A. Singas directly during the Senate Judiciary
14 meeting. I asked D.A. Singas about a police
15 report she had worked on that contained
16 information crucial to the exoneration of three
17 innocent men in another case in Queens.
18 Why is this important? Because
19 somebody who does not have experience on the
20 judiciary, you have to look at their other
21 experience. And her other experience is as a
22 prosecutor in the Queens D.A.'s office.
23 Okay. After confirming that she was
24 involved in redacting the report, she would not
25 speak to whether she knew that the redacted
4627
1 information could have helped with an
2 exoneration. If she redacted the report, we can
3 only assume that she was aware of the evidence in
4 it that would have exonerated three innocent men.
5 Instead, Gary Johnson, George Bell
6 and Rohan Bolt spent 24 years in prison.
7 One of the most basic
8 responsibilities of any lawyer, and most
9 especially prosecutors, is to speak up when they
10 know that something is wrong. Through her
11 career, she has sided with tough-on-crime
12 policies, opposed bail reform, and supported
13 policies that increased incarceratory punishment.
14 The New York State Court of Appeals,
15 our state's highest court, is entrusted with
16 issuing decisions that shape the fundamental
17 rights of all New Yorkers. And I cannot in good
18 faith vote in favor of D.A. Singas's nomination.
19 I believe her past support of her for maintaining
20 harmful criminal justice policies renders her
21 unfit to serve on the Court of Appeals.
22 And so today I vote nay and
23 encourage my colleagues to do the same.
24 Thank you very much.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
4628
1 Kaminsky on the nominations.
2 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Thank you,
3 Mr. President.
4 I rise to speak in favor of nominee
5 District Attorney Madeline Singas for the Court
6 of Appeals.
7 And I have a bit of a different
8 perspective from which to evaluate District
9 Attorney Singas's ability to serve on the court,
10 because she was my first boss when I served as an
11 assistant district attorney in Queens. And as
12 the deputy bureau chief of the Domestic Violence
13 Bureau, I learned a lot from Madeline Singas.
14 And the important things I learned were it's not
15 about winning and losing, it's about justice and
16 fairness.
17 There's never a question with
18 Madeline Singas about what to do when there's
19 information you either can or cannot turn over.
20 The answer is always turn it over. There's never
21 a question about what to do when you could sneak
22 that extra advantage in the case. The answer is
23 you don't do it, you play fair.
24 That's always how Madeline Singas
25 has acted, and that's why she's enjoyed the
4629
1 respect of her peers, the people for whom she's
2 worked, defense attorneys on the other side of
3 the aisle, and the bar and the judiciary across
4 counties, whether that is Queens or in Nassau.
5 Madeline has achieved tremendous
6 heights based on her tenacious approach, her hard
7 work, but above all her ability to level set, be
8 fair with everyone she comes into contact with.
9 That's enabled both the Nassau DA's office to be
10 one of the most forward-looking offices, but also
11 to keep Nassau County as safe as possible
12 throughout lot of different turbulence.
13 So I have no question whatsoever
14 that Madeline Singas will be a good judge, a fair
15 judge, that she will not be bringing baggage with
16 her. She will evaluate everything fairly,
17 afresh, and follow the facts and the law wherever
18 they dictate, regardless of who that may help or
19 harm.
20 So, Mr. President, I rise to
21 announce my vote in support of Madeline Singas
22 and this excellent slate of judges that were put
23 forward today, including Alicia Gerez from my
24 city of Long Beach, who is going to do us proud
25 as a Court of Claims judge, and I
4630
1 enthusiastically vote in the affirmative.
2 Thank you.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
4 Thomas on the nominations.
5 SENATOR THOMAS: Thank you,
6 Mr. President. I rise in support of the
7 nomination of D.A. Madeline Singas.
8 There's been a lot said about her
9 during these couple of weeks since the nomination
10 came out. I know her as a fair individual, a
11 good human being, a good district attorney.
12 Listen, she's had a very tough job. Her
13 number-one priority was to the County of Nassau
14 as their top law enforcement officer.
15 The district attorney has some very
16 important roles in Nassau County, and that is to
17 protect our constituents. And she's done that in
18 a very, very effective way.
19 With a tough job comes certain
20 criticisms. But she has been as progressive as
21 she can be in a county such as Nassau. She has
22 enacted reforms that would allow individuals to
23 have a second chance. During our judicial
24 hearing I asked her straight out whether she had
25 anything to do with the rise in incarcerations in
4631
1 Nassau, and she responded by saying no. The
2 reforms she put in place gave individuals a
3 second chance and actually lowered the
4 incarcerations.
5 Now, her being a judge in the top
6 court here in New York has nothing to do with her
7 role as a prosecutor. We need to look to see
8 whether she can do a great job. And she can.
9 She's going to be fair, she's going
10 to be effective. She's got a great head on her
11 shoulders. And I am proud to vote yes on her
12 confirmation.
13 Thank you.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 question is on the nominations. All in favor --
16 Senator Lanza.
17 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President, I
18 request a slow roll call on this vote. I ask
19 that five members stand in support of that
20 request. And I see that five of our members are
21 standing, supporting that request.
22 Now, I know during these COVID times
23 the protocol in place here in the chamber does
24 not allow us to do a lot of things that we would
25 normally be able to do. And the Majority has
4632
1 been, led by the leader and Senator Gianaris,
2 extremely accommodating in allowing us to work
3 around the protocol here.
4 So what I would ask of the Majority,
5 of you, Mr. President, Senator Gianaris, is that
6 you allow this slow roll call to be recorded in
7 the same way we've done it with respect to other
8 matters, by having paper being filed by each
9 member recording the individual members' votes up
10 or down.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
12 Lanza, a slow roll call is not in order on a
13 nomination.
14 Senator Gianaris.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
16 Mr. President.
17 As you point out, the specific
18 procedure that Senator Lanza is seeking is not
19 provided for in the rules.
20 I think what we are prepared to do
21 is, as we did on yesterday's nominations, anyone
22 that wishes to record their vote in the negative,
23 please record it with the desk or with the
24 Majority or Minority counsel staff, and it will
25 be in the Journal for public information.
4633
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: It is
2 so ordered.
3 The question is on the nominations.
4 All in favor signify by saying aye.
5 Senator Lanza.
6 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 Just so I understand, so will each
9 member of this chamber's votes, either in the
10 affirmative or negative, be recorded on the
11 Journal?
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
13 Gianaris.
14 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
15 we're not here to have a debate on the procedure.
16 But the procedure is exactly the
17 same as we used yesterday. Negative votes will
18 be recorded in the Journal, and anyone wishing to
19 be recorded in the negative please let the floor
20 counsel staff know or the desk know.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
22 Senator Serino.
23 SENATOR SERINO: Thank you,
24 Mr. President. I would like to explain my vote.
25 My no vote on all and any of the
4634
1 candidates has nothing to do with their
2 qualifications but everything to do with the
3 Governor that is under investigation for
4 impeachment. He should not be allowed to appoint
5 anyone.
6 And I know that the majority of our
7 body, both sides, have actually asked for him to
8 resign. So we should not be bringing these
9 appointees forward. So I am a no vote.
10 Thank you.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
12 Borrello on the nominations.
13 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 I agree that this is a process
16 that's extremely flawed. We were handed these
17 resumes, which were mostly whitewashed and
18 redacted, and asked to vote on them in a very
19 short period of time.
20 So I am also going to be recorded as
21 a no on all of them, despite the fact that I feel
22 that there are some very qualified people that
23 have been nominated. It's the process that is
24 flawed. It is not transparent. We need more
25 time to do our own investigation, to vet these
4635
1 candidates, because this is certainly not being
2 done for us by this Governor, who is so steeped
3 in controversy. He's actually nominating people
4 that could potentially be jurors if we ever do
5 have an impeachment trial here in this chamber.
6 So while I have confidence in many
7 of the nominees, I lack confidence in the process
8 and certainly lack confidence in this Governor to
9 put forth honest nominations.
10 I will be recorded in the "no."
11 Thank you, Mr. President.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
13 Rath on the nominations.
14 SENATOR RATH: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 I will also be recorded in the
17 negative over objections to the process.
18 We in the State Senate are members
19 of a deliberative body, a body that should take
20 its time, put in its due diligence and do the
21 work necessary and make decisions accordingly.
22 We have not had the chance to do the work
23 necessary to make a decision.
24 Although I am not questioning at all
25 the qualifications of any one of these judicial
4636
1 nominees -- in fact, many of them are very
2 qualified -- this process is broken. And with a
3 broken process, with a clear conscience I cannot
4 vote in favor, so I will be in the negative on
5 all of them.
6 Thank you, Mr. President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
8 Stec on the nominations.
9 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
10 Mr. President. I rise to explain my vote on
11 these nominations.
12 I too will be voting in the negative
13 on this slate. My concerns are regarding
14 process. We are living in unusual times. We are
15 all in unusual times. Everyone in this room is
16 wearing a mask. We're in a hundred-year
17 pandemic. All of our procedures are out of the
18 norm. All of our procedures are unique this
19 year. And with less than 20 percent of the body
20 present in this room, it's impossible to do a
21 true fast roll call vote.
22 And so for those reasons -- we are
23 looking at a Governor that is now in a position
24 where he is looking at a potential impeachment,
25 and he is in a position to appoint people that
4637
1 will serve as jurors. So this whole situation is
2 unprecedented.
3 And I don't think it's an
4 unreasonable request at all for our conference to
5 ask for a slow roll call vote on this. So for
6 all those reasons and the process and getting to
7 pick your own jury, I will be voting against this
8 slate of nominees.
9 Thank you.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
11 Griffo on the nominations.
12 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you,
13 Mr. President.
14 It's challenging, obviously, under
15 these circumstances, and I appreciate the flow of
16 the chamber. I will also be casting a vote in
17 the negative. And I am concerned for the reasons
18 that you've heard my colleagues say.
19 At a time when there are so many
20 clouds of uncertainty, to be making these type of
21 nominations where they could be putting the
22 judiciary in a situation where they have to be
23 judging the individual that was appointing the
24 appointing officer is very problematic.
25 But beyond that, it's the process
4638
1 itself. And we've talked about that in the past
2 here on both sides of the aisle. To think that
3 we are confirming candidates to the highest court
4 in the State of New York on the same day as they
5 appear just does not make a lot of sense.
6 And it's something that I have long
7 expressed my concerns and frustrations over, and
8 yet it continues again today, that the Executive
9 just puts these nominations before this body in
10 the remaining days of session, and as a result
11 we're making votes and decisions on very
12 significant positions in our government.
13 When you talk about the balance of
14 power between the Executive, the Judiciary and
15 the Legislature, three coequal branches of
16 government, these appointments for our
17 consideration under advice and consent are
18 crucial.
19 So for those reasons and the way the
20 Court of Appeals was put together today, I will
21 be casting a negative for all of the nominees,
22 not as a reflection on their capacity or talents,
23 but on the process and the situation and the
24 circumstances that currently exist.
25 Thank you, Mr. President.
4639
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
2 O'Mara on the nominations.
3 SENATOR O'MARA: Thank you,
4 Mr. President.
5 I rise again today to vote nay on
6 these nominations to be appointed to the Court of
7 Claims and to the highest Court in New York
8 State, the Court of Appeals -- two of which of
9 these judges are to be to be appointed to the
10 Court of Appeals for 14-year terms.
11 These names were just submitted to
12 the Legislature, the Senate last week. There has
13 not been ample time to investigate and to vet
14 these candidates' lengthy histories, lengthy
15 resumes that they have submitted. There's no
16 doubt there's qualified candidates here, but this
17 process is just plain wrong.
18 And to not even have a recorded vote
19 in this chamber appointing two justices to the
20 highest court of the state for 14-year terms --
21 it's not even clear from the way this vote is
22 being taken as to whether there's even a majority
23 of votes to approve these appointments.
24 We need a full showing of the votes
25 of the members of this chamber to show to the
4640
1 people of New York State that these justices are
2 being appointed by a majority of the New York
3 State Senate. There is no evidence or proof of
4 that under this process that we're following here
5 today.
6 And I object to that, and therefore
7 I vote no to every one of these appointments.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
9 Boyle on the nominations.
10 SENATOR BOYLE: Thank you,
11 Mr. President.
12 As the ranking Minority member on
13 the Judiciary Committee, I had the opportunity to
14 listen to all the nominees today. And really
15 impressive resumes and backgrounds. Good people.
16 My problem, as with my colleagues on
17 this side of the aisle, is with the process. To
18 give you some idea of how crazy this is, the
19 question I had asked the two Court of Appeals
20 nominees was to ask them if they could be
21 impartial, because they were being nominated by
22 someone who may be sitting in this chamber -- may
23 be sitting in this chamber a few months from now
24 with an impeachment trial. And they will
25 potentially be jurors on the trial of the guy who
4641
1 nominated them.
2 Is that a bad process or is that a
3 bad process? It doesn't get worse than that.
4 It's unfortunate that we had to do
5 this at this late hour. We should have had more
6 time. I personally think that these nominees
7 should not have been put forward by the sitting
8 Governor. We could have waited on some of these,
9 and it would have been a much better process with
10 more vetting.
11 For that, Mr. President, I'm going
12 to vote nay on all the nominees except for
13 Madeline Singas, the district attorney of
14 Nassau County, who I have the greatest respect
15 for. Thank you.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
17 Gianaris.
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
19 in consultation with our counsel at the top, and
20 in consideration of the request, both the ayes
21 and the nays will be recorded in the Journal.
22 It will be treated the way that
23 noncontroversial votes are treated. If someone's
24 in the bank and they're not absent, they will be
25 considered an aye. If someone's indicating to
4642
1 the desk or the floor counsel that they are a no,
2 that will be recorded as well.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
4 Lanza.
5 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President, I
6 just want to say I know it's difficult, these are
7 very trying times, and the protocol under which
8 we are operating has made this perhaps one of the
9 most different sessions in recent history.
10 I want to thank the Majority and
11 thank Senator Gianaris for that accommodation.
12 And by unanimous consent, obviously, we accept.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: So
14 ordered.
15 Senator Helming on the nominations.
16 SENATOR HELMING: Thank you,
17 Mr. President. I rise to explain my vote on the
18 appointments to the Court of Appeals and the
19 Court of Claims.
20 I will be voting no to all
21 appointments. As some of my colleagues have
22 said, this is a flawed process. It's not a
23 transparent process at all.
24 This week we have voted on a number
25 of pieces of legislation that mandate that local
4643
1 governments take certain actions to become more
2 transparent, to make sure that the public has
3 more opportunity to view what's going on and to
4 weigh in.
5 And I truly believe that the
6 New York State Senate should lead by example, and
7 we're not doing that.
8 So as I said, I will be voting no
9 because it's a rushed process, it's not
10 transparent, and also because I just think that
11 it's plain wrong, that the way the process works,
12 the appointments will be made, finalized by the
13 Governor, and then you know what, a few weeks
14 later we may see that these same people are asked
15 to take a position on impeaching the Governor.
16 So for those reasons and others, I
17 vote no.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 question is on the nominations.
20 All in favor say aye.
21 (Response of "Aye.")
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
23 Opposed?
24 (Response of "Nay.")
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4644
1 nominees are confirmed.
2 Senator Gianaris.
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: Okay. Thank
4 you, Mr. President.
5 Now let's go on to the controversial
6 calendar. I know we have a number of bills that
7 are up for debate, beginning with Calendar 1165.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 Secretary will ring the bell.
10 The Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1165, Senate Print 5909, by Senator Kaminsky, an
13 act to amend the Insurance Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
15 Lanza, why do you rise?
16 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President, I
17 believe there's an amendment at the desk. I
18 waive the reading of that amendment and ask that
19 Senator Borrello be recognized and heard.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Thank
21 you, Senator Lanza.
22 Upon review of the amendment, in
23 accordance with Rule 6, Section 4B, I rule it
24 nongermane and out of order at this time.
25 SENATOR LANZA: Accordingly,
4645
1 Mr. President, I appeal the chair's ruling and
2 ask that Senator Borrello be recognized.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 appeal has been made and recognized, and
5 Senator Borrello may be heard.
6 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 Today I rise to appeal the ruling of
9 the chair. This amendment is germane because the
10 bill-in-chief deals with the insurance laws, and
11 the Governor's used his extraordinary powers in
12 this pandemic, using his executive orders, to
13 amend these insurance laws several times. So it
14 is germane, in my opinion.
15 You know, we are certainly in
16 extraordinary times, as we just witnessed. But
17 back on March 3rd of 2020, more than 15 months
18 ago, I stood on the floor of this chamber and I
19 said that any Legislature that would cede this
20 much power to the Executive will be very
21 reluctant to take it away.
22 And here we are more than 15 months
23 later dealing with the fallout of that day. And
24 there was some hope back on March 5th of 2021
25 when the Majority told us they were going to
4646
1 repeal the Governor's executive authority. And
2 what have we seen since then, in the three months
3 that have passed? More chaos. A Governor that
4 has been so embroiled in scandal that he is now
5 using the executive authority granted by this
6 body as a foil, a political foil against us and
7 against the people of New York State.
8 I'm fielding calls right now from
9 angry parents about this ridiculous mask mandate
10 that he's been flip-flopping on. Superintendents
11 that don't know what they're supposed to do.
12 Stories of children literally passing out because
13 during the height of this pandemic they didn't
14 have to wear a mask, and now they do. For what
15 reason? What science? What justification?
16 Today we have an amendment, the
17 47th time that myself and my colleagues have
18 presented this amendment to truly repeal the
19 Governor's executive powers.
20 This pandemic has been unusual, but
21 what has been more unusual is the fact that we've
22 let something that's supposed to be used for a
23 natural disaster to extend for nearly a year and
24 a half, with no end in sight.
25 Until we do this, until we end the
4647
1 state of emergency, there is no end in sight for
2 this ridiculous and archaic one-man rule in
3 New York State.
4 You know, yesterday we did a press
5 conference and I made a reference to the Governor
6 and the way he's acting being like a scene out of
7 the Game of Thrones. Well, ladies and gentlemen,
8 today's the day. We need to dethrone the Mad
9 King and pass this amendment.
10 Thank you, Mr. President.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Thank
12 you, Senator Borrello.
13 I want to remind the house that the
14 vote is on the procedures of the house and the
15 ruling of the chair.
16 Those in favor of overruling the
17 chair signify by saying aye.
18 SENATOR LANZA: Request a show of
19 hands.
20 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
21 we have agreed to waive the showing of hands and
22 record each member of the Minority in the
23 affirmative.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Without
25 objection, so ordered.
4648
1 Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 20.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 ruling of the chair stands, and the bill-in-chief
5 is before the house.
6 Are there any other Senators wishing
7 to be heard?
8 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
9 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
10 Read the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
17 Announce the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
20 bill is passed.
21 The Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 725, Assembly Print Number 126A, by
24 Assemblymember Gottfried, an act to amend the
25 Public Health Law.
4649
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
2 Borrello.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: Yes, thank you,
4 Mr. President. Would the sponsor yield for some
5 questions.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
7 the sponsor yield?
8 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 sponsor yields.
11 SENATOR BORRELLO: Yes, thank you.
12 Through you, Mr. President. Senator Skoufis,
13 thank you very much. Appreciate it.
14 So I understand the purpose here to
15 try and identify potential contaminants. And I
16 think we all want to know that our water is safe.
17 But I'm just curious, out of this list of
18 contaminants that you presented, how many of them
19 have been confirmed to be actually dangerous by
20 either the EPA or the DEC?
21 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
22 Mr. President, I appreciate the question.
23 And when we are dealing with
24 contaminants and how to regulate contaminants,
25 I'm a big believer in following the science and
4650
1 following the scientists. And in this case this
2 bill deals with 40 particular contaminants. And
3 I break it into two different categories. The
4 first category are 13 contaminants that are on
5 the EPA's Third Unregulated Contaminant
6 Monitoring Rule, UCMR 3. The next category are
7 27 PFAS contaminants that will be listed in the
8 forthcoming UCMR 5.
9 And so all 40 of these contaminants
10 are -- you know, we're not just pulling these out
11 of the sky and guessing, oh, well, this one's
12 harmful, this one's not harmful. All 40 of these
13 are listed by the EPA as emerging contaminants.
14 And furthermore -- through you,
15 Mr. President -- you know, I will note that it is
16 the -- if you'll bear with me, the Agency for
17 Toxic Substances and Disease Registry that states
18 that PFAS exposure has a whole host of
19 potentially dangerous issues associated with
20 them, including increased cholesterol levels,
21 decreased vaccine response in children, changes
22 in liver enzymes, increased risk of high blood
23 pressure, especially in pregnant women, small
24 decreases in infant birth weights and increased
25 risk of kidney and testicular cancer as
4651
1 carcinogens.
2 And so for all these reasons, these
3 40 emerging contaminants ought to be tested in
4 New York State's water systems, and that's what
5 we look to do in this bill.
6 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
7 Mr. President. Will the sponsor continue to
8 yield.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
10 the sponsor yield?
11 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR BORRELLO: So you mentioned
15 PFAS as a class. Are you familiar with the
16 recent decision in Vermont about the regulating
17 and the ability to regulate PFAS as a class?
18 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
19 Mr. President, please enlighten me.
20 SENATOR BORRELLO: (Laughing.) I
21 guess briefly on the bill to enlighten the
22 Senator.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
24 Borrello on the bill.
25 SENATOR BORRELLO: So the Vermont
4652
1 Agency of Natural Resources issued a decision
2 late last year concluding that it's currently not
3 feasible to regulate PFAS as a class based on
4 available peer reviewed literature and available
5 toxicological data.
6 So what does that mean? That means
7 that we are trying to hit a moving target that
8 ultimately will result in having to identify and
9 mitigate something that they actually cannot
10 determine is going to be able to be able to be
11 identified and mitigated.
12 We're making our local governments
13 and those folks that are in charge of our water
14 supplies try to hit a moving target that, as you
15 said, the science can't really prove can be
16 identified properly.
17 So with that said, could I ask the
18 sponsor to yield for another question.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
20 the sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes,
22 Mr. President. But if I may first make a comment
23 in response and be on the bill for a moment.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
25 Skoufis on the bill.
4653
1 SENATOR SKOUFIS: So just briefly
2 in response, there are a couple of issues raised
3 there.
4 First, yes, my colleague is
5 absolutely correct, in that the PFAS family is
6 expansive, it's extensive, and the 40 chemicals
7 that we're looking for here, including the
8 27 PFAS chemicals on the UCMR 5, is the tip of
9 the iceberg.
10 However, these 40 have been
11 identified. We talk about, well, we can't
12 identify all of them. These 40 have been
13 identified. They have been classified as
14 potentially dangerous -- in some cases, very
15 dangerous for New Yorkers and all people. And
16 importantly, though, all 40 of these can be
17 tested for.
18 So obviously, you know, we're not
19 going to require testing of PFAS chemicals if
20 there is no approved test to identify those
21 chemicals. All 40 of these in fact can be tested
22 with seven EPA-approved tests.
23 And furthermore, through you,
24 Mr. President, I'll just note cost was raised.
25 And certainly as someone who comes from a town
4654
1 board and has been at this in Albany for a number
2 of years, I'm sensitive to costs that we push
3 onto local governments.
4 I will just note that the UCMR 3,
5 the 13 contaminants that if you have water
6 systems with more than 10,000 customers, you're
7 already testing for, but the UCMR 3 tests, we're
8 talking $50 to about $400 per sample per testing
9 method. We're not talking tens, hundreds of
10 thousands of dollars. We're talking literally
11 dollars in the hundreds range to make sure that a
12 water system's drinking water is safe.
13 And the other 27 PFAS chemicals,
14 we're talking 300 to 600 dollars for a test
15 sample.
16 So no one is breaking the bank under
17 this bill. And this is a negligible cost to make
18 sure that New York's water systems are safe.
19 SENATOR BORRELLO: I guess before
20 you go on to the question, on the bill.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
22 Borrello on the bill.
23 SENATOR BORRELLO: Well, I
24 understand that the testing may be negligible in
25 your opinion. But having just recently dealt
4655
1 with this in my district, it's not the testing,
2 it's the mitigation for something that is
3 inherently unproven to be a true contaminant. We
4 had a situation where it was millions of dollars
5 and people went without water for a significant
6 amount of time for a particular chemical that is
7 not on the list for the EPA or the DEC as an
8 actual proven contaminant.
9 So we can point to a lot of things
10 that we feel would be a contaminant in our air,
11 our water, our ground, but we have to actually
12 have some due diligence.
13 And with that, I will ask if the --
14 on that same note, I will ask if the sponsor will
15 yield.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
17 the sponsor yield?
18 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
20 sponsor yields.
21 SENATOR BORRELLO: So through you,
22 Mr. President.
23 The current Drinking Water Quality
24 Council is already required to review emergent
25 contaminants, are they not? Isn't this
4656
1 legislation duplicative?
2 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
3 Mr. President, the answer to the first part of
4 your question is yes, they exist.
5 The reason -- the answer to the
6 second part of your question is no, it's not
7 duplicative, because the Department of Health and
8 this council have completely dropped the ball and
9 have been derelict in their responsibilities on
10 this issue.
11 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
12 will the sponsor continue to yield.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
14 the sponsor yield?
15 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
17 sponsor yields.
18 SENATOR BORRELLO: Through you,
19 Mr. President. Well, I understand your concern,
20 but if you're concerned about the Drinking Water
21 Quality Council being administered under the
22 Department of Health, how is DOH possibly going
23 to issue regulations for up to 4,000 different
24 chemistries in this class for the PFAS? I mean,
25 you're already saying that they've dropped the
4657
1 ball. Now you're basically burdening them with
2 something even further.
3 You know, right now this has got to
4 be enforced by the Department of Health no matter
5 what. So isn't this going to be an even further
6 burden?
7 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
8 Mr. President. So this bill mandates
9 implementation. It does not have some open-ended
10 actionable requirement here. In fact, we amended
11 the bill to try and accommodate the work that
12 would be necessary for implementation at the
13 Department of Health.
14 And so the DOH will have 90 days
15 upon enactment of this bill. And it's not to
16 promulgate regulations and implement this
17 legislation and add these emerging contaminants,
18 the 4,000 that were mentioned. No. We're
19 looking at 40 here. And I think that even for
20 the Department of Health, they have the
21 wherewithal and the capacity to implement 40 new
22 contaminants and add them to their emerging list.
23 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
24 will the sponsor continue to yield.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
4658
1 the sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR BORRELLO: All right.
6 Well, in that case, does the DEC or the EPA have
7 any data indicating the presence of these
8 40 contaminants in our state's drinking water?
9 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
10 Mr. President, that's an excellent question. And
11 no, this was raised on the previous debate on the
12 first version of this bill.
13 And what I can tell you is that
14 again, referring back to those two categories
15 that are within the bill, the 13 and the 27, all
16 13 in that first category have been found
17 someplace in some water system in New York State.
18 And so -- and the 27 are on a forthcoming EPA
19 list. And so those haven't hit the stream of
20 testing yet throughout the country.
21 But on the list that exists, all 13,
22 found in New York.
23 And so this is not some
24 hypothetical. These are real chemicals. They're
25 found throughout the state, throughout the
4659
1 country. And it's important to know where they
2 are so we can best protect people's drinking
3 water.
4 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
5 on the bill.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
7 Borrello on the bill.
8 SENATOR BORRELLO: First of all,
9 thank you, Senator Skoufis, for the engagement
10 today.
11 You know, we all want safe water,
12 there's no question of that. But we have a
13 process here. And I would say that the New York
14 State Department of Environmental Conservation
15 and all the other commissions and agencies have
16 created the highest standard in the nation when
17 it comes to the safety of our water. And they
18 have experts. And they have a due diligence
19 process. And they look at these things
20 methodically.
21 And with the consultation with the
22 EPA, we do have in New York, and really in the
23 United States of America, probably the safest
24 drinking water in the world.
25 But then you get politics involved.
4660
1 And the politics here is that we're going to try
2 and put the cart before the horse. That we're
3 going to send our local water suppliers, which
4 are usually, in my area, small municipalities,
5 out to chase after so-called contaminants that we
6 really can't prove are actually going to cause
7 harm. We can't produce an actual impacted
8 victim. But yet we're going to spend millions of
9 dollars -- and actually, in some cases, put
10 people at risk of not having clean water -- in
11 order to put forth this political agenda.
12 But there's also -- there's
13 something in this bill that does trouble me, and
14 we see this in a lot of the bills here that pass
15 in this chamber, and that's the right of personal
16 action. We're going to allow people to sue.
17 We're going to allow the vultures out there to
18 sue our water suppliers for things that we can't
19 actually prove harm anyone.
20 So what does that mean? Well, that
21 means that the taxpayers and the ratepayers are
22 going to pay. They're going to pay to settle
23 lawsuits for things that we cannot really point
24 to as truly causing harm.
25 So we want clean water. We want
4661
1 clean air. But we also want people to be able to
2 afford those things. And by putting this bill
3 forth today, basically overruling the DEC and the
4 process that we have to ensure these contaminants
5 are actually proven to be harmful, we are
6 basically putting the trial lawyers in charge
7 once again. And that's going to be costly to the
8 people who supply the most basic of all of our
9 needs, and that's water.
10 So I'll be voting no, Mr. President.
11 Thank you.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Are
13 there any other Senators wishing to be heard?
14 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
15 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
16 Read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
23 Skoufis to explain his vote.
24 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you very
25 much, Mr. President.
4662
1 And I appreciate my colleagues for
2 considering their support of this legislation.
3 You know, water is something that we
4 take for granted when things are going well. We
5 use it to cook, we use it to bathe, we obviously
6 use it to drink. Then you have Hoosick Falls
7 happen. Then you have the City of Newburgh
8 happen. Most recently you have many wells in
9 Rockland County found with PFAS. And now
10 suddenly that natural resource that we all depend
11 on, day in and day out of our lives, we no longer
12 take for granted.
13 The challenge is those situations
14 where you think everything is okay but in fact
15 things are not. And that's why testing is so
16 crucial, that's why this bill is so necessary, to
17 make sure that all New Yorkers -- regardless of
18 the size of their water system, regardless of
19 which emerging contaminants list is coming out of
20 the EPA -- we have testing in place so that both
21 the constituents of ours as well as the
22 communities who can do something about this have
23 the wherewithal and the knowledge to act.
24 And so this bill creates a safer and
25 healthier New York State and makes sure that we
4663
1 have far fewer Hoosick Falls and City of
2 Newburghs and so on and so on.
3 Thank you very much, Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
5 Skoufis to be recorded in the affirmative.
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
8 Calendar 725, those Senators voting in the
9 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
10 Griffo, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Rath and Stec.
11 Ayes, 54. Nays, 9.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 bill is passed.
14 Senator Gianaris.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you.
16 The next bill we're taking up is
17 Calendar 1617, please, Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1617, Senate Print 699B, by Senator Hoylman, an
22 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
24 Stec.
25 SENATOR STEC: Mr. President, will
4664
1 the sponsor please yield.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
3 Sponsor, do you yield?
4 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 sponsor yields.
7 SENATOR STEC: Good afternoon,
8 Senator Hoylman, how are you?
9 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Well, thank you.
10 SENATOR STEC: Through you,
11 Mr. President, if the sponsor would yield, I have
12 just a few questions I'd like to ask.
13 The first question would be does the
14 Department of Environmental Conservation Law
15 currently as staffed have the resources to
16 implement the terms of this legislation?
17 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes. Through
18 you, Mr. President, thank you. Thank you to my
19 colleague for this question.
20 Let me just start off by saying what
21 this bill does, if I could indulge you. This
22 bill provides targeted, science-based
23 restrictions on the use of pesticides called
24 neonicotinoids, and then requires the New York
25 City -- apropos to your question -- Department of
4665
1 Environmental Conservation, directs them to study
2 and identify practicable and feasible
3 alternatives to such pesticides.
4 And the reason we need to focus on
5 neonicotinoids -- or neonics, which is a little
6 easier to say -- through this legislation, which
7 by the way is called the Birds and the Bees
8 Protection Act. I never thought we'd be talking
9 about the birds and the bees here on the floor of
10 the Senate.
11 But neonics are everywhere. They're
12 persistent, they're toxic, they're 48 times more
13 harmful to insects than any other insecticide
14 that has been used by mankind. They broadly
15 contaminate water, soil and plants, and they kill
16 bees. A study showed recently from Cornell that
17 this has had an enormous impact on bee colonies.
18 Forty percent of New York beekeepers have --
19 excuse me, New York beekeepers have lost more
20 than 40 percent of their bee colonies nearly
21 every year for the last decade.
22 And they also kill birds. If a bird
23 ingests one seed that's been coated with
24 neonicotinoids, it will kill them.
25 So it is a persistent and enormous
4666
1 problem. That's why Canada, that's why Europe
2 have banned completely neonicotinoid use. But we
3 here are providing a targeted, science-based
4 restriction on their uses because of a report
5 published by Cornell University in 2020 that
6 suggested that neonicotinoids pose the greatest
7 threat to pollinators while providing little to
8 no benefit to users, or that are easily
9 replicable with safer alternatives.
10 That said, does DEC have the
11 resources to do what this bill sets out to do,
12 which would require them to look for acceptable
13 alternatives by 2024, in this "safe harbor"
14 provision and determine if there were
15 unreasonable costs associated with them banning
16 neonicotinoids? Yes. They can survey the
17 literature, they can speak to scientists within
18 their own department, and they can also look to
19 uses for alternatives in other jurisdictions such
20 as have been used in Canada and Europe.
21 SENATOR STEC: Thank you.
22 Mr. President, through you.
23 So does the DEC --
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Are you
25 asking the sponsor to yield?
4667
1 SENATOR STEC: Do you yield? I'm
2 sorry.
3 SENATOR HOYLMAN: I do,
4 Mr. President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 sponsor yields.
7 SENATOR STEC: I'm sorry. Thank
8 you, Mr. President.
9 Does the DEC -- in the meantime,
10 before 2024, what would the condition of the use
11 of neonics be in the industry in New York State?
12 Would they be allowed or not allowed during this
13 study period?
14 SENATOR HOYLMAN: They would not
15 be -- they would not be -- the ban on the sale,
16 distribution and purchase of neonicotinoid-
17 treated seeds -- by the way, it's only for a
18 select group of seeds, for corn, soybean and
19 wheat crops, the only seeds that are going to be
20 banned for the sale. That would begin in 2024.
21 And then at that point there's a
22 safe-harbor provision that keeps the prohibition
23 from taking effect if the department determines
24 that there are no acceptable alternatives that
25 exist that would not result in unreasonable costs
4668
1 to farmers.
2 SENATOR STEC: Mr. President, if
3 the sponsor would please yield.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will
5 the sponsor yield?
6 SENATOR HOYLMAN: I do. Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 sponsor yields.
10 SENATOR STEC: To that point,
11 though, does the bill define "unreasonable"? I
12 mean, everyone -- it's all in the eye of the
13 beholder. Does the bill define "unreasonable"?
14 And specifically, does it factor in the added
15 cost for getting nontreated -- now we're asking
16 for specialty seeds that -- I mean, New York is a
17 big ag state but it isn't the Midwest. So now
18 we're going to be expecting seed providers to,
19 what, make a New York blend for us? That could
20 be more expensive. Certainly other pesticide
21 uses are going to have to increase. Yields are
22 going to go down. We're going to be using more
23 acreage.
24 So now while the seeds are going to
25 be more expensive, we're going to be using more
4669
1 acreage, we're going to be having lower yields.
2 So there's other costs that are going to factor
3 in.
4 So does that all get factored into
5 what falls under "unreasonable"?
6 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes. So the
7 question -- through you, Mr. President, the
8 question whether unreasonable cost is defined, it
9 is that -- unreasonable cost is determined in
10 consultation with the Department of Ag & Markets,
11 after having a public hearing.
12 Obviously unreasonable costs is a --
13 could be a moving target. But we need to
14 determine that at the time that the agency makes
15 that determination, so they would seek
16 consultation with the Department of Ag & Markets
17 and have a hearing in connection with that
18 determination.
19 SENATOR STEC: Mr. President,
20 through you, if the sponsor would yield.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
22 the sponsor yield?
23 SENATOR HOYLMAN: I do.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 sponsor yields.
4670
1 SENATOR STEC: All right, thank
2 you.
3 Now, has this -- you mentioned the
4 Cornell report a couple of times. Has that been
5 officially peer-reviewed?
6 And furthermore, it's my
7 understanding that the Biden EPA is currently
8 studying this. I mean, I'm sure you get a little
9 nervous about New York, you know, standing out so
10 far that we put ourselves in an awkward position
11 where we're hurting our farms, you know,
12 needlessly compared to our neighboring states.
13 So part two of the question about
14 the peer-reviewed part is, wouldn't it be wise to
15 wait for the Biden EPA to come up with something
16 so it's a level playing field and we don't hazard
17 our New York farms against the rest of the
18 industry in the country?
19 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Well, this
20 important study by Cornell, obviously one of
21 New York's finest institutions, is based on
22 peer-reviewed data.
23 And I think it's important that
24 New York act and not wait for the federal
25 government, given the enormous destructive power
4671
1 of neonicotinoids, the fact that it's been
2 showing up in state water testing. Thirty
3 percent of Long Island groundwater samples are
4 indicating a very high probability that these
5 pesticides are causing ecosystem-wide damage here
6 in New York.
7 It is a crisis that needs to be
8 averted now.
9 SENATOR STEC: Thank you.
10 Mr. President, if the sponsor would
11 continue to yield.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
13 the sponsor yield?
14 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
16 sponsor yields.
17 SENATOR STEC: I want to follow up,
18 because I heard you say that the Cornell report
19 was generated using other peer-reviewed material.
20 But I didn't hear you answer my question if the
21 Cornell report itself has been peer-reviewed.
22 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
23 Mr. President, the Cornell study is a summary of
24 hundreds of peer-reviewed studies, so it
25 therefore stands on its own in that regard.
4672
1 SENATOR STEC: Mr. President, if
2 the sponsor would yield for just a couple more
3 quick questions.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
5 the sponsor yield?
6 SENATOR HOYLMAN: I do.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
8 sponsor yields.
9 SENATOR STEC: You said earlier
10 that this was limited to a handful of seeds. So
11 specifically, if you could list those again.
12 And I want to make crystal-clear,
13 does that have any application, then, in the
14 forest industry? Are there any forest products
15 that are going to be caught up in this ban?
16 And for time's sake, if I could, so
17 what would the procedure be if our future DEC
18 determines through a public hearing process that
19 this isn't a good -- we're not heading down the
20 right path, it's too expensive, it's not
21 reasonable? How do we unring this bell if
22 there's been damage done to the ag industry
23 because we just increased the price of their
24 seeds tenfold?
25 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
4673
1 Mr. President. Let's be clear that this is a
2 targeted, science-based restriction on the use of
3 these pesticides containing neonicotinoids, which
4 are linked, again, to massive losses of bees and
5 other pollinators, pollinators that farmers need.
6 And we've seen the impact on those
7 pollinators. It is really undercutting the
8 future of New York State agriculture to not
9 address this problem now.
10 These pesticides, Mr. President,
11 only came about in the 1990s. It's not like
12 farmers have been using these for that many years
13 to begin with.
14 But in terms of will it have a --
15 what is their other application, let's be clear,
16 we are talking about only several types of seeds.
17 This would be -- as I said earlier, it would only
18 affect the family of soy, wheat and corn as
19 seeds.
20 And in terms of forestry products, I
21 do want to point out, Mr. President, that this
22 legislation would also ban the direct application
23 of pesticides containing neonicotinoids on
24 outdoor ornamental plants and turf starting in
25 2023. So that's the direct application of
4674
1 neonicotinoids on these outdoor ornamental
2 plants.
3 The reason this is important is
4 because the pesticide runs off into the ground,
5 and it impacts the soil and the groundwater.
6 Which is why we are talking about seeds for those
7 three types of crops, and ornamental plants as it
8 pertains to direct application.
9 SENATOR STEC: All right, thank
10 you.
11 Mr. President, if the sponsor would
12 continue to yield.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
14 the sponsor yield?
15 SENATOR HOYLMAN: I do.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
17 sponsor yields.
18 SENATOR STEC: I apologize, I'm not
19 familiar with your district, but hopefully it
20 won't surprise you to know that my district has a
21 awful lot of agriculture going on, from
22 Washington County all the way to the Canadian
23 border. I've talked to a lot of farmers.
24 Farmers tell me that like a -- a good analogy
25 might be antibiotics. You know, that you don't
4675
1 want to become overreliant, you want to have as
2 many available to you so that you don't have the
3 body become resistant to one type of antibiotic.
4 And they make that akin to pesticides, that the
5 more that are legal and regulated gives them more
6 flexibility so that you don't start to develop a
7 resistance to that. And so they would prefer a
8 diversified pesticide offering to them.
9 Do you think that eliminating a
10 class of pesticides will benefit farmers in that
11 regard?
12 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Well, I think --
13 through you, Mr. President, I do think that we've
14 seen overuse of neonicotinoids, a blanket usage
15 of them as -- on treated seeds. And that is
16 creating the analogy that you raise, that our
17 colleague raises about resistance.
18 I think that I would agree that we
19 need to look for alternatives, because we see
20 that the current product being used,
21 neonicotinoid, is devastating to pollinators --
22 namely, bees. And we've seen that colonies
23 decline, and we've seen colony collapse as a
24 phenomenon, not just in different parts of the
25 world but here in New York State.
4676
1 And that's why we have such strong
2 support from a wide range of environmental
3 organizations, including Audubon, Catskill, Earth
4 Justice, Friends of the Earth, NRDC, Sierra Club
5 and more, because of their dangers.
6 So this is meant to prompt the
7 market, Mr. President, to disrupt the market, for
8 New York State to say to the private market: You
9 have to find some cost-effective alternatives,
10 because this isn't working for our environment
11 and you're undermining one of the key components
12 of our agricultural industry, which is the
13 pollinators themselves. Which we rely on, both
14 bees and colonies that are kept by keepers, but
15 also wild bees, which borrow in the ground, where
16 these seeds are so dangerous due to that runoff I
17 mentioned earlier.
18 SENATOR STEC: Mr. President, if
19 the sponsor would continue to yield.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
21 the sponsor yield?
22 SENATOR HOYLMAN: I do.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 sponsor yields.
25 SENATOR STEC: I certainly
4677
1 appreciate that a lot of environmental groups are
2 supportive of this. Are there any farm
3 organizations in New York State -- or anywhere in
4 the country, for that matter -- that are in
5 support of this legislation? Is the New York
6 State Farm Bureau supportive? I mean, they have
7 an interest in a healthy pollinator population.
8 They know better than all of us how the birds and
9 the bees work.
10 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
11 Mr. President, we have -- if you notice, this is
12 a B print, which means B as in --
13 (Laughter.)
14 SENATOR HOYLMAN: -- "bee." And
15 because of that B print, we have had many
16 conversations with the Farm Bureau and made
17 significant amendments to the legislation to
18 address their concerns.
19 SENATOR STEC: Mr. President,
20 through you, if the sponsor would yield.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
22 sponsor yields.
23 SENATOR STEC: All right, in the
24 interests of time I'll take that last answer as
25 no, the Farm Bureau is not in support.
4678
1 But I just -- to wrap up, do we have
2 estimates on what this will do? Like I said
3 before, the seed manufacturers are going to have
4 to say, All right, we've got to shut down and
5 make the New York version of the corn seed that
6 they want to buy, because they have special
7 restrictions on us.
8 You know, a changeover like that in
9 a small market is going to add to cost. Do we
10 have any estimates, do you have any estimates for
11 soy, wheat and corn, what it will do to the cost
12 of seed and to the yields of those three crops in
13 New York State?
14 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
15 Mr. President. Well, you know, that's part of
16 what the Cornell University report looked at, was
17 cost-benefit analysis to show that while on the
18 one hand neonicotinoids provide the greatest
19 threat to pollinators, they provide little to no
20 benefit to users or they are easily replaceable.
21 There are many organic farmers that use no
22 treated seeds.
23 But we are allowing the market to
24 emerge, and that's what's I think creative about
25 this bill, is that we're telling the good folks
4679
1 who treat -- who create insecticides that, you
2 know, this is an opportunity for you to come up
3 with something that's safer for pollinators,
4 safer for our food products, more productive for
5 the industry, because we want to preserve those
6 pollinators, and frankly healthier for the
7 environment and our children's future overall.
8 SENATOR STEC: Mr. President, if I
9 can go on the bill, please.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
11 Stec on the bill.
12 SENATOR STEC: All right, thank
13 you. I appreciate my colleague's time in
14 answering my questions.
15 I think it's clear from my line of
16 questioning I have a lot of concerns. The
17 farmers that I represent in the six counties of
18 Northern New York that I represent are very
19 concerned about this.
20 I'm concerned that we're moving
21 forward with legislation that the Farm Bureau is
22 saying is not a good idea.
23 I'm concerned about what it's going
24 to do -- I'm concerned about making our
25 agriculture community a guinea pig or a canary,
4680
1 if you will, in the mine with the rest of this
2 country. There's not another state that's
3 regulating these neonics in this way, and I think
4 we're putting an awful lot of burden on our small
5 family farms by doing something that's
6 experimental -- and well-intentioned, but, you
7 know, certainly -- again, I think the farmers
8 should be listened to and should be heard when we
9 craft legislation so that we don't in Albany, in
10 places that don't represent a lot of farms, say
11 "We know best how to operate your farm," and have
12 that roll down to the good folks that are growing
13 our food and dealing with, you know, everything
14 that Mother Nature throws at them and Albany.
15 So for that reason, I'll be opposed
16 to this legislation and encourage my colleagues
17 to vote in the negative.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
19 Borrello.
20 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
21 Mr. President. Will the sponsor yield for some
22 questions.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
24 the sponsor yield?
25 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes.
4681
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
4 Senator Hoylman, appreciate this.
5 First of all, I know in the borough
6 of Manhattan there's probably not a lot of
7 farmers, but I appreciate your interest in this
8 issue. And unfortunately I think it's horribly
9 misguided, and that's why the Farm Bureau and
10 some of the others are against this.
11 But you mentioned the Cornell
12 report. I'm just curious, do you -- this report,
13 did it actually do a risk analysis to understand
14 the risk that farmers undertake when choosing
15 whether or not to use treated seeds?
16 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
17 Mr. President. Yes, they did a cost-benefit
18 analysis.
19 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
20 will the sponsor continue to yield.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will
22 the sponsor yield?
23 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes.
24 SENATOR BORRELLO: No, this is
25 on --
4682
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you. I'm
4 sorry.
5 -- risk analysis. According to
6 what I've read, there's really no risk analysis
7 done as to the -- what the impact will be on our
8 farmers. Could you speak to that in that Cornell
9 study?
10 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Well, through
11 you, Mr. President, the approach that we see
12 here, according to the report they say, quote:
13 In contrast to neonicotinoid applications in
14 fruit and vegetable crops, routine use of
15 neonicotinoid -- and everyone has to say that
16 five times fast --
17 (Laughter.)
18 SENATOR HOYLMAN: -- neonicotinoid-
19 treated seeds does not consistently increase net
20 income for New York field corn or soybean
21 producers. That's on page 21 of the report.
22 They also go on to say while seed
23 treatments benefit farmers where there is high
24 early season pest pressure, these benefits are
25 limited to a small proportion of the fields.
4683
1 So this supports the bill's
2 restriction of certain neonic-treated seeds -- as
3 we said, corn, soybean and wheat crops. This is
4 extremely tailored to a certain class of seeds
5 for New York State's agricultural uses.
6 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
7 will the sponsor continue to yield.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will
9 the sponsor yield?
10 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
12 sponsor yields.
13 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
14 Through you, Mr. President.
15 Well, what about neonics that need
16 to be applied to manage our forests and the pests
17 in our forests? What will happen there?
18 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Well, this bans
19 the -- through you, Mr. President. This has no
20 application to forests. The only direct
21 application that this bill would ban would be on
22 outdoor ornamental plants and turf starting in
23 2023.
24 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
25 will the sponsor continue to yield.
4684
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
2 the sponsor yield?
3 SENATOR HOYLMAN: I do.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
5 sponsor yields.
6 SENATOR BORRELLO: Well, sir, by
7 the reading of -- by me reading the bill, it does
8 not seem that it's going to actually apply to
9 forests. I guess I'm -- you know, there is this
10 application for ornamental trees, but how
11 specifically would that speak to -- you know, to
12 these neonics? And again, we can say what we
13 want here, but I'm talking about when this is
14 enforced and this becomes an issue, how are we
15 guaranteed that we will be able to use proper
16 pest management on our forests and fields?
17 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
18 Mr. President. I'm having a hard time
19 understanding the Senator, maybe because of his
20 mask. But are you saying "in forest," or
21 "enforced"?
22 SENATOR BORRELLO: Both. So
23 enforced, when it's being enforced in our forests
24 and our fields.
25 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Okay. It's
4685
1 not -- let's be clear, this is not -- through
2 you, Mr. President, not -- we are not discussing
3 neonicotinoids in the context of use in forests.
4 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
5 Mr. President. Would the sponsor continue to
6 yield.
7 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 sponsor yields.
10 SENATOR BORRELLO: So are you
11 familiar with actually how these seeds are used,
12 how farmers use them and the process that they go
13 through to ensure that they're used to minimize
14 the impact on our pollinators?
15 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
16 Mr. President, yes.
17 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
18 will the sponsor continue to yield.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
20 the sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR BORRELLO: So they're
22 already using the proper due diligence and best
23 practices. You said you were familiar with it.
24 Do you feel that this is a flawed
25 practice at the Farm Bureau and those folks that
4686
1 actually are in the business of ensuring they
2 minimize the impact? Because pollinators are
3 incredibly important to our farmers, as you
4 mentioned. Is their process flawed and somehow
5 this bill -- you know better than the farmers
6 about how they could be used?
7 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
8 Mr. President. I don't pretend to know anything
9 better than farmers. I will tell you that
10 through my entire childhood I baled hay every
11 summer and lived amongst farms, so I know
12 something about the hard work that New York's
13 farmers undertake.
14 But I'll say that the use of treated
15 seeds, generally speaking, is inconsistent,
16 Mr. President, with the fundamental tenet of
17 integrated pest management, which stresses that
18 the use of pesticides should only be in response
19 to an actual pest infestation, not as a
20 prophylactic measure.
21 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
22 will the sponsor continue to yield.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
24 the sponsor yield?
25 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes.
4687
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: So you believe
4 we should use pesticides after the crops are
5 destroyed instead of before?
6 SENATOR HOYLMAN: I'm sorry, would
7 you repeat that?
8 SENATOR BORRELLO: Yes. You said
9 not to use it in a prophylactic manner. But
10 that's the whole point, isn't it? We're not
11 going to wait until after the crops are destroyed
12 to use a pesticide, are we?
13 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
14 Mr. President, no. No one thinks that.
15 But an integrated pest management is
16 one that gets in front of the problem. Not in
17 response to an actual -- actual infestation, not
18 prophylactically, which is what coated seeds, the
19 approach using neonicotinoids on coated seeds
20 would point to.
21 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
22 will the sponsor continue to yield.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
24 the sponsor yield?
25 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes.
4688
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: Through you,
4 Mr. President. So neonicotinoid pesticides were
5 developed to replace older, less safe products
6 for farmers and foresters. Could you tell me
7 what products will be used in place of the
8 treated seeds now, if we're going to ban them?
9 And are they any better?
10 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
11 Mr. President. Well, we don't know for sure.
12 That's part of what this safe harbor would
13 determine, if there were acceptable alternatives
14 that were cost-effective.
15 But there are a number of pesticides
16 less problematic than neonicotinoids, because
17 they are not systemic in plants and not as
18 persistent in the environment. Pyrethroid
19 pesticides is one that Cornell has identified as
20 a potential.
21 Again, we're going to jump-start the
22 market with this legislation and ensure that
23 alternatives do come to market before 2024.
24 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
25 will the sponsor continue to yield.
4689
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will
2 the sponsor yield?
3 SENATOR HOYLMAN: I do.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
5 sponsor yields.
6 SENATOR BORRELLO: So if there
7 was -- you mentioned the Cornell study
8 previously. If there was a study that
9 contradicted that, should we take that into
10 consideration as part of this?
11 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
12 Mr. President, I think it would depend on if it
13 came from a reputable independent entity that
14 used peer-reviewed journals and data, as the
15 Cornell report does.
16 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
17 will the sponsor continue to yield.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
19 the sponsor yield?
20 SENATOR HOYLMAN: I do.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
22 sponsor yields.
23 SENATOR BORRELLO: Well, in fact
24 through the EPA we have something called the
25 Growing Matters coalition, which has pointed out
4690
1 numerous flaws in the study that you're citing
2 from Cornell -- including, as I mentioned before,
3 the risk assessment, but also just some basic
4 flaws in how this calculus was made to determine
5 the impact on our pollinators.
6 So I would think that to rely on one
7 study -- and I realize you said peer-reviewed,
8 but we determined earlier with Senator Stec that
9 it was not itself peer-reviewed, even though
10 there are peer-reviewed studies within the
11 study -- that we would have a tremendous reason
12 not to really do something that's going to
13 ultimately dramatically harm our agriculture
14 industry in New York State. Wouldn't you agree?
15 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
16 Mr. President. Look, the Cornell study of the
17 economic value of the neonicotinoid use was based
18 on data from over 5,000 field trials. It was
19 based on 400 peer-reviewed scientific studies on
20 the toxicity of neonics. And I think it is
21 widely hailed as a report that points toward the
22 way of how we can address this growing problem of
23 neonicotinoids.
24 We've had beekeepers in this state
25 who have seen their hives diminish, and the
4691
1 connection to neonicotinoids has been proven time
2 and time again. So we have to act now.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
4 will the sponsor continue to yield.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
6 the sponsor yield?
7 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 sponsor yields.
10 SENATOR BORRELLO: I heard you
11 comment that you feel that this is going to be a
12 disrupter to the market, that somehow New York
13 State's crops are going to somehow set a new
14 standard and make the industry that creates these
15 seeds, you know, modify them.
16 Do you have any idea what percentage
17 or what fraction that New York's corn and
18 soybeans are of the entire U.S. market?
19 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
20 Mr. President, I don't have that information.
21 But I'm happy to hear it.
22 SENATOR BORRELLO: Sure.
23 Mr. President, I guess briefly on the bill.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
25 Borrello on the bill.
4692
1 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
2 Well, New York State accounts for
3 1/90th of the entire market, so a small fraction.
4 I've been in business a long time.
5 I actually was in the manufacturing business for
6 a long time, and I can tell you that nobody is
7 going to be changing what they do for 1/90th of
8 the entire market. That's number one.
9 Number two, we are now putting
10 farmers at further risk. Because the only
11 disruption that's going to occur in the market is
12 the disruption to our food supply chain. We
13 learned how fragile it was here in New York State
14 during the pandemic when folks down in New York
15 City and the food banks, people that had
16 food-insecurity issues, couldn't get food because
17 of the disruption in the supply chain from the
18 farms in upstate New York.
19 We're losing our farms at a record
20 level, and now we're going to put them in a
21 position where they cannot protect their crops
22 and in turn create the food that our folks so
23 desperately need here in New York State.
24 And since there's not going to be
25 any change to the seeds -- I think we can all
4693
1 agree on that, there is not going to be any
2 market disruption -- what's going to happen is
3 our competitors in places like Pennsylvania and
4 Ohio, right on our border, are going to be
5 supplying the food at the expense of New York.
6 And they'll be using those new neonicotinoids, we
7 can be assured of that.
8 So with that being said, I think
9 we -- I just have to ask one more time, do you
10 believe --
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Are you
12 asking the sponsor to yield for a question?
13 SENATOR BORRELLO: Yes, sir. Will
14 the sponsor continue to yield?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
16 the sponsor yield?
17 SENATOR HOYLMAN: I do.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 sponsor yields.
20 SENATOR BORRELLO: So I'm going to
21 ask it, do you understand how this seed industry
22 actually works?
23 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
24 Mr. President. Yes. I will admit, though, as a
25 legislator and not a farmer, we do rely on the
4694
1 advice, consultation and understanding of others.
2 That's why we've spoken to farmers, that's why
3 we've amended the legislation, and that's why,
4 frankly, there is no food chain disruption.
5 That is almost ludicrous to suggest,
6 as we've seen in places like Canada, where
7 neonicotinoids are banned outright, in Europe,
8 where neonicotinoids are banned outright. There
9 is no disruption to the food chain. They have
10 found alternatives. They have in some cases not
11 used neonicotinoids or any alternatives; that's
12 organic farming.
13 So all due consideration,
14 Mr. President, to my colleague -- who's on the
15 same side of the aisle. I used to say
16 differently, the other side of the aisle --
17 (Laughter.)
18 SENATOR HOYLMAN: -- the fears of
19 moving to a neonicotinoid-free farming with corn,
20 soybean and wheat crops are way overblown.
21 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
22 on the bill.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
24 Borrello on the bill.
25 SENATOR BORRELLO: Senator Hoylman,
4695
1 thank you for the engagement.
2 I know that the Senator has said he
3 has spoken to farmers. I don't think he's spoken
4 to any farmers that I am aware of that are
5 supporting this. The Farm Bureau, which
6 represents the majority, the vast majority of
7 farmers in the state, are vehemently opposed to
8 this.
9 But, you know, he brings up Canada
10 and Europe. Well, the United States is the
11 breadbasket of the world in so many ways, and we
12 supply corn and soybeans to many European
13 nations. And I believe we certainly export -- we
14 did at some point, unless there's restrictions,
15 tariff restrictions -- into Canada. And New York
16 State is a part of that because of where we are
17 geographically located.
18 So we have seen so many things that
19 have harmed our farmers in New York State. The
20 pandemic certainly was a part of that, but even
21 before that. The impact of everything, the
22 harmful things that have happened in this chamber
23 and in this State Legislature. And they have
24 persisted, they have been resilient. And here we
25 are, we're presenting them with one more
4696
1 challenge. And how are they going to have to
2 face this challenge? Because they are resilient.
3 What they're going to do is they're going to turn
4 to pesticides that are going to be far more
5 harmful to our environment, far more harmful to
6 the ecological balance.
7 Because of neonicotinoids, and
8 particularly these treated seeds, our farmers use
9 ounces -- ounces of pesticides, versus gallons,
10 per acre. So we're going to send them back to
11 that. We're going to send them -- because
12 they're going to have to survive, and that's how
13 they're going to have to survive.
14 So what are we going to do next?
15 Well, then we're going to try and ban that.
16 And the reality is our pollinators
17 are certainly at risk. I understand that, I've
18 spoken to many folks that are beekeepers. I
19 understand. But there are a lot of factors
20 involved.
21 It's not -- in fact, this is at the
22 bottom of the list, quite frankly. The health of
23 our hives really depends on a number of things:
24 Hive management, number one. Parasites.
25 Disease. Loss of habitat. Which we are doing,
4697
1 by the way -- every time we tear down our forests
2 and fields and take away our productive farmland
3 to put up these ridiculous renewable energy
4 projects, that's probably doing more harm to the
5 habitat of our pollinators than anything else.
6 Not to mention the millions of birds that are
7 slaughtered by these wind turbines.
8 So what are we going to do? We're
9 going to change the seeds. I don't think that's
10 the answer.
11 So the research has shown time and
12 time again that these pesticides can actually be
13 adjusted, that there are proper times to apply
14 them so that we minimize the impact on birds and
15 bees. Banning them, being the only state in the
16 United States to ban them is going to create such
17 a tremendous burden that it's going to have a
18 negative impact even on our birds and bees.
19 This is the problem that we have
20 here in Albany. Instead of talking to the people
21 that are actually in the business, that are the
22 boots on the ground -- literally, in our
23 agriculture industry -- we sit in our conference
24 rooms in Albany and New York City and decide what
25 we think is good for somebody after never
4698
1 actually setting foot in their business or on
2 their property.
3 That's the fundamental problem we
4 have here in Albany. And that's the fundamental
5 problem with this bill. We are going to harm our
6 agriculture industry. That's why they don't
7 support it. And to sit here with suits on in
8 this nice air-conditioned chamber and decide what
9 a farmer should be doing is ridiculous. And
10 that's what we're doing today.
11 So I'll be voting no. Thank you,
12 Mr. President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Are
14 there any other Senators wishing to be heard?
15 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
16 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
17 Read the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
19 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
20 shall have become a law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
25 Announce the results.
4699
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar 617, those Senators voting in the
3 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Gallivan,
4 Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza, Mannion,
5 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
6 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
7 Weik.
8 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 bill is passed.
11 Senator Kaminsky.
12 SENATOR KAMINSKY: We are now
13 picking up Calendar 978 for debate, please.
14 And I ask that you recognize
15 Senator Stec.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
17 Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 978, Senate Print 4630B, by Senator Kaminsky, an
20 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
22 Stec.
23 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
24 Mr. President. If the sponsor would please yield
25 and perhaps provide an explanation.
4700
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
2 the sponsor yield?
3 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
5 sponsor yields.
6 Please provide an explanation.
7 SENATOR STEC: If the sponsor would
8 care to explain the legislation, please.
9 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes, thank you,
10 Mr. President. Through you, this bill would ban
11 the added use of certain flame retardants in
12 mattresses, furniture and electronic enclosures.
13 It would take effect for certain products on
14 January 1, 2024.
15 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
16 Mr. President. If the sponsor would yield for a
17 few questions.
18 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
20 the sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
23 sponsor yields.
24 SENATOR STEC: Thank you. Through
25 you, Mr. President.
4701
1 Senator, if I could -- certainly I
2 think everyone in the room appreciates the work
3 and the risk that our firefighters take for us
4 every day, and I think we all want to accommodate
5 them. And I note that there are many groups of
6 firefighters that have expressed their support
7 for the legislation.
8 However, there's a part of it that I
9 wanted to explore a little bit with you that is
10 unique to New York and a little concerning that I
11 think merits a little questioning, and that is
12 the ban on electronics.
13 If you could, I guess my first
14 question would be have any other states banned
15 electronics -- the use of flame retardants in
16 electronics?
17 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Through you,
18 Mr. President, I think it's important to take
19 just a bit of a step back here and understand
20 what these flame-retardant chemicals do.
21 They are endocrine disrupters. They
22 cause cancer. They cause cancer in the
23 population of firefighters, who contract cancer
24 at a far higher rate than the rest of the
25 population. And they also harm children, result
4702
1 in IQ loss and other developmental disabilities.
2 We've had testimony and comments
3 from medical professionals. You know, on the one
4 hand you'll hear this from the chemical
5 companies; on the other hand, that from another
6 group. The science is clear. It's not a he
7 said, she said, or she said, she said, it is
8 clear that studies show that flame retardants do
9 not do really anything to prevent fires, but it
10 is very clear what they do to the human body.
11 And so it's important that we attack these
12 chemicals wherever they are.
13 The direct answer to your question,
14 Senator Stec, which I appreciate, is no other
15 state does this, but the entire European Union
16 does this. So with respect -- and we are on the
17 same timeline really that they are.
18 So it's important to note that the
19 major companies we're talking to already have to
20 comply if they sell an item overseas. Many
21 electronic companies don't even use some of these
22 chemicals. So if you ask Sony, for example, in
23 their televisions they don't use any of these
24 chemicals. Apple has told us they don't have a
25 problem with what's contained in this bill.
4703
1 And to the extent companies are
2 using these dangerous products, they have years,
3 literally, to figure out how to build their
4 products without these dangerous, harmful
5 chemicals.
6 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
7 Mr. President. If the sponsor would continue to
8 yield.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
10 the sponsor yield?
11 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR STEC: Through you,
15 Mr. President. I appreciate that.
16 A couple-part question, just
17 circling back to your mention that the European
18 Union has banned these. It's my understanding,
19 and correct me if I'm wrong, that this was done
20 recently and that about a year ago litigation was
21 filed in Europe to put the kibosh on that.
22 That's part one of the question.
23 Part two would be -- you mentioned
24 the sale in New York, so the -- granted, New York
25 does not manufacture much of anything anymore,
4704
1 especially electronics. So this would affect
2 U.S. companies selling into New York? Or would
3 this be a ban on all electronics made anywhere in
4 the world not using these materials in products
5 that are sold in New York?
6 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Through you,
7 Mr. President. So for the record, I think kibosh
8 is a universal word, not just a European Union
9 word. I think it's widely understood.
10 But the law went into effect in
11 March of this year. There hasn't been anything
12 stopping it, it's moving forward. And I think
13 that we should do the same here, in light of the
14 ability of these products, both when they burn
15 but also just when they are existing in a room or
16 whether a child handles it or breathes in the
17 air, in light of the particles they give off,
18 they are unsafe and should not be contained in
19 any household.
20 SENATOR STEC: Through you,
21 Mr. President. My second part of my question, if
22 the sponsor would yield, was what about where
23 these products originated. If they're made in
24 China and sold in New York, can they have this --
25 what does the origin of the manufacturing have to
4705
1 do with what's being sold in New York?
2 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Through you,
3 Mr. President, it does not. They cannot be sold
4 in New York if they contain these chemicals.
5 SENATOR STEC: All right, thank
6 you. Mr. President, if the sponsor would
7 continue to yield, please.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
9 the sponsor yield?
10 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
12 sponsor yields.
13 SENATOR STEC: So through you,
14 Mr. President, so the bill excludes appliances
15 but not other electronics. Can you explain what
16 we're doing there, or how did we evolve so the
17 bill reads that way?
18 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Through you,
19 Mr. President, it matches the language of the
20 European Union.
21 We obviously try to be as consistent
22 as we can so that the business community has
23 level ground to play on. And it may come to a
24 point where we think that appliances are giving
25 off enough of these chemicals that it warrants
4706
1 regulation, but we figure this is a good place to
2 start and we'll take it from here, and at least
3 major manufacturers will be on an even playing
4 field whether they sell in Europe or here.
5 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
6 Mr. President. Through you, if the sponsor would
7 yield.
8 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
10 the sponsor yield?
11 The sponsor yields.
12 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
13 Mr. President.
14 So -- but it's my understanding that
15 in your legislation, "appliance" is not defined.
16 And as the bill doesn't define "appliances," the
17 term will likely have to be defined by I would
18 assume DEC. And would that create confusion
19 amongst all the thousands of electronic products
20 made around the world as to who is and isn't
21 included or excluded in the term "appliance"?
22 SENATOR KAMINSKY: One moment.
23 Through you, Mr. President, this
24 also matches the language in the European Union.
25 We have not had any problems with
4707
1 companies that we've talked to, and we've talked
2 to many, knowing what an appliance is or is not.
3 And the regulations, we think, will be
4 interpreted fairly clearly along those lines.
5 SENATOR STEC: All right.
6 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue to
7 yield.
8 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 sponsor yields.
11 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
12 Mr. President. Through you. So is exercise
13 equipment included specifically, like a Peloton
14 or a NordicTrack? Treadmills, they have screens;
15 these would have to conform with this. Are they
16 captured under this bill?
17 SENATOR KAMINSKY: There's a size
18 limitation on the screen. But many of those
19 products that you are mentioning don't use those
20 chemicals.
21 So I know -- the chemical lobby has
22 sometimes said to people, Oop, you know, you pass
23 this bill, someone's going to come take away your
24 Peloton. As a proud Peloton rider -- and I'll be
25 proud to put my output up against most of you,
4708
1 although not Senator Liu --
2 (Laughter.)
3 SENATOR KAMINSKY: -- I just think
4 these are scare tactics. Many of those products
5 don't have these chemicals in them at all. And,
6 you know, they -- all the companies are on clear
7 notice that if they have a screen big enough,
8 they cannot contain these chemicals.
9 If they already do, which we think
10 is few and far between, they have a few years to
11 get them out of their products. No one's coming
12 into anybody's home taking their products,
13 causing a problem. There's a lot of scare
14 tactics involved in this line of debate.
15 SENATOR STEC: Well, I appreciate
16 that.
17 Mr. President, if the sponsor would
18 continue to yield.
19 SENATOR KAMINSKY: And just one
20 more thing to add, Mr. President.
21 You know, Peloton, for example, is
22 sold in the European Union. I know this because
23 some of my favorite Peloton instructors are
24 broadcasting classes from the European Union.
25 And so they already have to comply with this
4709
1 anyway.
2 SENATOR STEC: Mr. President,
3 through you, the bill limits this --
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Are you
5 asking for the sponsor to yield?
6 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
7 SENATOR STEC: I thought he had,
8 and then he --
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will the
10 sponsor yield?
11 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
15 Mr. President. Through you, the bill is limited
16 to residential spaces, not offices and cars. Is
17 that accurate?
18 SENATOR KAMINSKY: That's accurate,
19 Mr. President.
20 SENATOR STEC: So, Mr. President,
21 through you, if the sponsor would yield.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will
23 the sponsor yield?
24 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4710
1 sponsor yields.
2 SENATOR STEC: So an electronic
3 device -- the same electronic device, one's in a
4 residential space and one's in an office space,
5 is the risk of fire similar?
6 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Through you,
7 Mr. President. I think the argument is a little
8 bit too rich to say we don't want this anywhere,
9 but why isn't it everywhere? Which I think is
10 what the Senator's saying, is hey, we don't -- we
11 have a problem with this in households, why
12 aren't you doing it in offices?
13 You know, the household environment
14 is something we have a little bit more control
15 of. We're obviously much more worried about
16 children crawling on the floors of homes, putting
17 products in their mouths, sitting on top of
18 mattresses and furniture. So we thought it was
19 appropriate to limit this to the household
20 sphere.
21 SENATOR STEC: Okay, Mr. President,
22 if the sponsor would continue to yield for one or
23 two more questions.
24 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
4711
1 the sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR STEC: All right, so --
6 well, I just -- the point of my previous question
7 is I always find that there's value in being
8 consistent, and physics doesn't change from one
9 environment to another.
10 Does this bill affect internet sales
11 coming into the state? I mean, anything that you
12 buy -- this isn't just stuff that's bought here,
13 but if you order it from somewhere else and it's
14 coming into New York, then how are we going to
15 enforce that?
16 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Through you,
17 Mr. President, this concerns products sold in
18 New York. There is no regulation over the type
19 of products that Senator Stec references.
20 SENATOR STEC: All right.
21 Mr. President, if the sponsor would yield for one
22 more question.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
24 the sponsor yield?
25 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes.
4712
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
4 Mr. President.
5 So firefighters are generally
6 overwhelmingly supportive of this, and certainly
7 these chemicals are of great concern. But I
8 wonder -- again, I want to circle back to -- I
9 think it's similar to the earlier question that I
10 asked. Why is it that no other state has jumped
11 on the "let's limit them in electronics"?
12 These electronic devices have
13 ignition sources. I've seen videos, I'm sure you
14 have as well, of just how fast an electronic
15 device can catch on fire. I mean, the difference
16 between that and furniture, which is where these
17 bans are more common, is that furniture generally
18 doesn't have an ignition source unless you bring
19 it with you in the form of a cigarette. But, you
20 know, electronic devices, we've seen a lot of
21 videos where they can malfunction, overheat, and
22 they have an ignition source.
23 So why is New York State the only
24 state that seems to be concerned with this, and
25 other states apparently have considered it and
4713
1 rejected it?
2 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Through you,
3 Mr. President. You know, flame retardants often
4 delay ignition for only a few seconds and can
5 make fires even more dangerous due to increased
6 smoke and toxic gases. And when organohalogen
7 flame retardants are present, fires will produce
8 halogenated dioxins and furans which may
9 contribute to elevated risks of cancer.
10 And it's important to note that when
11 you want to talk to the authority about whether
12 something will create a fire hazard, we normally
13 turn to our fire departments. And in this state,
14 both the volunteer and paid fire departments are
15 in unison in supporting this bill, because they
16 know that flame retardants are mildly helpful in
17 only certain circumstances, but very detrimental
18 when it comes to getting in their gear, getting
19 into their equipment, inhaling it, and how much
20 it harms children as well.
21 And when weighing those things out,
22 they have come to the conclusion that they are
23 far more harmful and that they want to protect
24 themselves and fellow firefighters from what
25 these inhalants do to their bodies.
4714
1 Now, why other states haven't
2 tackled this yet, I'm not sure. But I've stood
3 in this chamber many times when we have been the
4 first to take on important environmental
5 initiatives, and New York's always proud to lead
6 in those areas. Because the European Union has
7 done this, because many other states have done
8 the mattresses and the furniture part, it's not
9 exactly true that this bill is the first of its
10 kind.
11 But we know what the science says,
12 and there's no need to wait anymore. We know
13 what our firefighters say, and there's no need to
14 wait anymore. It's time to pass the Firefighter
15 and Family Protection Act.
16 SENATOR STEC: Mr. President, if
17 the sponsor would yield for one final question.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
19 the sponsor yield?
20 SENATOR KAMINSKY: I've heard that
21 before, but yes.
22 (Laughter.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 sponsor yields.
25 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
4715
1 Mr. President. That's why I emphasized it. I
2 apologize, I said final question, but just
3 listening to your answer -- so the -- similar to
4 the previous bill's debate where we talked about
5 New York's going to make a change of something
6 that's not manufactured in New York on an
7 industry -- in this case, a worldwide industry --
8 saying if you want to sell this in New York, you
9 have to change your manufacturing process to meet
10 our standards. And we're a small part of the
11 market.
12 So what do you foresee is going to
13 happen with the manufacturers in China, Japan,
14 elsewhere in the world that are making electronic
15 products for everyone else, and New York might be
16 1/90th of that market? Are they -- is the
17 expectation that they're going to change how they
18 make it for everyone else on the planet, or are
19 they going to have their own version of a product
20 that they're going to sell in New York and, you
21 know, the obvious inefficiencies and costs of
22 that?
23 I'm just curious what you envision
24 the reaction of the world manufacturing community
25 will be.
4716
1 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Through you,
2 Mr. President. You know, Senator Stec, that's a
3 good question. That's something that we have
4 grappled with.
5 I pride myself as being a legislator
6 that tries to do research, speak to the groups
7 about -- you know, on whom we're passing
8 regulations. We've talked to lots of businesses
9 about this.
10 And when you survey the field, they
11 are already doing this, (A) Because they don't
12 want to be responsible for hurting people, but
13 also because the European Union demands this.
14 So, you know, it's a pretty large
15 market when you consider how are you going to
16 produce products for a tremendous part of the
17 globe. And we believe that we are on the curve
18 of a trend of where everyone will be soon.
19 Will this cause some disruption?
20 I'm sure it will. We've made the decision that
21 the health of our firefighters and children are
22 more important. Companies are already adjusting
23 and will adjust. And that by 2024 we'll all be
24 watching TVs or looking at screens that are going
25 to look no different than you think they should
4717
1 look, except they're not going to contain these
2 dangerous chemicals within them.
3 SENATOR STEC: Mr. President, on
4 the bill, please.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
6 Stec on the bill.
7 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
8 Mr. President. I appreciate the sponsor's time
9 here today and his work on this bill. I know
10 he's been working on it very hard.
11 And certainly I think we all want
12 the best for all of our firefighters, and we want
13 their safety first and foremost. And I know that
14 this is a significant cause of concern for them.
15 Again, I just -- I am always
16 cautious about the tail wagging the dog in
17 New York, you know, under the guise of we're
18 going to lead and everyone else is going to
19 follow. I hope we're right and I think that
20 we're not doing other harm that could be avoided
21 in other aspects. But certainly for the health
22 of our firefighters, I think we all want to do --
23 to make the best decisions we can to make sure
24 that these men and women that serve and protect
25 us go home safely. So I appreciate and respect
4718
1 the sponsor's work in that regard.
2 Thank you.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Are
4 there any other Senators wishing to be heard?
5 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
6 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
7 Read the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
14 Kaminsky to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Thank you,
16 Senator Benjamin. Thank you, Mr. President.
17 It is quite weird that the last two
18 debates I've had in here, my debate opponent has
19 voted for the bill. Just weird. But it's nice,
20 I guess. Thank you, Senator Stec.
21 I am very proud of this bill and I'm
22 very proud to work with the firefighters across
23 New York State to protect their health, to
24 protect the health of our children and make sure
25 that when things burn, which is bad enough,
4719
1 they're not giving off toxic gases that years
2 later will cause cancer in the heroes who look
3 after us.
4 And certainly we want our children
5 to develop as healthy as possible and not be
6 putting dangerous chemicals in their bodies.
7 That's what this bill will do.
8 I predict in a few years you'll see
9 many states joining us, as this is where things
10 are headed, and I'm very proud of what we've been
11 able to achieve.
12 I want to thank Majority Leader
13 Stewart-Cousins for her vision in seeing this
14 bill through, and I look forward to seeing this
15 become the law.
16 Thank you very much, Mr. President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
18 Kaminsky to be recorded in the affirmative.
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
22 bill is passed.
23 Senator Kaminsky. Senator Kaminsky.
24 SENATOR KAMINSKY: Yes. We would
25 now like to call Calendar 1003.
4720
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 Secretary will read.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1003, Senate Print 5724A, by Senator Thomas, an
5 act to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
7 Palumbo.
8 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
9 Mr. President. Will the sponsor yield for a few
10 questions, please.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
12 the sponsor yield?
13 SENATOR THOMAS: Yes.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 sponsor yields.
16 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
17 Senator Thomas. Good evening.
18 With respect to this bill, this
19 reduces -- just a general discussion regarding
20 the A print and some amendments is that this bill
21 ultimately, and please correct me if I'm wrong,
22 reduces the interest rate for judgments against
23 consumers, and only consumers, to 2 percent from
24 the statutory interest rate of 9 percent. Is
25 that accurate?
4721
1 SENATOR THOMAS: Through you,
2 Mr. President, yes. This is for consumer-
3 debt-related cases.
4 So student loans, credit card debt,
5 medical debt, anything dealing with personal
6 household debt, that's what -- this reduces the
7 judgment interest from 9 percent to a cap of
8 2 percent.
9 SENATOR PALUMBO: Would the sponsor
10 continue to yield.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will
12 the sponsor yield?
13 SENATOR THOMAS: Through you,
14 Mr. President, yes.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
16 sponsor yields.
17 SENATOR PALUMBO: Through you,
18 Mr. President. This is a new iteration. It was
19 at 1.0, is that correct, in the previous version
20 of this bill?
21 SENATOR THOMAS: Through you,
22 Mr. President, we had amended it to cap it at
23 2 percent.
24 We had, in the other version of the
25 bill, the interest rate pegged at the Treasury
4722
1 one-year.
2 SENATOR PALUMBO: Would the sponsor
3 continue to yield.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
5 the sponsor yield?
6 SENATOR THOMAS: Yes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
8 sponsor yields.
9 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you.
10 Through you, Mr. President.
11 Would the interest rate that's less
12 than 2 percent apply retroactively to debts that
13 are currently in existence?
14 SENATOR THOMAS: Through you,
15 Mr. President. If I heard you correctly, does
16 the 2 percent cap on judgment interest that's
17 being executed right now, does it apply if it's
18 being executed right now, is that what the
19 question is?
20 SENATOR PALUMBO: Correct.
21 SENATOR THOMAS: Yes, it does.
22 So what would happen here is the
23 judgment creditor would inform the agency that is
24 collecting on this debt, and they will then
25 recalculate. And they are given, I believe,
4723
1 60 days to amend and make sure the judgment
2 debtor knows about this as well.
3 SENATOR PALUMBO: Would the sponsor
4 continue to yield.
5 SENATOR THOMAS: Yes.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: He
7 yields. The sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR PALUMBO: Senator, how
9 specifically is the up-to-2-percent new interest
10 rate calculated under this bill?
11 SENATOR THOMAS: Through you,
12 Mr. President, it is just 2 percent. So it is
13 not up to 2 percent, it is a cap of 2 percent.
14 And most of the time the plaintiff's firm will
15 calculate this. They have various programs to do
16 it. They've been doing this for a number of
17 years. And they are more than capable of
18 reducing the interest from 9 percent to 2
19 percent, amending the execution and sending it to
20 the debtor.
21 SENATOR PALUMBO: Would the sponsor
22 continue to yield.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will
24 the sponsor yield?
25 SENATOR THOMAS: Yes.
4724
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR PALUMBO: So as far as that
4 2 percent is concerned -- through you,
5 Mr. President -- is the 2 percent compounded
6 annually, daily, or something else?
7 SENATOR THOMAS: Through you,
8 Mr. President, the 2 percent is compounded
9 annually. It's simple interest.
10 SENATOR PALUMBO: I'm sorry?
11 SENATOR THOMAS: It's simple
12 interest. Compounded yearly.
13 SENATOR PALUMBO: Understood.
14 Would you continue to yield, please.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
16 the sponsor yield?
17 SENATOR THOMAS: Yes.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 sponsor yields.
20 SENATOR PALUMBO: So,
21 Senator Thomas, in an example that I have a
22 $100,000 judgment against me, I've been paying at
23 9 percent for several years, I have only $10,000
24 left to pay -- in the event the judgment interest
25 that I've been paying for many years, plus the
4725
1 principal payments that I've been paying, exceed
2 the new calculation at 2 percent, what do we do
3 with the extra money that's been paid to the
4 judgment creditor, please?
5 SENATOR THOMAS: Through you,
6 Mr. President. The whole reason why there is a
7 judgment in the first place is to make the
8 plaintiff whole.
9 Now, if through an execution -- now,
10 remember, this isn't any simple type of execution
11 here, this deals with a default judgment or a
12 default on a stipulation.
13 To your example, if you are in the
14 middle of an execution and you are paying
15 voluntarily and not through a garnishment of some
16 sort, which is where the marshals usually come
17 through -- if they have taken more than is
18 required under the law after this is passed, they
19 have to refund you. If it's more than the
20 judgment. All right?
21 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
22 continue to yield.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
24 the sponsor yield?
25 SENATOR THOMAS: Yes.
4726
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR PALUMBO: So in the event
4 this company owes the creditor -- because we
5 recalculate it now at 2 percent -- over time,
6 they have paid at 9 percent, so I owe money to
7 now this creditor, how is that money going to be
8 returned if they don't pay? Will there be a
9 judgment entered against the company for the
10 overpayment?
11 SENATOR THOMAS: Through you,
12 Mr. President, I don't understand your question.
13 Are you saying that if there is more
14 money taken after the recalculation, that somehow
15 the plaintiff creditor here, the judgment
16 creditor somehow goes out of business and they
17 cannot return the payment? Like I'm unsure as to
18 where you're going with this.
19 SENATOR PALUMBO: If you would
20 continue to yield, I'll rephrase that, please,
21 Senator.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
23 the sponsor yield?
24 SENATOR THOMAS: Yes.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4727
1 sponsor yields.
2 SENATOR PALUMBO: And I apologize.
3 I think I mixed up debtor and creditor.
4 And let me point you to the section
5 of the bill that I'm referring to. On page 5,
6 down at -- near the bottom, line 49: "Provided,
7 however, that if a judgment creditor issues an
8 amended execution pursuant to Section 5230 of
9 this article because the applicable interest rate
10 changes pursuant to Section 5004 of this chapter,
11 any money collected in excess of the judgment
12 amount shall be promptly returned to the debtor."
13 So my question really on that
14 section as well is if there is an overpayment,
15 and I'm a corporation, as the creditor, and I owe
16 money to the debtor, if I fail to pay that, how
17 is that remedied under this bill?
18 SENATOR THOMAS: Through you,
19 Mr. President, I would say through a routine
20 lawsuit where the debtor can bring an action for
21 a refund.
22 But knowing how this usually works,
23 it's not really the corporation that is
24 collecting the debt, it is a plaintiff's firm
25 that represents the corporation. And they
4728
1 usually have this money in escrow, and I'm sure
2 that they can work out some sort of agreement
3 here before it gets to that stage.
4 And one more bit of item here. When
5 these judgments are entered, they are not for
6 $100,000 amounts. The average judgments are
7 anywhere between $2,000 to $5,000. And these
8 affect the poorest of the poor here in the state.
9 And that 9 percent judgment interest
10 was there since the '80s, when the interest rate
11 was, you know, common. It is now around
12 2 percent. It is unconscionable to continue to
13 put this burden on our fellow constituents, our
14 fellow New Yorkers. They're going through so
15 much.
16 That's one of the reasons, one of
17 the primary reasons why we're doing this today,
18 to update the laws here in New York and to
19 protect consumers and give them a lending hand
20 and a second chance.
21 SENATOR PALUMBO: Would the sponsor
22 continue to yield.
23 SENATOR THOMAS: Yes.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 sponsor yields.
4729
1 SENATOR PALUMBO: Through you,
2 Mr. President, is the sponsor at all concerned
3 about the situation where there's a secondary
4 market where certain companies or law firms or
5 plaintiff's law firms, whoever it may be, that is
6 the creditor is actually paying, on a secondary
7 level, a 9 percent interest judgment and the
8 creditor pays the law firm, the law firm then
9 continues to pay off that other debt.
10 In the event that only the consumer
11 credit debt is going to be reduced to 2 percent,
12 do you have any sort of remedy for those
13 individuals, who are actually paying by way of a
14 third party, for example, a third party action of
15 some kind?
16 SENATOR THOMAS: Through you,
17 Mr. President. I mean, usually the debt is
18 collected by a law firm. Right? There is an
19 agreement where the big company here that is --
20 that hired the plaintiff's firm, you know, they
21 have a bulk of accounts, there is an agreement
22 here, and then they sue on those accounts.
23 Now, if they lose some sort of money
24 based off of this, it's the cost of doing
25 business and they can rebrand how they do this
4730
1 next time around.
2 But I don't see anything too
3 complicated here for them to actually, you know,
4 go forward with.
5 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
6 Senator. And would you yield for another
7 question, please.
8 SENATOR THOMAS: Yes.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
10 the sponsor yield?
11 The sponsor yields.
12 SENATOR PALUMBO: So I know that
13 you are describing the usual case. And through
14 you, Mr. President, that the sponsor certainly
15 understands that this -- the intent of this is of
16 course to have some sort of a hammer, I'm
17 assuming, over the creditor so that they have a
18 vested interest in paying the credit -- or paying
19 the debt and getting rid of it versus being, you
20 know, almost usurious rates where it's just
21 untenable at 9 percent.
22 Am I accurate in saying that that's
23 really your intent, from what I read from the
24 memo of this bill?
25 SENATOR THOMAS: Absolutely.
4731
1 SENATOR PALUMBO: Okay, thank you.
2 Would you continue to yield for
3 another question, please.
4 SENATOR THOMAS: Yes.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will
6 the sponsor yield?
7 The sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR PALUMBO: So my concern is
9 that there are certain situations when there are
10 even larger amounts, for example, there's a
11 third-party indemnification. Someone saying --
12 for example, I have a contractual agreement with
13 someone, I'm sued, and a 9 percent judgment is
14 entered against me. But I have, say, like a
15 contractor-subcontractor situation where you now
16 have this person is responsible for that debt for
17 various reasons, contractually, under common law.
18 They're only paying me 2 percent, yet I have to
19 pay 9 percent. So I'm basically playing bank for
20 a judgment that's not my responsibility.
21 And can you tell me if that's
22 reconciled in any way in this legislation?
23 SENATOR THOMAS: Through you,
24 Mr. President, that's the cost of doing business.
25 Right? This is how things work here in this
4732
1 state, where we see something that is so
2 unconscionable, like that interest rate, and we
3 want to change what's happening here and we lower
4 it. It's the cost of doing business.
5 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
6 Mr. President. Thank you, Senator.
7 On the bill, please.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
9 Palumbo on the bill.
10 SENATOR PALUMBO: Mr. President --
11 and I get that. And the lack of a better
12 explanation than that's just tough and that's the
13 cost of doing business is not some way that I
14 think we should be legislating.
15 I think that we need to keep in mind
16 that, yes, we do want to help the little guy.
17 But oftentimes the little guy -- maybe a small
18 business is owed money for services, for goods
19 that they provided, and someone is not paying it.
20 We have a system of justice. And
21 now, quite frankly, having practiced law for many
22 years, 9 percent may be a little much. But to
23 retroactively apply it I think is a huge mistake,
24 because there are going to be so many unintended
25 consequences and so many small businesses and
4733
1 smaller companies and individuals that will be
2 hurt by this, that that far outweighs the
3 benefits of just basically forgiving debt.
4 Because that's about what we're
5 doing. Two percent interest is pretty much
6 nothing at this point.
7 So quite frankly, if a credit card
8 were to sue me and crank up their 18, 19 percent
9 interest rates, I would just confess judgment.
10 It's the best investment I have. Crank up my
11 credit cards, max them out, say come get me, and
12 then invest it -- maybe by cryptocurrency. Or
13 maybe just put it in the market.
14 So there needs to be a balance here.
15 And unfortunately -- I understand there's a
16 laudable intent by the sponsor, but unfortunately
17 I don't think this is the way to do it.
18 Thank you again, Mr. President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Are
20 there any other Senators wishing to be heard?
21 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
22 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
23 Read the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
4734
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
5 Thomas to explain his vote.
6 SENATOR THOMAS: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 I want to thank the leader for
9 bringing this important legislation to the floor.
10 This could not be more timely, as New Yorkers
11 recover from the harsh economic impacts of the
12 COVID-19 pandemic.
13 Now more than ever, we need to
14 protect New Yorkers from further financial
15 hardship. For far too long the judgment interest
16 rate on consumer debt has been widely out of step
17 with current market rates. Under current law, an
18 unpaid judgment accrues interest at the rate of
19 9 percent in New York State. The rate has not
20 been amended since 1981, when the average rate
21 for a one-year U.S. Treasury bill was over
22 14 percent.
23 Today's rates are significantly
24 lower, remaining under 2 percent for the last
25 20 years. This disparity has directly
4735
1 contributed to an epidemic of abusive debt
2 collection lawsuits, which have inundated
3 New York courts since the early 2000s. These
4 lawsuits are notoriously lacking in basic
5 information, and sometimes filed against the
6 wrong people.
7 Predatory debt buyers exploit our
8 laws, knowing that the burden will fall on
9 consumers to prove that the suits are frivolous
10 and unsubstantiated. In the vast majority of
11 these cases, consumers do not have access to the
12 legal knowledge or information needed to protect
13 themselves.
14 Thousands of New Yorkers have lost
15 jobs or incomes in the past year as a result of
16 the pandemic, rendering them unable to pay down
17 credit card debt, student loans, auto loans and
18 mortgages. In the majority of these cases,
19 consumers are forced to make the impossible
20 choice of putting food on the table over paying a
21 debt.
22 These lawsuits disproportionately
23 harm communities of color, low- and middle-income
24 New Yorkers. That is why it is so critical that
25 we make a much-needed update to our laws.
4736
1 This legislation lowers the interest
2 rate that defendants pay on consumer judgments
3 and accrued claims, through a much fairer rate
4 that is consistent with market rates at 2
5 percent. In doing so we can both reduce the
6 number of predatory and fraudulent lawsuits in
7 our courts and ensure that vulnerable New Yorkers
8 are protected against these exceptionally
9 challenging times.
10 I vote in the affirmative. Thank
11 you, Mr. President.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
13 Thomas to be recorded in the affirmative.
14 Announce the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
16 Calendar 1003, those Senators voting in the
17 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
18 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
19 Martucci, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath,
20 Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
21 Ayes, 45. Nays, 18.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
23 bill is passed.
24 Senator Gianaris.
25 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
4737
1 at this point let's move on to Calendar 1054.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
3 Secretary will read.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1054, Senate Print 4413, by Senator May, an act
6 to amend the Election Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
8 Rath.
9 SENATOR RATH: Thank you,
10 Mr. President. Would the sponsor yield for a few
11 questions.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
13 the sponsor yield?
14 SENATOR MAY: Absolutely.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
16 sponsor yields.
17 SENATOR RATH: Thank you, Senator
18 May. I have a few process questions.
19 Under the current Election Law,
20 county boards of elections are empowered to apply
21 their own rules for designating petitions. Under
22 this proposed legislation, there would be a
23 standardized process, of which filing and
24 disposition of petitions would be the same across
25 all of New York State.
4738
1 So my first process question is: In
2 crafting this legislation, were any elections
3 commissioners consulted?
4 SENATOR MAY: Well, the State Board
5 of Elections was definitely consulted.
6 And otherwise, what we have found is
7 that there have been a number of lawsuits because
8 the procedures across the state are so different
9 and so complicated.
10 So this bill is designed to simplify
11 and standardize those procedures so that
12 candidates can understand if their petitions have
13 been challenged or not. And boards of elections
14 can -- they're already applying these rules to
15 state-level races, so it would just simplify
16 things for them as well.
17 SENATOR RATH: Through you,
18 Mr. President, will the sponsor continue to
19 yield.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
21 the sponsor yield?
22 SENATOR MAY: Absolutely.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 sponsor yields.
25 SENATOR RATH: Were any small or
4739
1 large urban or rural area elections commissioners
2 consulted in this proposed legislation?
3 SENATOR MAY: Through you,
4 Mr. President. I have been in touch with the
5 Onondaga County Board of Elections, the
6 Democratic elections commissioner, who is in
7 favor of this. But I'm not aware of others being
8 consulted.
9 SENATOR RATH: Through you,
10 Mr. President, will the sponsor continue to
11 yield?
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
13 the sponsor yield?
14 SENATOR MAY: Absolutely.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
16 sponsor yields.
17 SENATOR RATH: Were commissioners
18 from both Republican and Democrat parties
19 consulted in this proposed legislation?
20 SENATOR MAY: I don't know the
21 answer to that. Through you, Mr. President.
22 SENATOR RATH: Through you,
23 Mr. President, will the sponsor continue to
24 yield.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
4740
1 the sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR MAY: Absolutely.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR RATH: Thank you.
6 Does the New York State Election
7 Commissioners Association have a position on this
8 bill?
9 SENATOR MAY: So not that I'm aware
10 of. Through you, Mr. President.
11 But I -- these are the regulations
12 in this state. They are already implementing
13 these regulations. They are working. They are
14 not subject to the number of lawsuits that we are
15 seeing about the idiosyncratic options that
16 different boards of elections have been
17 employing.
18 And so this is a streamlining effort
19 that should be welcomed by the boards of
20 elections all across the state.
21 SENATOR RATH: Mr. President, on
22 the bill.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
24 Rath on the bill.
25 SENATOR RATH: I have serious
4741
1 concerns about this bill, as it does not appear
2 that our county boards of elections across
3 New York State have had adequate input regarding
4 these proposed election changes.
5 A standardized one-size-fits-all
6 approach does not recognize the very diverse
7 needs of our diverse boards of elections all
8 across our great state.
9 If the goal is to improve our
10 election process, we should be speaking to the
11 very individuals who are empowered to administer
12 our elections. And based on the responses I
13 heard here today, those people were not consulted
14 with.
15 I believe the due diligence that is
16 necessary was not applied to this legislation,
17 and for these reasons I'll be voting in the
18 negative.
19 Thank you, Mr. President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Are
21 there any other Senators wishing to be heard?
22 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
23 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
24 Read the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4742
1 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
2 shall have become a law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
7 May to explain her vote.
8 SENATOR MAY: Thank you,
9 Mr. President. And thank you to my distinguished
10 colleague for your questions.
11 I want to say about this bill that
12 right now we make it incredibly difficult for
13 candidates to get on the ballot in some areas of
14 this state.
15 And this particular issue of
16 candidates not knowing if a petition -- if their
17 petition signatures have been challenged causes
18 enormous difficulties for people who have worked
19 very hard to get -- to cross that hurdle to get
20 themselves on the ballot.
21 There are places in the state where
22 they just have to hang around outside the Board
23 of Elections and keep asking and asking and
24 asking. And they might get the information, they
25 might not.
4743
1 It is a system designed to make it
2 difficult for people. And we want to improve our
3 democracy by making it clear what it takes for a
4 candidate to get on the ballot.
5 So I am proud of this bill. I think
6 streamlining these regulations makes sense
7 statewide. I think every Board of Elections is
8 already implementing these rules for some races,
9 and it is not going to be a difficulty for them
10 to implement them across the board.
11 So I am proud of this bill, and I
12 vote aye.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
14 May to be recorded in the affirmative.
15 Announce the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
17 Calendar 1054, those Senators voting in the
18 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Griffo,
19 Helming, Lanza, Martucci, Ortt, Rath, Ritchie,
20 Serino, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
21 Ayes, 50. Nays 13.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
23 bill is passed.
24 Senator Gianaris.
25 SENATOR GIANARIS: And I believe
4744
1 last -- but not least -- Calendar 1586, please.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
3 Secretary will read.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1586, Assembly Print Number 2396A, by
6 Assemblymember Woerner, an act to amend the
7 Public Service Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
9 Palumbo.
10 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
11 Mr. President. Would the sponsor yield for a few
12 questions, please.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
14 the sponsor yield?
15 SENATOR HINCHEY: Yes.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
17 sponsor yields.
18 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
19 Senator Hinchey. Good evening. How are you?
20 I just have a few questions that
21 were brought to my attention, because obviously
22 we know broadband is a very significant issue in
23 the upstate region.
24 So just kind of as a general
25 discussion, under current law, when someone is
4745
1 attaching to a utility pole -- the attacher, I
2 guess, as we will call them -- who typically
3 would bear that expense under current law in the
4 event that there were costs incurred? Maybe a
5 pole needed to be replaced, for example.
6 SENATOR HINCHEY: Through you,
7 Mr. President. Right now if a pole is needing to
8 be replaced, the attacher pays for that pole to
9 be replaced, even though they are much smaller
10 companies.
11 SENATOR PALUMBO: Through you,
12 Mr. President, will the sponsor continue to
13 yield, please.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
15 the sponsor yield?
16 SENATOR HINCHEY: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR PALUMBO: So, Senator,
20 basically the short answer for what this
21 legislation would do, it would then require the
22 pole owner to bear those costs. Is that
23 accurate? And if not, please correct me.
24 SENATOR HINCHEY: Through you,
25 Madam President -- Mr. President, I'm sorry. But
4746
1 I haven't been here with you before, my
2 colleague.
3 (Laughter.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: No
5 problem. No problem.
6 SENATOR HINCHEY: Automatic
7 response.
8 Right now, through the PSC, yes, we
9 are looking -- the attacher has to -- would pay
10 that cost, and this bill is looking to change
11 that.
12 We are actually looking to be more
13 in line with federal regulations because we know
14 that the way the law is currently written,
15 hinders broadband buildout in more rural
16 communities.
17 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
18 continue to yield, please.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
20 the sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR HINCHEY: Yes,
22 Mr. President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 sponsor yields.
25 SENATOR PALUMBO: Now, as far as
4747
1 broadband companies there are some nonprofits,
2 but a lot of them -- and the vast majority of
3 them -- are for-profit businesses, is that
4 accurate?
5 SENATOR HINCHEY: Many of the small
6 broadband companies -- many of the broadband
7 companies are very small, especially in our rural
8 communities, which is what we are looking to
9 help. They represent 20,000 or fewer homes. So
10 you can imagine that their customer base and
11 their revenue sources are very small.
12 SENATOR PALUMBO: And would the
13 Senator continue to yield, please.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will
15 the sponsor yield?
16 SENATOR HINCHEY: Yes,
17 Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 sponsor yields.
20 SENATOR PALUMBO: And this bill
21 would be applicable statewide, is that accurate?
22 SENATOR HINCHEY: Through you,
23 Mr. President, yes, it would be statewide.
24 SENATOR PALUMBO: Would the sponsor
25 continue to yield.
4748
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will
2 the sponsor yield?
3 SENATOR HINCHEY: Yes,
4 Mr. President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 sponsor yields.
7 SENATOR PALUMBO: Have you had any
8 opportunity to consult with utility companies to
9 possibly find maybe a happy medium? Versus this
10 bill, which requires the owner of the poles to
11 bear all the costs of the attachment.
12 SENATOR HINCHEY: Through you,
13 Mr. President. Yes, we have met with utility
14 companies and the broadband companies. And what
15 we know is that the utility companies have a plan
16 for when these poles need to be replaced. They
17 have a calendar knowing when each pole is going
18 to be out of order, when it's aged out and needs
19 to be replaced. Therefore, those utility
20 companies are currently charging ratepayers for
21 those replacements.
22 When an attacher or a new broadband
23 company comes along wanting to attach to build
24 out broadband in rural communities, those utility
25 companies then charge the broadband company for
4749
1 the replacement of the pole, therefore being paid
2 twice for the pole replacement.
3 What this bill does -- and we've
4 talked to the utility companies. They're paid
5 twice for these poles. And so what this bill
6 does is if the utility company attracted any
7 money from ratepayers to replace a pole, that
8 amend of money is not put on the new broadband
9 provider.
10 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
11 continue to yield.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
13 the sponsor yield?
14 SENATOR HINCHEY: Yes,
15 Mr. President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
17 sponsor yields.
18 SENATOR PALUMBO: Is the Senator
19 aware of the approximate costs that were -- well,
20 let me say they were represented to me.
21 Replacement of a pole could be anywhere from
22 $3500 to $35,000. In light of all the costs --
23 primary wires, primary switches, transfer,
24 risers, the labor, the drawout -- it could be up
25 to $35,000 to replace a pole. And that these
4750
1 utility companies are required to inspect every
2 pole every five years.
3 SENATOR HINCHEY: Through you,
4 Mr. President, yes, we do. And that's exactly
5 why this bill is so important.
6 These utility companies know -- they
7 inspect them every five years. They know when
8 poles need to be replaced. Therefore, they are
9 already -- and they know how expensive each pole
10 will be. Therefore, they are already putting
11 that cost onto ratepayers -- and then making an
12 additional amount of money by charging the
13 independent broadband companies for that
14 replacement as well.
15 That's why this bill is so
16 important, to remove that double dipping through
17 payment for how high of a cost these poles are.
18 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
19 continue to yield.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
21 the sponsor yield?
22 SENATOR HINCHEY: Yes,
23 Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 sponsor yields.
4751
1 SENATOR PALUMBO: Is the sponsor
2 suggesting that the utility companies replace
3 every pole every five years, and that's how
4 they're getting double paid for it? Or that
5 they're just collecting a rate based upon their
6 actual attrition of the average cost in the life
7 of a pole?
8 SENATOR HINCHEY: Through you,
9 Mr. President. No, they are not replacing every
10 pole. But they know when the poles will need to
11 be replaced.
12 To be clear, if an attacher, if a
13 broadband company needs to attach to a pole that
14 does not need to be replaced, that broadband
15 company, that attacher, still pays for the cost
16 of attaching to the pole.
17 If that broadband company, if that
18 attacher needs to attach to a pole that is due to
19 be replaced, and the utility company has been
20 collecting money for that replacement from the
21 ratepayers, then that cost cannot be shifted also
22 to the broadband company.
23 SENATOR PALUMBO: Will the sponsor
24 continue to yield, please.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
4752
1 the sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR HINCHEY: Yes,
3 Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
5 sponsor yields.
6 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
7 Senator.
8 And really one more area. I would
9 just like to see if we can reconcile the concerns
10 that were expressed to me.
11 That under the United States Code,
12 it's 47 USC 224, it reads: "A utility providing
13 electric service may deny a cable television
14 system or any telecommunications carrier access
15 to its poles, ducts, conduits or rights-of-way on
16 a nondiscriminatory basis where there is
17 insufficient capacity, and for reasons of safety,
18 reliability and generally acceptable engineering
19 purposes."
20 So how do you reconcile this
21 legislation, which now requires the utility to
22 pay? And of course just so we're clear, they're
23 a nice villain. I don't love -- we're not saying
24 that we necessarily love -- for everybody on
25 Long Island, LIPA is, you know, not everybody's
4753
1 favorite, I guess, because you have to pay that
2 bill. We understand.
3 But the problem is those costs, when
4 they're incurred by the utility, they're
5 ultimately ours, they're yours and mine. And the
6 ratepayer ultimately has to eat that.
7 So under the federal law, they can
8 deny access to the broadband, and that may be the
9 problem upstate, that they can deny them access
10 to the pole because from an engineering
11 standpoint, the pole is too low, there's not
12 enough head space, the pole's too weak that with
13 the extra weight it may not survive a storm.
14 So with all of that being
15 considered, how do you reconcile this bill, which
16 mandates payment, with federal law?
17 SENATOR HINCHEY: Through you,
18 Mr. President. Federal law still stands. That
19 we still have to comply with federal law.
20 And federal law actually allows
21 states to regulate in this area. That's part of
22 that federal law. That's why, as you started
23 off, right now current law favors the utility
24 company. It does not favor buildout for the
25 broadband companies.
4754
1 What our bill does is switches that
2 premise, making sure that it's easier for smaller
3 broadband companies to build out in rural areas,
4 which is much more in line with federal
5 regulations and federal guidelines already.
6 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
7 Senator. Just a few more questions on a related
8 area, if I may. Would you continue to yield?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Does
10 the sponsor yield?
11 SENATOR HINCHEY: Yes,
12 Mr. President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
14 sponsor yields.
15 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
16 Senator Hinchey.
17 Now, this bill is effective
18 statewide?
19 SENATOR HINCHEY: Through you,
20 Mr. President, yes, this bill is effective
21 statewide.
22 We know that there are communities
23 across this state that are experiencing
24 hindrances with broadband buildout.
25 SENATOR PALUMBO: Would you
4755
1 continue to yield for one last question.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Will
3 the sponsor yield?
4 SENATOR HINCHEY: Yes,
5 Mr. President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR PALUMBO: Senator, based on
9 the concerns regarding the costs to ratepayers,
10 would you be certainly willing to keep an open
11 mind in the event that this would be done
12 possibly in a limited area, maybe for a period of
13 a few years? Because that's what I believe some
14 changes were proposed, at least to my office,
15 that I'd like to convey to you. Would you be
16 willing to consider that, in the event this
17 ultimately gets passed?
18 SENATOR HINCHEY: Through you,
19 Mr. President. I believe we probably saw those
20 same proposals. You know, we are happy to always
21 continue the conversation.
22 But that said, there are communities
23 downstate and upstate that are struggling with
24 access to broadband. And what we've seen through
25 this pandemic -- which if you live in a community
4756
1 without internet, you knew this before -- but I
2 think what everybody has seen through this
3 pandemic is that there are people who live
4 without it who have to make impossible choices:
5 Do they take their car to work or do they go to a
6 library so their kid can access -- can do
7 schoolwork? Right? How do they check their bank
8 account if they're being told not to go into a
9 bank teller?
10 You know, we know that is happening
11 across this state, and so we have to do, as a
12 body, everything we can to make sure people have
13 access to the internet. What this bill does is
14 makes it a lot easier to do that.
15 So we are always open for
16 conversations, but the bill as it is makes sure
17 that it is easier for people to get internet
18 access.
19 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
20 Senator. I appreciate your time.
21 On the bill, please, Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
23 Palumbo on the bill.
24 SENATOR PALUMBO: And I thank the
25 sponsor for her time and this exchange to clarify
4757
1 this. And in the interests of full disclosure,
2 I'm voting for this. Broadband is a problem.
3 And particularly during this pandemic -- not
4 necessarily down by me, but up north -- there
5 were students who had to do exactly that. They
6 had to go to the library. They had to go to the
7 Starbucks to do their schoolwork.
8 This needs to be addressed. My only
9 suggestion is this. This bill is not perfect.
10 It's nowhere near perfect, in my opinion, because
11 ultimately the ratepayer will bear this cost.
12 Because there are reasonable -- they
13 can apply -- under this bill, the utilities can
14 apply to the Public Service Commission for
15 reasonable costs. And quite frankly, if they're
16 mandated to extend broadband into the
17 St. Lawrence River, then that would probably be a
18 reasonable cost when they need to build
19 engineeringly appropriate telephone poles to
20 sustain the weight and the extension.
21 So that's the wrinkle that I'm
22 really concerned with. And I would suggest that
23 we possibly consider doing this with a sunset
24 period, have just a few years where we do it or
25 we do it in certain areas of the state to see how
4758
1 it's going, or to take the enacting clause and
2 move it to April and put a grant on it, and put
3 real money on it so that those folks who don't
4 have broadband in New York state get it.
5 Because we're all concerned about
6 that very, very issue. And I know the upstate
7 delegations are more concerned than most, because
8 obviously they don't live in as densely populated
9 an area.
10 So I certainly appreciate the
11 laudable intent of this bill. We need -- this is
12 a good start to the conversation. And I would
13 just ask that some of those considerations be
14 discussed and digested.
15 Thank you again, Mr. President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Are
17 there any other Senators wishing to be heard?
18 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
19 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
20 Read the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
23 shall have become a law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
25 the roll.
4759
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
3 Hinchey to explain her vote.
4 SENATOR HINCHEY: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 And just to start with a comment on
7 my colleague's comments. Thank you for the
8 debate and for your support on this bill and for
9 knowing how important broadband buildout is.
10 The ratepayers are already paying
11 this cost. The problem is these companies are
12 also charging the broadband companies, making it
13 harder to build out into rural areas.
14 A quick story. Margaretville
15 Telephone Company is a broadband provider in my
16 district and around our region. They had a
17 program to build out high speed internet to
18 13,000 homes that were fully unserved with
19 internet. And their final project cost totaled
20 four times the budgeted amount because of
21 unforeseen pole replacement costs.
22 That then forced them to halt the
23 buildout so that they could manage cash flow,
24 because they are a small provider. Meaning more
25 households were left without internet for longer
4760
1 than they were supposed to be because of the
2 unforeseen costs put upon them by the utility
3 companies.
4 That is a travesty. We are living
5 in a world where internet is no longer a luxury,
6 it is effectively a utility. It is a necessity
7 for everyone to live their lives at the way that
8 we expect them to live them.
9 And we have to be doing as a body
10 everything that we can to make sure every single
11 household across this state has reliable,
12 high-speed access to the internet.
13 This is a bill that supports the
14 broadband providers to build out, because they
15 have been taking costs that they cannot afford,
16 hindering the broadband buildout.
17 I thank my colleague for the debate.
18 I thank leadership in the Senate for taking up
19 this incredibly important bill. And I'm
20 incredibly proud to vote aye.
21 Thank you very much.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
23 Hinchey to be recorded in the affirmative.
24 Announce the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4761
1 Calendar 1586, those Senators voting in the
2 negative are Senators Helming, Martucci and
3 Mattera.
4 Ayes, 60. Nays, 3.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 bill is passed.
7 Senator Serrano, that completes the
8 reading of the controversial calendar.
9 SENATOR SERRANO: Thank you.
10 Mr. President, with unanimous
11 consent, I move to remove Calendar Number 1564
12 from the controversial calendar and restore it to
13 the noncontroversial calendar.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Without
15 objection, so ordered.
16 SENATOR SERRANO: Now let's take up
17 Calendar Number 1564 on the noncontroversial
18 calendar.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
20 Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1564, Senate Print 6486B, by Senator Parker, an
23 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
25 the last section.
4762
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
7 May to explain her vote.
8 SENATOR MAY: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 The deep cold waters of the Finger
11 Lakes and the massive basin of Lake Ontario,
12 these are treasures of global significance. Over
13 the years they have also been attractive
14 locations for fossil fuel power plants that need
15 large amounts of water for cooling. Many of
16 these power plants have gone offline as demand
17 for the energy has waned due to greater energy
18 efficiency and the shift away from fossil fuel
19 sources.
20 But lately they have become
21 attractive to global currency speculators who
22 need lots of energy and cooling water to run
23 high-speed computers around the clock to generate
24 digital signatures that can be monetized as
25 cryptocurrency.
4763
1 In other words, in order to make a
2 quick profit, these operations incur enormous
3 environmental costs. The small number of jobs
4 they create, the limited local benefits they
5 provide are minuscule compared to the damage they
6 do.
7 For example, the Greenwich Plant on
8 Seneca Lake takes more than a million gallons of
9 cold water every day out of the lake, heats it up
10 and returns it to the lake, where it harms trout
11 fisheries and threatens more harmful algal
12 blooms.
13 If we are serious about combating
14 climate change, if we care about our freshwater
15 treasures, if we care about tourism and the
16 quality of life on our lakes, we need to make
17 sure this industry submits to a full
18 environmental review.
19 I wanted to thank the Senate
20 sponsor, Senator Parker, and the Assembly
21 sponsor, Assemblymember Kelles, and the
22 leadership and my colleagues for supporting this
23 bill, and I proudly vote aye.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
25 May to be recorded in the affirmative.
4764
1 Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
3 Calendar 1564, those Senators voting in the
4 negative are Senators Akshar, Benjamin, Borrello,
5 Cooney, Gallivan, Gaughran, Griffo, Helming,
6 Jordan, Kennedy, Lanza, Martucci, Mattera,
7 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rath,
8 Reichlin-Melnick, Ritchie, Savino, Serino,
9 Skoufis, Stavisky, Stec, Tedisco and Weik.
10 Ayes, 36. Nays, 27.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
12 bill is passed.
13 Senator Serrano.
14 SENATOR SERRANO: Mr. President, is
15 there any further business at the desk?
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
17 is no further business at the desk.
18 SENATOR SERRANO: I move to adjourn
19 until Wednesday, June 9th, at 12:00 p.m.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: On
21 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
22 Wednesday, June 9th, at 12:00 p.m.
23 (Whereupon, at 5:44 p.m., the Senate
24 adjourned.)
25