Regular Session - May 8, 2023
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1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
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6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 May 8, 2023
11 3:24 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR ROXANNE J. PERSAUD, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
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21
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24
25
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: 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 PERSAUD:
9 Monsignor John Tutone, of Parish of Sacred Heart
10 in Island Park, New York, will deliver today's
11 invocation.
12 Monsignor.
13 MONSIGNOR TUTONE: Before calling
14 upon a blessing for all the members of this very
15 important chamber, a little Bible history.
16 King Solomon, one of the many sons
17 of King David -- we're talking maybe 2500,
18 2600 years ago -- David was getting old, and
19 David knew that he would sleep with his ancestors
20 soon, but the succession was not well
21 established. He had many sons, there were many
22 rival camps. They had chosen three or four
23 individuals, and people divided and they
24 supported these individuals, probably because of
25 what they were going to get.
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1 And there was a lot of jockeying for
2 position, and there was a lot of rumors and a lot
3 of things that were being done in the back rooms
4 of the palaces. Very unlike what would ever
5 happen today.
6 All this was going on, and Solomon
7 was one of the contenders. And Solomon wanted
8 very much to be a contender, and he wanted to be
9 king. But he never really stopped and examined
10 his motives: Why do I want to be king? Well, my
11 brothers want to be king, so I want to be king.
12 So they all were jockeying for position.
13 And finally, in the end, Solomon
14 won, and the people who supported him won, and
15 Solomon found himself king. He suddenly had
16 great power and great authority.
17 And at that moment he woke up, and
18 he said -- because he had a good conscience, he
19 said, Now, what am I going to do now that I am
20 king? Every week people will come to me to make
21 decisions. They will ask me to make decisions
22 that affect their lives, that will either bring
23 them good or bring them harm. I have no idea how
24 to do this. I could listen to the people around
25 me, but I kind of am not sure about what their
3647
1 motives are. I don't know how to do this.
2 So in the Book of Kings, in the
3 Old Testament, Solomon made a very sincere
4 prayer. He said: God, help me. I have to make
5 decisions. I don't know what the right decisions
6 will be. I don't want to please people. I want
7 to please You. I want to take good care of the
8 people you have entrusted to me. God, help me to
9 do that.
10 So God answered Solomon as he
11 prayed. And God said to Solomon, He said: If
12 you had asked me to eliminate your enemies, I
13 would have understood; that would have been a
14 reasonable request, and I might have done it for
15 you. If you had asked me for great wealth so
16 that you could buy things for your people and be
17 secure and everyone could be well fed, I probably
18 would have given you that too.
19 He said: But you prayed the prayer
20 of the sincere soul that wants to do good for
21 other people, and that pleases me very much,
22 Solomon.
23 So God told Solomon: I will give
24 you the gift of wisdom. And that when decisions
25 and choices are placed in front of you, because
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1 you want to please me and take care of the people
2 that I have entrusted to you, I'll give you the
3 wisdom to do that, Solomon. And I'll give you
4 great wealth and I'll eliminate your enemies too.
5 I'll do all those things for you because of the
6 sincerity of the prayer of your heart.
7 May I this afternoon pray with all
8 of you.
9 Dear God, give us wisdom. You
10 search hearts. You told us that a sparrow
11 doesn't fall from the sky that You don't know
12 about it. You read and search the hearts of
13 people.
14 Please look into our hearts, and may
15 each of us -- because all in our own way, whether
16 it be here in the Senate, for the great State of
17 New York, whether it be at home with your
18 children, whether it be with your friends, your
19 constituents -- we all want to take good care of
20 the people that God gives us, because that
21 pleases God.
22 God, we repeat the prayer of
23 Solomon. Give us wisdom. Give us wisdom to seek
24 out Your good and to do what pleases You.
25 Amen.
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1 (Response of "Amen.")
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Reading
3 of the Journal.
4 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Friday,
5 May 5, 2023, the Senate met pursuant to
6 adjournment. The Journal of Thursday, May 4,
7 2023, was read and approved. On motion, the
8 Senate adjourned.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Without
10 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
11 Presentation of petitions.
12 Messages from the Assembly.
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: Madam President,
21 good afternoon.
22 Amendments are offered to the
23 following Third Reading Calendar bills:
24 By Senator Salazar, page 8, Calendar
25 77, Senate Print 608B;
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1 Senator Thomas, page 14, Calendar
2 325, Senate Print 358A;
3 Senator Breslin, page 15, Calendar
4 345, Senate Print 1466;
5 Senator Martinez, page 27, Calendar
6 614, Senate Print 6211A; and
7 Senator Fernandez, page 29, Calendar
8 647, Senate Print 5485.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
10 amendments are received, and the bills will
11 retain their place on the Third Reading Calendar.
12 Senator Gianaris.
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now move
14 to previously adopted Resolution 857, by
15 Senator May, read its title, and recognize
16 Senator May.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
18 Clerk will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
20 857, by Senator May, memorializing Governor
21 Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 4, 2023, as
22 Volunteer Firefighters Appreciation Day in the
23 State of New York.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
25 May on the resolution.
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1 SENATOR MAY: Thank you,
2 Madam President.
3 I rise once again to honor and
4 celebrate our dedicated volunteer firefighters in
5 New York, in conjunction with International
6 Firefighter Appreciation Day, which occurred on
7 May 4th.
8 Ten days ago I had the privilege to
9 attend the annual dinner of the Borodino Fire
10 Department in my district, and to honor them and
11 the Spafford Fire Department for 75 years of
12 service to their rural communities.
13 At that meeting I also recognized
14 David Miller for 50 years of service. A
15 milestone that sounds improbable given the
16 hundreds of hours of training and response time
17 these volunteers put in every year.
18 But I'm willing to bet that a lot of
19 my colleagues in this chamber have made
20 commendations for 50 years of service to
21 volunteer firefighters as well, because the
22 selfless dedication and perseverance of volunteer
23 firefighters is truly a remarkable thing.
24 If you ever have a chance to attend
25 one of these ceremonies, what you'll see is a
3652
1 family. Often literally many members of the same
2 family will share the commitment to service as
3 firefighters or auxiliary supporters. But even
4 those who are unrelated by blood are still
5 profoundly connected by their mutual
6 responsibility and sacrifice and the long hours
7 they put in together, the many meals they miss --
8 being with their families. They take care of
9 each other's families when others are having to
10 be out on the job.
11 Volunteer firefighters exemplify the
12 character of Americans at their best, with a
13 generosity of spirit and dedication to helping a
14 neighbor in their time of need.
15 This year, in addition to offering
16 support and recognizing their service with this
17 resolution, I'm happy to report that the budget
18 we passed last week includes authority for a fire
19 department to give a training stipend to
20 firefighter trainees to help offset the costs for
21 the training course that they must take.
22 I hope this support for training
23 will make recruitment a bit easier. Volunteer
24 firefighters are a critical lifeline in rural
25 areas, and the number of volunteer firefighters
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1 is declining at a disturbing rate. Since 1990,
2 volunteer firefighter membership has dropped
3 25 percent. And while the state has made gains
4 in recruitment through a Recruit New York
5 program, lengthy training requirements for new
6 recruits pose significant hurdles for potential
7 new members.
8 I'm proud and honored to sponsor
9 this resolution to show our appreciation for our
10 New York volunteer firefighters, in conjunction
11 with International Firefighters Day. Today I
12 call on our state to take a moment to
13 thoughtfully consider and appreciate the service
14 of our volunteer firefighters in New York, and
15 commit ourselves toward policies that adequately
16 demonstrate that appreciation and all that they
17 do, especially for our rural communities.
18 Thank you.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
20 you.
21 Senator Ryan on the resolution.
22 SENATOR RYAN: Thank you,
23 Madam President.
24 Thank you, Senator May, for
25 sponsoring this important resolution.
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1 I am proud to have 18 volunteer fire
2 companies in the 61st Senate District.
3 Firefighters all across New York and
4 across the country, they perform heroically, they
5 take great personal risk, time away from their
6 family. But they are the first responders in
7 suburban and rural New York State. It's only
8 right that we take a day to recognize them for
9 their service to the rest of us and to everyone
10 in New York State.
11 So thank you, Madam President. And
12 I vote in the affirmative on this very important
13 resolution.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
15 Oberacker on the resolution.
16 SENATOR OBERACKER: Thank you,
17 Madam President.
18 And thank you, Senator May, for
19 bringing this, again, very important resolution.
20 You know, as a volunteer firefighter
21 myself, I remember taking my training, which at
22 that time was called the essentials. And it was
23 for 39 hours back in 1986. Nowadays our training
24 hours have expanded to well over a hundred.
25 And it's an interesting dichotomy
3655
1 that we're looking at losing or not having access
2 to as many people who want to become a volunteer
3 firefighter. There is no greater -- there is no
4 greater service that you can do throughout than
5 to support, number one, or more importantly, go
6 through the process and become a volunteer
7 firefighter. I believe that wholeheartedly.
8 And number two -- I have to bring
9 this up -- at the last call that I made, it was
10 an accident call on our interstate. And to the
11 great brevity of my brothers in the -- and
12 sisters in the fire department, I had picked up a
13 broom and I was actually sweeping some of the
14 glass off of the road. And much to the pictures
15 that were taken, that the Senator was actually
16 doing some work in the community.
17 (Laughter.)
18 SENATOR OBERACKER: So I find it --
19 you know, not only is this fraternal camaraderie
20 when you're going in on a life-threatening
21 situation -- there's a lot of brevity, there's a
22 lot of good fellowship that comes from it.
23 So again, Senator May, thank you for
24 bringing this forward. They are the lifeblood of
25 our community, and I proudly vote aye.
3656
1 Thank you.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Rolison on the resolution.
4 SENATOR ROLISON: Thank you,
5 Madam President.
6 And thank you, Senator May, for
7 having this resolution to honor our volunteer
8 firemen and the fire service.
9 I, like my colleague Senator
10 Oberacker, was a volunteer firefighter for
11 14 years. I took my essentials in 1976, at the
12 age of 18. My father was a life member of the
13 Croft Corners Fire Company. I grew up around the
14 firehouse. That's why I became a volunteer
15 firefighter.
16 And what we've seen over the years
17 in many fire districts and communities throughout
18 this state, as Senator May has said, it is
19 difficult to recruit and retain members in the
20 volunteer fire service. I thought that in the
21 Arlington Fire District, where I served and my
22 dad served, where our fire company went from a
23 fully volunteer firehouse -- we were nicknamed
24 the Aggressive and Proud Engine Company -- that
25 over the years it was more difficult and became
3657
1 more of a career, and is now a fully career
2 firehouse 24 hours a day.
3 So I applaud what the State of
4 New York is doing in trying to help in the
5 service of the volunteer fire service, and making
6 things -- incentivizing things for people to join
7 fire departments and to do the training, which
8 obviously is much more than it was in 1976 when I
9 joined.
10 But I will say this in closing,
11 Madam President. The life lessons and the
12 service to the public that I learned there has
13 helped me here in this esteemed body, and I
14 proudly vote aye.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
16 Rhoads on the resolution.
17 SENATOR RHOADS: Thank you,
18 Madam President.
19 I too want to rise in support of the
20 resolution and thank Senator May for bringing up
21 really an important -- an important issue.
22 Our volunteer fire departments serve
23 our communities day in and day out, and I want to
24 thank Senator Oberacker and Senator Rolison for
25 their service.
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1 I've had the honor of being a
2 volunteer firefighter for now 31 years. And
3 there aren't a lot of places -- I know Senator
4 May was referencing attending a 50-year ceremony.
5 We actually just attended a 75-year ceremony.
6 There aren't a lot of -- and I love attending
7 those, because there aren't a lot of places where
8 I still feel like a probie, like the young guy in
9 the room. I love attending those ceremonies
10 because it makes me feel young. But you're also
11 recognizing so much tremendous service.
12 In those 31 years I had the chance
13 to serve as a line officer for nine of those 31,
14 and from that vantage point I've had the blessing
15 to see some tremendous acts of compassion, of
16 heroism, courage, really demonstrating the best
17 of what America is all about. These are
18 individuals that get up from the family dinner
19 table, get up from their jobs, get up from their
20 beds in the middle of the night and put their own
21 lives at risk going to help protect the lives and
22 property of others, seeking nothing in return
23 other than the satisfaction of a job well done
24 and the knowledge that they were there to help a
25 neighbor in their time of need.
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1 And that's the kind of thing that we
2 should be encouraging. The job has become much
3 more difficult, much more dangerous. The hours
4 that are required have become much more
5 significant.
6 And so thank you, Senator May,
7 for -- and the rest of our body today for taking
8 the time to recognize that service and sacrifice
9 of all of our volunteers. I wouldn't deign to
10 speak on behalf of all of them, but I know that
11 we all very much appreciate that sentiment and
12 appreciate the gesture.
13 So thank you, and I proudly vote
14 aye.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
16 Borrello on the resolution.
17 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
18 Madam President.
19 I also want to thank the sponsor and
20 certainly associate myself with her comments and
21 the comments of my colleagues, especially those
22 who also serve as volunteer firefighters. Thank
23 you very much for your service.
24 I think it's also important to point
25 out, on top of being volunteers, they also --
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1 about 90 percent of the calls are actually
2 EMS calls, emergency calls. These are heart
3 attacks, car accidents, not just fires that these
4 folks respond to. The training is extensive.
5 The risk is great. And God bless them because in
6 rural areas like I represent, they are literally
7 the only line of defense in some cases.
8 I will tell a quick story about a
9 time when -- I live in a place called Sunset Bay,
10 which often floods. We had a situation a few
11 years back where there was a flood, and the bay
12 was evacuated, but our firefighters remained
13 behind at the fire hall in Sunset Bay. And thank
14 God they did, because a fire broke out at a house
15 in these icy cold waters in February that were
16 flooding our bay.
17 These volunteer fighters waded into
18 those rushing waters, with downed power lines
19 around them, to fight that house fire. And thank
20 God they did -- otherwise, it would have spread
21 to possibly dozens of other houses.
22 That's the kind of sacrifice our
23 volunteer firefighters make. And this is a great
24 day to honor them, and thank you all. And God
25 bless all that serve.
3661
1 Thank you.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Martins on the resolution.
4 SENATOR MARTINS: Thank you,
5 Madam President.
6 I too rise to support this
7 resolution. I want to thank Senator May for
8 bringing it before the house.
9 You know, you think about the world
10 we live in; people lament the fact that we
11 probably live in a world that's more selfish
12 today than perhaps it has been in prior
13 generations. And then you look at those people
14 who volunteer, who put themselves in the line of
15 danger for their fellow residents, for community
16 members, sometimes total strangers -- committing
17 that at a call that they will leave their homes,
18 the safety of their homes, sometimes in the
19 middle of the night, not knowing what they will
20 face, but they will go out there and face it
21 because it is for the good of the community.
22 People have mentioned that the fire
23 service, and the volunteer fire service in
24 particular, are the backbones of our suburban and
25 rural communities. And that's true,
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1 Madam President. I don't know a single volunteer
2 firefighter who also isn't a member of several
3 other volunteer organizations -- isn't teaching
4 Little League, isn't imparting some part of
5 themselves to someone else, isn't active and
6 volunteering in other things that make our
7 communities what they are.
8 And so to all of the members of this
9 chamber, past and present, who have volunteered,
10 a heartfelt thank you. To our entire volunteer
11 fire service across the state, a great thank you.
12 And I do applaud the efforts in this
13 budget and in prior budgets not only to support
14 the fire service, but also hopefully to
15 incentivize continued volunteerism, because it is
16 a great part of who we are as the great State of
17 New York.
18 Madam President, I vote aye.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
20 Harckham on the resolution.
21 SENATOR HARCKHAM: Thank you very
22 much, Madam President.
23 I'd like to thank Senator May for
24 sponsoring this resolution. And it's remarkable,
25 the bipartisan spirit of support for this
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1 resolution.
2 I want to join my colleagues. Much
3 has been said already about the value and the
4 service of our volunteer firefighters. A
5 majority of my district are volunteers, although
6 I do have some paid professionals as well. And
7 what I will say is the only difference is one
8 group gets paid, and one group are volunteer.
9 Their training is exactly the same. They take
10 the same classes, the same requirements, the same
11 certifications as professionals. Only in the
12 volunteer case, they do it for their love of
13 community and love of their neighbors.
14 And I share what I've heard from
15 other colleagues today is they are not just
16 responding to fires -- traffic accidents,
17 overdoses. In fact, most of the Narcan trainings
18 that we've done in the district we have done in
19 firehouses, because they are often the first on
20 the scene.
21 Other colleagues have mentioned the
22 time they spend away from their homes.
23 But the other thing that we want to
24 mention is the money that they save taxpayers in
25 many of our municipalities. We did a study years
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1 ago, when I was a county legislator, about just
2 one of our communities, and that if they had to
3 have -- they have three different volunteer
4 companies. If just one of those were converted
5 to a paid fire department, it would have tripled
6 the budget of that town, would have tripled it.
7 And so that's a value they bring.
8 People who put their heart and soul into serving
9 their community, but saving valuable taxpayer
10 dollars.
11 So I'm proud to support this
12 resolution, proud to vote aye. And once again, I
13 thank Senator May for bringing it to the floor.
14 Thank you, Madam President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
16 Weber on the resolution.
17 SENATOR WEBER: Thank you,
18 Madam President.
19 I'd also like to thank Senator May
20 for bringing this very important issue up for a
21 vote today.
22 You know, Rockland County is an
23 all-volunteer fire department, and the work that
24 they do is invaluable. As many of my colleagues
25 have mentioned, I've gone to a lot of fire
3665
1 installation dinners recently, and we've
2 recognized people for 70 years of service.
3 Unbelievable amount of service. It's a family
4 affair, in most cases. You see people from
5 grandfathers to their grandchildren on the same
6 fire department.
7 And it's a very important service
8 that they provide. Senator Harckham is right.
9 You know, the amount of money that we save as
10 taxpayers at the county level, at the town and
11 village level, is amazing. And if we had a paid
12 fire department, taxes would be that much higher.
13 So we really need to make sure that
14 we appreciate the service that they do every day,
15 and I proudly vote aye on the resolution.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
17 Jackson on the resolution.
18 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
19 Madam President.
20 I rise as a New York City resident,
21 and we do not have volunteer firefighters. But I
22 do recognize the work that all of you have done
23 as volunteer firefighters to keep our residents
24 safe. And as all of you have said, not only in
25 fires, but in car accidents, in medical
3666
1 emergencies, it's extremely important.
2 And I just imagine if I'm driving
3 upstate and if you were not there in an
4 emergency, I may be dead.
5 The bottom line is, let me thank you
6 for your service. My colleague that I sit next
7 to for the past four years, let me thank you for
8 putting this forward. And I recognize the
9 dedication and time spent by volunteer
10 firefighters.
11 And I vote aye, Madam President.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
13 Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick on the resolution.
14 SENATOR CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK:
15 Thank you, Madam President.
16 I too rise to thank the sponsor for
17 this resolution.
18 I had the privilege of serving as
19 the fire commissioner in my hometown, and I know
20 all too well that there is so much time that goes
21 into service, not just in responding to the calls
22 but in training and in meetings. And it's not
23 just the person that's the volunteer, but it's
24 also the family who supports their loved one in
25 servicing -- in serving their community.
3667
1 Just yesterday I had the privilege
2 of swearing in officers of the Lakeview
3 Fire Department, one of whom is my 21-year-old
4 nephew, who just became a second lieutenant.
5 And I think it's so important that
6 we do everything we can to encourage the next
7 generation to serve, and how important it is.
8 Because as was just said, on Long Island we could
9 not afford to provide the service that our
10 volunteers give us.
11 So thank you, Senator May, for this
12 resolution, and I proudly vote aye.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
14 Weik on the resolution.
15 SENATOR WEIK: Thank you,
16 Madam President.
17 I rise to say thank you to all of
18 our volunteers, especially the ones on
19 Long Island who have come to my rescue on more
20 than one occasion. We had our first house fire
21 when I was eight months pregnant with my first
22 child. And I'm so very grateful for the work
23 that they did, making sure that my house was kept
24 intact and that we were back in safe and sound.
25 They also came to my rescue when I
3668
1 was in a car accident one time. They were first
2 on scene, making sure that I got to the hospital.
3 And I'm so very grateful for the work that they
4 do. They serve our community day and night.
5 They pour their heart and soul into making sure
6 that they meet all the requirements that are
7 asked of them.
8 And from that, I just say thank you
9 very, very much to all of our volunteer
10 firefighters.
11 And for that, I vote aye. Thank
12 you.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
14 resolution was previously adopted on May 5th.
15 Senator Gianaris.
16 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
17 let me just say I appreciate that the day we
18 recognize our great firefighters, last Thursday,
19 was also Star Wars Day.
20 (Laughter.)
21 SENATOR GIANARIS: So may the force
22 be with them.
23 (Laughter.)
24 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now
25 recognize Senator Krueger for an introduction.
3669
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
2 Krueger for an introduction.
3 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you,
4 Madam President.
5 I rise today to welcome guests from
6 the German Republic of Saxony, a delegation of
7 members of parliament, and the consulate general
8 from New York, David Gill, and the minister-
9 president of the Free State of Saxony,
10 Michael Kretschmer, and about 16 others. Only
11 three of them are here with us now; we've spread
12 them out all over New York State.
13 So I would like us to welcome
14 Susann Leithoff, Franziska Schubert, and
15 Albrecht Pallas. And they are all members of the
16 Parliament of the State of Saxony.
17 And I think their visit to us today
18 exemplifies the strong and important relationship
19 between the United States, New York State, and
20 Germany. It's an alliance that provides the
21 world with a lesson on leadership, cooperation,
22 and both countries' commitment to global freedom
23 and democracy.
24 New York -- I think many of us know
25 this -- has a huge percentage of our population
3670
1 with German descent. Ten percent of New Yorkers
2 are of German descent. We have a particularly
3 strong partnership with Germany in today's
4 economy. As of January this year, Germany was
5 New York's third-largest destination for exports,
6 totaling almost $426 million annually.
7 I think everyone here knows about
8 Global Foundries, just down the road in Malta,
9 one of the world's largest semiconductor
10 manufacturers.
11 Many of our state's towns are named
12 after German towns, including Austerlitz, Berne,
13 Hamburg, Mecklenburg, and Potsdam, to name just a
14 few.
15 And anybody who has visited almost
16 anywhere knows that you can have fabulous German
17 food here in New York. I actually proudly
18 represent the Yorkville section of Manhattan,
19 which was always known as Little German Town, and
20 still has a few excellent German restaurants and,
21 more importantly, a magnificent wholesale
22 supermarket, Schaller & Weber, who is also in my
23 district.
24 I strongly believe that we are all
25 better off for having such a strong relationship
3671
1 with the country of Germany. I'm very proud to
2 have had an opportunity to meet with the
3 delegation from Saxony. And I know we will
4 continue to work together through all the
5 challenges all of our nations face in this world.
6 So I'd like to thank our guests for
7 their visit and offer them all the privileges of
8 the house.
9 Thank you, Madam President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: To our
11 guests, I welcome you on behalf of the Senate.
12 We extend to you the privileges and courtesies of
13 this house.
14 Please rise and be recognized.
15 (Standing ovation.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
17 Gianaris.
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now call
19 on Senator Scarcella-Spanton for an introduction.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
21 Scarcella-Spanton for an introduction.
22 SENATOR SCARCELLA-SPANTON: Thank
23 you, Madam President.
24 I rise today to acknowledge the
25 Garvin family that is here with us today to honor
3672
1 Eric Garvin's memory and celebrate his life.
2 Earlier this year we lost Eric
3 Garvin to a senseless act of violence while he
4 was traveling abroad doing the thing that he
5 loved the most.
6 Eric was an innovative and effective
7 professional with years of experience in
8 community work and public safety, serving our
9 city in the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice.
10 The Garvin family comes from an
11 indelible Staten Island family, and we have many
12 of his family members here with us today. We
13 have so many members of the community. I want to
14 commend and thank Assemblymember Charles Fall for
15 bringing them up. Our former councilmember,
16 Debi Rose, is here as well.
17 And I want to thank especially
18 Colonel Eric Garvin, Sr., his dad, Anna Marie and
19 Naomi Garvin, and of course Ms. Marjorie Garvin,
20 who's here with us as well.
21 To Mr. and Mrs. Garvin, I am so
22 sorry for your loss. Your son's memory will live
23 on forever. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
24 And I hope today we made this special for you,
25 and we will continue to keep his memory alive.
3673
1 Thank you.
2 (Applause.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: To our
4 guests, I welcome you on behalf of the Senate.
5 We extend to you the privileges and courtesies of
6 this house.
7 Please rise and be recognized.
8 (Extended standing ovation.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
10 Gianaris.
11 SENATOR GIANARIS: Now please
12 recognize Senator Mayer for an introduction.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
14 Mayer for an introduction.
15 SENATOR MAYER: Thank you,
16 Madam Speaker.
17 Today I'm very pleased to introduce
18 a number of women, young women up in the gallery
19 from the UMass Women Into Leadership program.
20 I've been honored to meet with women in this
21 program each year that I've served here.
22 This is based at the University of
23 Massachusetts, in the College of Social and
24 Behavioral Sciences. But it is a program that
25 encourages young women to learn about public
3674
1 service, to be exposed to leadership and pathways
2 into leadership, and to have the opportunity to
3 work together to build their confidence and to
4 help them determine how they can best contribute
5 to our community.
6 Designed to provide hands-on
7 training and practical preparation for a career
8 in politics, government and public leadership,
9 this group is organized around four central
10 components: Leadership training, shared
11 community through assigned mentors and
12 networking, academic instruction, and applied
13 experience through internships and job shadowing.
14 I met with these young women earlier
15 today, and we had a very thoughtful conversation.
16 I encouraged them all to consider being among my
17 younger colleagues who are running for office in
18 the communities they serve.
19 And I would say, very proudly, that
20 I found one of my first employees as a legislator
21 through this program, and she turned out to be
22 not only a fantastic employee but someone who
23 found her own voice and things that she was
24 passionate about, and went on to fight about
25 them.
3675
1 Please recognize the director,
2 Michelle Goncalves, and these wonderful guests,
3 these young women who are going on to very bright
4 futures.
5 Thank you, Madam President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: To our
7 guests, I welcome you on behalf of the Senate.
8 We extend to you the privileges and courtesies of
9 this house.
10 Please rise and be recognized.
11 (Standing ovation.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
13 Gianaris.
14 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
15 Senator May would like to open the resolution we
16 took up earlier for cosponsorship.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
18 resolution is open for cosponsorship. Should you
19 choose not to be a cosponsor of the resolution,
20 please notify the desk.
21 Senator Gianaris.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now take
23 up the calendar, please.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
25 Secretary will read.
3676
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 70,
2 Senate Print 101A, by Senator Ryan, an act to
3 amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law and the
4 Real Property Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 9. This
8 act shall take effect one year after it shall
9 have become a law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 191, Senate Print 1812, by Senator Addabbo, an
20 act to establish a commission to be known as the
21 "New York Seawall Study Commission."
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
3677
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
5 the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 404, Senate Print 1448A, by Senator Sanders, an
11 act to amend the Education Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
13 last section.
14 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Lay it
16 aside.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 443, Senate Print 4899, by Senator Rolison, an
19 act to amend the Highway Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
21 last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
25 roll.
3678
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Rolison to explain his vote.
4 SENATOR ROLISON: Thank you,
5 Madam President.
6 I want to thank my colleague
7 Senator Kennedy and the members of the
8 Transportation Committee for bringing this out
9 and getting this to the floor.
10 I wanted to just take a brief moment
11 to talk about this individual. Chief Daniel
12 Nimham was a sachem, which means a leader, of the
13 Wappinger people. He was a diplomat, a combat
14 veteran, a friend of the patriot cause, and a man
15 of enormous integrity and humility who affected
16 all those who knew him.
17 And despite these admirable
18 qualities, however, Chief Nimham was someone who
19 rarely figures into the history of the
20 American Revolution. He is what we would call a
21 forgotten founder.
22 With the naming of this state
23 highway in the Town of Fishkill today, it is my
24 sincere belief that we can begin to rectify this
25 oversight and place Chief Nimham in the pantheon
3679
1 of American heroes, where he absolutely rightly
2 belongs.
3 He was born around 1726, and he was
4 raised in Fishkill, New York. And it's said that
5 Daniel learned English from a neighbor and a
6 friend, Madam Brett, whose homestead is still in
7 Dutchess County today and is the oldest homestead
8 in that county.
9 His language skills and good nature
10 quickly elevated him as a capable negotiator and
11 spokesman for the Wappinger Indians, who had
12 settled lands in the Hudson Valley a century
13 before he was born. Now, he fought in the French
14 and Indian War on the side of the British, but he
15 became frustrated when the Crown government
16 ignored Wappinger property claims following that
17 conflict.
18 So he argued these disputes in
19 courts of law, even taking his claims to London,
20 along with a delegation of Native Americans. And
21 unfortunately these claims too were denied by the
22 King's government.
23 He now had a choice to make: Give
24 up the fight for freedom and justice, or join the
25 cause of independence. In 1777, the diplomat put
3680
1 away his legal texts and picked up a sword.
2 Together with his son, Captain
3 Abraham Nimham, Daniel would lead his people in
4 the Stockbridge Militia, which was an
5 all-volunteer company of Native Americans, mostly
6 Mohicans, organized by General George Washington.
7 This militia was with General
8 Washington at Valley Forge and fought bravely
9 alongside white and Black Continental Army
10 soldiers at the Battle of Saratoga, which many
11 military experts consider to be the turning point
12 of the American Revolution.
13 In August of 1778, he was killed in
14 action. His men were ambushed at the Battle of
15 Kingsbridge, which is today Van Cortlandt Park in
16 the Bronx.
17 Now, with his last words he said he
18 was old and aged as a tree and thus would stand
19 and die there. His prophecy came true. Chief
20 Daniel Nimham and most Native Americans of the
21 60-odd Stockbridge company were killed that day
22 beneath a canopy of hardwoods in the
23 Northwest Bronx.
24 Thus had the diplomat soldier laid
25 down his life for the freedom and independence of
3681
1 two homelands -- the Hudson Highlands territory
2 of the Wappingers, and the emergent
3 United States.
4 Madam President, this act to
5 memorialize one of Fishkill's state highways in
6 tribute of Chief Daniel Nimham I believe will go
7 a long way to returning Chief Nimham and
8 New York's Native American population to the
9 center of the War for Independence and early
10 history of our nation.
11 It's a small but it's an important
12 reminder of the contributions of the previously
13 unsung groups to the American story, as well as a
14 proper appreciation of the past can help us forge
15 a more perfect union today.
16 I'll just close with this,
17 Madam President. In 1968, in the fifth grade, I
18 was on Nimham Mountain in Putnam County. I
19 climbed a fire tower with my friend Richard
20 Ricon. It took this bill and this action of this
21 Senate -- now I understand the importance of that
22 mountain, why it was named for that person, who
23 gave us the opportunity to be free and to be
24 here.
25 And I proudly support this bill,
3682
1 Madam President.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Rolison to be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
7 is passed.
8 Senator Lanza.
9 SENATOR LANZA: Madam President,
10 could we please pause in recognition of the
11 passage of Senator Rolison's first bill.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:
13 Congratulations, Senator.
14 (Standing ovation.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
16 Secretary will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 461, Senate Print 2349A, by Senator Myrie, an act
19 to amend the Election Law.
20 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Lay it
22 aside.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 486, Senate Print 4459, by Senator Ashby, an act
25 to amend the State Law.
3683
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect on the first of January.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
6 roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
9 Ashby to explain his vote.
10 SENATOR ASHBY: Thank you,
11 Madam President.
12 I want to thank my colleagues for
13 joining me in support of this bill, and thank
14 every Purple Heart recipient for their
15 sacrifice -- and some of which made the ultimate
16 sacrifice.
17 The Purple Heart is a little
18 different in terms of military recognitions and
19 awards, in that the criteria for it and the
20 process, the award process, is expedited. You
21 have to be wounded while facing an enemy
22 combatant, and that's it.
23 Some of the other awards --
24 Bronze Star, ARCOM with Valor, Silver Star, they
25 require a lengthy approval process, review
3684
1 boards, and can take a long time.
2 But the Purple Heart is pretty
3 simple: Were you wounded defending our country?
4 And that's it. And so too should our reverence
5 be for their sacrifice.
6 I vote aye.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
8 Ashby to be recorded in the affirmative.
9 Announce the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
12 is passed.
13 Senator Lanza.
14 SENATOR LANZA: Madam President,
15 can we pause in recognition of Senator Ashby
16 having his first bill.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:
18 Congratulations, Senator.
19 (Standing ovation.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
21 Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 542, Senate Print 1899, by Senator Stavisky, an
24 act to amend the Executive Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
3685
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect on the first of January.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
8 the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 560, Senate Print 5082, by Senator Fernandez, an
14 at to establish a Latina suicide prevention task
15 force.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
20 shall have become a law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
25 Fernandez to explain her vote.
3686
1 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: Thank you,
2 Madam President.
3 Suicide amongst Latina teens has
4 reached epidemic levels, and they need our care
5 and support. Latinas, specifically young
6 Latinas, are the demographic with the highest
7 suicide rate in New York City. Nearly one-third
8 of them have said that they have struggled with
9 depression.
10 According to the Centers for Disease
11 Control and Prevention, one out of seven teenage
12 Latinas attempts suicide, a rate higher than any
13 other teenage ethnic group nationwide. This
14 should scare you, as it does me. Our Latina
15 youth in this country face enormous obstacles and
16 pressures, and we need to make sure that they
17 don't feel like there is no other way.
18 For many Latinas, especially first
19 generation, from a young age we are responsible
20 for our family navigating the systems in a new
21 country with a new language, acting as a
22 translator, accountant, caretaker, all while
23 going to school and holding a job and sometimes
24 caring for the family. That is a tremendous
25 amount for anyone to handle, regardless of age or
3687
1 ethnicity.
2 But beyond that, young Latinas have
3 the pressure to succeed in America while at the
4 same time uphold deep cultural traditions to
5 honor our families and their sacrifice and
6 continue their legacy. Like many cultures,
7 unfortunately, there is a stigma attached to
8 mental health and getting help when you know you
9 need mental health. This breaks my heart.
10 That is why I feel so strongly about
11 this task force and the immediate creation of it.
12 Latinas around the state need to see our faces
13 and hear our voices telling them that they are
14 not alone and that there is a whole community out
15 there ready to hear them and know their
16 experiences.
17 Not only do we hear you, but we are
18 here to help you. We are assembling experts from
19 around the state to attack this issue head on, as
20 well as to conduct the research to direct our
21 efforts to areas that need it most and discover
22 potentially areas that have been overlooked.
23 We are talking about Latina suicide
24 prevention, but the beauty of this task force is
25 that it will benefit all women, particularly
3688
1 fellow young women of color who share so many of
2 these similar struggles.
3 Thank you, and I vote aye.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
5 Fernandez to be recorded in the affirmative.
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 601, Senate Print 5905, by Senator Brisport, an
12 act to amend the Real Property Actions and
13 Proceedings Law.
14 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Lay it
16 aside.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 616, Senate Print 5603, by Senator Comrie, an act
19 to amend the Public Authorities Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
21 last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
25 roll.
3689
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
3 the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
6 is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 618, Senate Print 6285, by Senator Comrie, an act
9 to amend the Not-For-Profit Corporation Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
18 the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
21 is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 631, Senate Print 5890, by Senator Breslin, an
24 act to amend the Insurance Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
3690
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
8 the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 641, Senate Print 5442, by Senator
14 Scarcella-Spanton, an act to amend the
15 Real Property Tax Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect on the second day of
20 January.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
25 the results.
3691
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
3 is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 642, Senate Print 443, by Senator Skoufis, an act
6 to amend the Education Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
8 last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
12 roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
15 the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
17 Calendar Number 642, those Senators voting in the
18 negative are Senators Ashby, Borrello,
19 Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming,
20 Lanza, Martins, Mattera, Murray, Oberacker,
21 O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec,
22 Tedisco, Walczyk, Weber and Weik.
23 Ayes, 40. Nays, 21.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
25 is passed.
3692
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 649, Senate Print 6007, by Senator Parker, an act
3 to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
5 last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
9 roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
12 the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar 649, those Senators voting in the
15 negative are Senators Borrello, Gallivan, Griffo,
16 Helming, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Stec, Tedisco,
17 Walczyk and Weik.
18 Ayes, 50. Nays, 11.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
20 is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 652, Senate Print 4540, by Senator Ramos, an act
23 to amend the Labor Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
25 last section.
3693
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
7 the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
10 is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 660, Senate Print 3607, by Senator Webb, an act
13 to amend the General Business Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 12. This
17 act shall take effect one year after it shall
18 have become a law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
23 Webb to explain her vote.
24 SENATOR WEBB: Thank you,
25 Madam President. I rise to explain my vote.
3694
1 This legislation amends the General
2 Business Law to ensure that laser hair removal
3 technicians receive state-approved education and
4 training to practice in New York State.
5 This is a very straightforward piece
6 of legislation that ensures that laser hair
7 removal technicians will follow the same
8 licensing schedule and regulations as the fields
9 of nail specialty, waxing, natural hair styling,
10 esthetics and cosmetology.
11 This is a widely available service
12 we have here in New York and employs
13 approximately 20,000 estheticians. Many of the
14 med spas and small businesses that offer this
15 service are minority- and women-owned businesses.
16 By streamlining the licensure process and
17 providing a transition to a more regulated
18 industry, we can ensure that these businesses can
19 continue to operate in the context of greater
20 public protection.
21 This is a commonsense measure
22 intended to provide oversight and public
23 protection by adding laser hair removal
24 technicians to the group of appearance
25 enhancement professionals that again are already
3695
1 regulated by the state. We will ensure that
2 New Yorkers seeking this cosmetic procedure can
3 do so safely.
4 I vote aye, and I encourage my
5 colleagues to do the same. Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
7 Webb to be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
10 Calendar Number 660, voting in the negative:
11 Senator Walczyk.
12 Ayes, 60. Nays, 1.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 661, Senate Print 4036, by Senator Mannion, an
17 act to amend the General Business Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
23 roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
3696
1 the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
3 Calendar Number 661, voting in the negative:
4 Senator Walczyk.
5 Ayes, 60. Nays, 1.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
7 is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 707, Senate Print 5913A, by Senator Chu, an act
10 to amend the Public Health Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
12 last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect on the first of July.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
19 Chu to explain her vote.
20 SENATOR CHU: Thank you,
21 Madam President.
22 I rise today to explain my vote on
23 this important piece of legislation.
24 Since 2018, free and accessible
25 menstrual products have been available in public
3697
1 schools serving students from Grades 6 to 12.
2 Unfortunately, private school students were left
3 out of this requirement.
4 This bill will require that
5 nonpublic school students also have access to
6 free menstrual products in school bathrooms,
7 reducing missed class time, destigmatizing
8 menstruation, and ensuring our students can fully
9 participate in our school activities.
10 Today's students face pressures from
11 social media, mental health challenges, and the
12 residue effects of COVID. Bodily autonomy for
13 students who have periods should not be one more
14 barrier they will face when it comes to their
15 educational experience.
16 For this reason, I vote aye.
17 Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
19 Chu to be recorded in the affirmative.
20 Senator Webb to explain her vote.
21 SENATOR WEBB: Thank you,
22 Madam President.
23 I want to thank my colleague
24 Senator Chu for introducing this legislation,
25 which would require that menstrual products are
3698
1 offered for free in nonprivate schools, ensuring
2 that these students have equal access to
3 menstrual products as do their public school
4 peers.
5 One of the things I wanted to
6 mention in my district in particular is that when
7 you think about access to menstrual products,
8 this is something that disproportionately impacts
9 people who are low-income. And so just in my
10 district alone, in Broome County, women are the
11 largest demographic living in poverty. Women
12 ages 18 to 24 make up 12 percent of the
13 population of folks who are living in poverty,
14 and ages 25 to 34, around 7 percent.
15 Menstruation products are a
16 necessity, and far too many women living in
17 poverty simply can't afford them. In fact,
18 government assistance programs do not even allow
19 for the purchase of hygiene products with
20 subsidies such as SNAP, for example.
21 For people who have to have these
22 necessary products, it's not only to address
23 their physical wellness but it also taps into
24 their emotional state as well. As the chair of
25 the Women's Issues Committee, I'm proud to
3699
1 support legislation that normalizes women's
2 bodies and which erases the sense of shame that
3 is often still connected to our conversations
4 around menstruation, also known as the period.
5 The financial cost of menstruation,
6 a natural biological function experienced by more
7 than half of our population, should never be a
8 barrier to full participation in education,
9 sports, and other activities that allow for
10 having an equitable quality of life.
11 Again, I want to thank Senator Chu
12 for bringing forth this important piece of
13 legislation. I will be voting aye, and I
14 encourage my colleagues to do the same.
15 Thank you.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
17 Webb to be recorded in the affirmative.
18 Announce the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
20 Calendar Number 707, those Senators voting in the
21 negative are Senators Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick,
22 Felder, Martins, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Rhoads,
23 Walczyk and Weik.
24 Ayes, 52. Nays, 9.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
3700
1 is passed.
2 Senator Gianaris.
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
4 I don't want Senator Lanza to have all the fun
5 today, so please recognize Senator Chu on the
6 passage of her first bill.
7 (Standing ovation.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
9 Gianaris, that completes the reading of today's
10 calendar.
11 SENATOR GIANARIS: On to the
12 controversial calendar.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
14 Secretary will ring the bell.
15 The Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 404, Senate Print 1448A, by Senator Sanders, an
18 act to amend the Education Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
20 Lanza, why do you rise?
21 SENATOR LANZA: Madam President, I
22 believe there's an amendment at the desk. I
23 waive the reading of that amendment and ask that
24 you recognize Senator Helming.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
3701
1 you, Senator Lanza.
2 Upon review of the amendment, in
3 accordance with Rule 6, Section 4B, I rule it
4 nongermane and out of order at this time.
5 SENATOR LANZA: Accordingly,
6 Madam President, I appeal the ruling of the chair
7 and ask that Senator Helming be heard on the
8 appeal.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
10 appeal has been made and recognized, and
11 Senator Helming may be heard.
12 SENATOR HELMING: Thank you,
13 Madam President.
14 I rise to appeal the ruling of the
15 chair. The proposed amendment is germane to the
16 bill at hand, and let me explain why.
17 The bill before us establishes a
18 task force on safety in school transportation,
19 while the amendment requires appointees of the
20 Minority Leader of the Senate and the Minority
21 Leader of the Assembly to be included in all
22 legislatively enacted workgroups, task forces,
23 commissions, and committees. There really
24 couldn't be any more germane piece of
25 legislation.
3702
1 I want to start by thanking the
2 sponsor for bringing this legislation to the
3 floor. The purpose, to address school safety,
4 including safety related to school
5 transportation, is a matter that's a high
6 priority and of extreme importance to all of us.
7 But unfortunately, like far too many
8 bills that come to this floor, this bill creates
9 a new task force and it doesn't provide the
10 Minority Leader of either the Senate or the
11 Assembly with any appointments.
12 Committees, task forces and other
13 workgroups established by the Legislature serve a
14 very important purpose. Working on behalf of the
15 Legislature, these entities often collect data
16 and information and provide recommendations back
17 to the Legislature. Ultimately it's often these
18 recommendations that can influence legislative
19 priorities and budget priorities.
20 So for this reason, it's imperative
21 that these committees are comprised of
22 proportionally equal representation from both the
23 majority and minority conferences.
24 The same should be true for the
25 appointments and composition of all legislatively
3703
1 enacted workgroups, commissions, councils,
2 advisory groups, committees, or any other
3 legislatively enacted and appointed groups or
4 panels. New Yorkers have equal representation in
5 the Legislature. They should also have
6 proportionally equal representation on the
7 legislatively enacted task force.
8 This amendment would provide this
9 representation as well as ensure that the number
10 of appointees by the Legislature shall be
11 proportionally equivalent to the number of
12 appointees by the Governor. This check on the
13 executive authority of the Governor is important
14 to ensure the best interest of the state's
15 citizens are legislatively represented.
16 For these reasons, Madam President,
17 I strongly urge you to reconsider your ruling and
18 support the amendment before you.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
20 you, Senator.
21 I want to remind the house that the
22 vote is on the procedures of the house and the
23 ruling of the chair.
24 Those in favor of overruling the
25 chair, signify by saying aye.
3704
1 (Response of "Aye.")
2 SENATOR LANZA: Request a show of
3 hands.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Without
5 objection, so ordered.
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 21.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
9 ruling of the chair stands, and the bill-in-chief
10 is before the house.
11 Senator Gianaris.
12 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
13 we've agreed to restore the bill-in-chief to the
14 noncontroversial calendar. Please take it up
15 that way.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
17 is restored to the noncontroversial calendar.
18 Read the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
20 act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
25 the results.
3705
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
3 is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 461, Senate Print 2349A, by Senator Myrie, an act
6 to amend the Election Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
8 Murray, why do you rise?
9 SENATOR MURRAY: Would the sponsor
10 yield for a few questions.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
12 sponsor yield?
13 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: the
15 sponsor yields.
16 SENATOR MURRAY: Thank you,
17 Senator Myrie.
18 Just for some clarification,
19 Section 2, line 10 of the bill says: "A
20 qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter
21 under this chapter from a residence at which the
22 voter is registered to vote, including any
23 residence to which the voter maintains a
24 continuous connection with an intent to remain,
25 such as a second or vacation home or a home where
3706
1 a student lives while attending a college or
2 university."
3 Could you tell me what the phrase
4 "intent to remain" -- what do we mean by that?
5 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
6 Madam President, that is a codification of what
7 the courts have already held in one case,
8 Ferguson v. McNabb at the Court of Appeals,
9 subsequently in appellate cases here in New York
10 as well as federal New York cases, where the
11 court said the focus should be on the intention
12 of the voter, not the mere fact that there are
13 multiple potential residencies.
14 SENATOR MURRAY: Madam President,
15 will the sponsor continue to yield.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
17 sponsor yield?
18 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
20 sponsor yields.
21 SENATOR MURRAY: Thank you.
22 Senator, how would this change
23 current law?
24 SENATOR MYRIE: So in addition to
25 the line that you just read out, this is mostly
3707
1 to serve as a clarification to poll workers who
2 have in the past erroneously not followed the
3 case law on this and have discarded ballots or
4 required affidavit ballots of the individuals
5 unnecessarily.
6 And we saw the impact of this in the
7 22nd Congressional race, there was litigation
8 that came out of that, a race decided by
9 109 votes where 20 ballots were eliminated -- we
10 believe erroneously -- and contrary to the
11 case law.
12 SENATOR MURRAY: Madam President,
13 would the sponsor continue to yield.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
15 sponsor yield?
16 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR MURRAY: So if I could
20 spell out a scenario here. We have multiple
21 elections throughout the year. We have village
22 elections, library elections. Next week we have
23 school board elections and school budget votes.
24 We have primary elections, general elections,
25 firefighter commissioner elections, and sometimes
3708
1 special elections. So all throughout the year,
2 at different times.
3 So a scenario where someone owns a
4 home, say, in the city, a second home upstate or
5 maybe in the Hamptons. If that person wanted to
6 vote for the mayor of New York City but also
7 wanted to vote for, say, a fire commissioner out
8 in the Hamptons, if this were to pass, would that
9 be possible?
10 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
11 Madam President, it would not. This simply
12 empowers people to choose where they're
13 registered to vote and clarifies for the court
14 and for election workers that they have that
15 choice.
16 You still, by way of the other
17 provisions in our Election Law, can only vote in
18 one election district at a time.
19 SENATOR MURRAY: Very good.
20 Thank you, Madam President. Thank
21 you.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
23 you.
24 Are there any other Senators wishing
25 to be heard?
3709
1 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
2 closed.
3 Senator Gianaris.
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
5 we've also agreed to restore this bill to the
6 noncontroversial calendar.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
8 is restored to the noncontroversial calendar.
9 Read the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
16 the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
18 Calendar 461, those Senators voting in the
19 negative are Senators Ashby, Borrello,
20 Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming,
21 Lanza, Martins, Mattera, Murray, Oberacker,
22 O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec,
23 Tedisco, Walczyk, Weber and Weik.
24 Ayes, 40. Nays, 21.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
3710
1 is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 601, Senate Print 5905, by Senator Brisport, an
4 act to amend the Real Property Actions and
5 Proceedings Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
7 Rhoads, why do you rise?
8 SENATOR RHOADS: Madam President,
9 through you, if the Senator will yield to some
10 questions.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
12 Senator yield?
13 SENATOR BRISPORT: Yes.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
15 Senator yields.
16 SENATOR RHOADS: Senator Brisport,
17 thank you so much.
18 Could you just explain for us the
19 justification of the bill?
20 SENATOR BRISPORT: Yes. This bill
21 prohibits dependent minors who are currently
22 living with their parent or guardian from being
23 named in eviction petitions or in records of
24 eviction, specifically so that records of it
25 don't follow the child afterwards into adulthood,
3711
1 affect their ability to seek housing on their
2 own, or their credit score.
3 SENATOR RHOADS: Is there any
4 reason why --
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator,
6 are you asking the Senator to yield?
7 SENATOR RHOADS: Oh, yes, I
8 apologize, Madam President. If the sponsor will
9 continue to yield.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
11 sponsor yield?
12 SENATOR BRISPORT: Yes.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
14 sponsor yields.
15 SENATOR RHOADS: Why wouldn't
16 simply sealing the record be sufficient?
17 SENATOR BRISPORT: Through you,
18 Madam President, this -- we -- it's important to
19 cover all of our bases. And so in addition to
20 sealing the record of the court case, also the
21 eviction warrant itself or the petition, to be
22 thorough.
23 SENATOR RHOADS: If the sponsor
24 will continue to yield.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
3712
1 sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR BRISPORT: Yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR RHOADS: So does this seal
6 the warrant, or does it prevent a warrant from
7 being issued in the name of the minor child?
8 SENATOR BRISPORT: Through you,
9 Madam President, this prevents the child from
10 being listed on the warrant.
11 SENATOR RHOADS: Okay. But not --
12 if I can -- will the sponsor continue to yield.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
14 sponsor yield?
15 SENATOR BRISPORT: Yes.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
17 sponsor yields.
18 SENATOR RHOADS: But not on the
19 petition itself.
20 SENATOR BRISPORT: Through you,
21 Madam President, this bill also prevents the
22 child from being listed on the petition.
23 SENATOR RHOADS: Okay. Will the
24 sponsor continue to yield.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
3713
1 sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR BRISPORT: Yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR RHOADS: Is this bill
6 consistent with the provisions of the
7 Tenant Protection Act of 2019, which requires all
8 residents of the domicile to be listed on the
9 petition?
10 SENATOR BRISPORT: (Conferring.)
11 Through you, Madam President. You know, we are
12 not required to list children on the lease, and
13 so there's not a requirement to list children on
14 an eviction warrant or the petition.
15 SENATOR RHOADS: Will the sponsor
16 yield to another question.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
18 sponsor yield?
19 SENATOR BRISPORT: Yes.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
21 sponsor yields.
22 SENATOR RHOADS: Thank you,
23 Senator.
24 My understanding is that the
25 Tenant Protection Act of 2019 requires any
3714
1 resident of the home or the apartment be notified
2 of the existence of the petition and be named in
3 the petition as an affected party, for lack of a
4 better word.
5 In that case a minor child would
6 have to be named in the petition, would have to
7 be served with the petition. Is there any
8 concern on your part that by preventing them from
9 doing so, it is inconsistent with the Tenant
10 Protection Act of 2019?
11 SENATOR BRISPORT: Through you,
12 Madam President, I have not seen that section of
13 the HSTPA that requires every single occupant,
14 including children, minors, to be listed on any
15 eviction petition or warrant. And I do not have
16 concerns that it is inconsistent with the HSTPA.
17 SENATOR RHOADS: Will the sponsor
18 yield to another question.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
20 sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR BRISPORT: Yes.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
23 sponsor yields.
24 SENATOR RHOADS: Would it be fair
25 to say that if we have a disagreement with
3715
1 respect to what the Tenant Protection Act of 2019
2 says, it is not the intention of the sponsor
3 to -- through this bill to be inconsistent with
4 the Tenant Protection Act of 2019?
5 SENATOR BRISPORT: Through you,
6 Madam President, the intention of this bill is
7 pretty clear. It's to make sure that children,
8 minors, dependents on their parents or guardians
9 living with them, are not listed in the eviction
10 warrant or the petition.
11 And to expand on that, this has been
12 an issue not just in New York State but
13 throughout the country, in states that have not
14 even passed the HSTPA, is listing children or
15 minors on eviction warrants.
16 SENATOR RHOADS: On the bill,
17 Madam President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
19 Rhoads on the bill.
20 SENATOR RHOADS: Thank you. I
21 certainly understand the intention of the
22 legislation.
23 However, the Tenant Protection Act
24 of 2019 requires minor children to be listed on
25 the warrant. And this particular bill requires
3716
1 the exact opposite. We have two inconsistent
2 provisions of law, and no way for an actual
3 practitioner to be able to reconcile those two.
4 So while I certainly understand the
5 intention, and I would love to support the
6 legislation, I have to vote against it simply
7 because the reality is that we have two
8 inconsistent provisions of law. And really if
9 we're going to do this, we should be modifying
10 the Tenant Protection Act so that there's
11 clarity, and not creating more confusion.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Are
13 there any other Senators wishing to be heard?
14 Seeing none, debate is closed.
15 Senator Gianaris.
16 SENATOR GIANARIS: Once again,
17 Madam President, if we could restore this to the
18 noncontroversial calendar.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
20 is restored to the noncontroversial calendar.
21 Read the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
25 roll.
3717
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Brisport to explain his vote.
4 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you so
5 much, Madam President.
6 And thank you to the Democratic
7 Conference and also the leader for bringing this
8 bill to a vote.
9 This bill really strikes a personal
10 chord with me. When I was a teacher, I had a
11 student that was a victim of an illegal lockout,
12 an illegal eviction during COVID. And it was
13 particularly heartbreaking because this was a
14 dream student, the kind of kid that always does
15 their work, doesn't make any problems. If
16 anything, just too shy. I'd always have to
17 explain to him that he doesn't need to just, you
18 know, ask me to come over and ask if he got the
19 right answer but, you know, raise your hand and
20 share with the class. You know, you're good at
21 math, you're a good math student.
22 And when our schools went
23 all-virtual in March of 2020 at the onset of the
24 pandemic, I lost all contact with the student,
25 couldn't get him by his student records, his
3718
1 email for his parents, the phone number -- none
2 of that worked. Didn't hear from them from March
3 of 2020 until October 2020, months later, in the
4 next school year, when I saw him and his mother
5 trying to reenroll in the school. And they
6 explained to me that at the onset of the pandemic
7 that they had lost the grandfather in the family,
8 and when they went down south to go to the
9 funeral, when they came back, they had all their
10 stuff out on the streets. They had been
11 illegally evicted.
12 And the notion that that eviction
13 can follow a student -- he's a 12-year-old kid --
14 for seven years, 10 years, 15 years, for no fault
15 of his own, is -- you can see how traumatic it
16 was for him to miss that much school and to miss
17 out on opportunities. And this bill will make a
18 difference for children throughout our state.
19 But I would also be remiss to not
20 talk about how devastating and violent evictions
21 are in general throughout our states, and have to
22 bring up that over a million unregulated tenants
23 throughout New York State are at risk of unjust
24 evictions, having their lease discontinued for no
25 reason, seeing rent hikes of hundreds of dollars
3719
1 or even over a thousand dollars.
2 And it's imperative that after
3 passing this bill today -- and again, I thank the
4 Democratic Conference -- it's imperative that we
5 also move good cause eviction to a vote
6 immediately and vote yes.
7 Thank you.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
9 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
10 Senator Harckham to explain his
11 vote.
12 SENATOR HARCKHAM: Thank you very
13 much, Madam President.
14 I want to thank Senator Brisport for
15 this important bill.
16 And it's true, as we talk about with
17 a whole bunch of records, things should not
18 follow people for a lifetime in terms of credit,
19 eviction. And they impact people for the course
20 of their lives.
21 But this is also about a larger
22 discussion about our housing crisis, about a
23 short supply which is driving an affordability
24 crisis. And there are many components of that.
25 Some of it have to do with the need for new
3720
1 building, as we discussed in the budget. But the
2 best way to ensure housing is to keep folks in
3 the housing they have.
4 And so there are a number of
5 measures that we had put in our one-house budget.
6 I hope we will continue to explore those through
7 the remainder of this session. Because
8 protecting tenants and keeping them in their
9 homes is -- and -- is really the first step and
10 the best way to provide housing.
11 And then we should also be, as we
12 discussed, moving on with the other aspects of
13 creating housing.
14 So with that, I want to thank the
15 sponsor, and I vote aye.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
17 Harckham to be recorded in the affirmative.
18 Senator May to explain her vote.
19 SENATOR MAY: Thank you,
20 Madam President.
21 I also rise to thank the sponsor for
22 this bill that tries to reduce the harm that
23 eviction causes to children.
24 I represent a city where it's
25 estimated that about 10 percent of boys in
3721
1 high school are functionally homeless. They're
2 couch surfing or, in any case, don't have a fixed
3 address.
4 And so the harm of eviction and of
5 housing instability follows kids in so many ways,
6 makes it hard for them to succeed in school. It
7 makes -- it's traumatizing. It's got just a
8 whole host of ill effects. And this will
9 mitigate one of them.
10 But I agree with Senator Harckham
11 and Senator Brisport that we need to be taking a
12 more holistic approach, making sure we've got the
13 kind of affordable, stable housing that can
14 support our children, and that we are intervening
15 to reduce unnecessary evictions as much as
16 possible -- with good cause, with the right to
17 counsel, making sure that our -- that tenants
18 have the right to counsel in an eviction case,
19 and every other way that we can assure housing
20 stability.
21 I vote aye.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
23 May to be recorded in the affirmative.
24 Senator Jackson to explain his vote.
25 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
3722
1 Madam President. I rise to support the bill.
2 In listening to the discussion on
3 the bill by both Senators, in favor and against,
4 I disagree with my colleague that this is a
5 violation of the 2019 Tenant Protection Act. And
6 I will look at that a little further in order to
7 determine the validity of what he has to say.
8 But clearly, in dealing with tenants
9 associations, and myself as a tenant association
10 leader where I live at, lease renewals are with
11 the adults, not kids. Kids had to be listed in
12 the lease as being part of the family, but they
13 don't have to sign. The agreement is with the
14 adults in there that's going to pay the rent and
15 in charge of signing the contract for a lease.
16 Clearly, though, I think that this
17 is a good bill, you're not naming children that
18 may be five, 10, 15, 18, even 25, when they're
19 not signing the lease of agreement.
20 And what's important in this is that
21 this is an accountability matter with respect to
22 responsibility of adults. And that's why it's
23 important for us to try to move towards a
24 good-cause eviction bill and not deal with the
25 fact that children should be named in any type of
3723
1 legal proceeding.
2 I vote aye.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
4 Jackson to be recorded in the affirmative.
5 Senator Cleare to explain her vote.
6 SENATOR CLEARE: Thank you,
7 Madam President.
8 I rise in support of this bill. We
9 should be concerned about violating the rights of
10 our children. We should be concerned about the
11 stigmas and barriers that already follow the
12 children who are most likely to be evicted.
13 Children should not be named in
14 eviction processes, and we should not even have
15 so many as we do now because of the housing
16 crisis that we are experiencing. And, yes, we
17 need to pass good-cause eviction and other tenant
18 protections that make sure people can stay in
19 their homes.
20 Eviction is a violent process. It
21 is terrible for our families. Sometimes it
22 follows you for the rest of your life anyway,
23 just as an experience. And it doesn't need to
24 follow children, who take it to heart. If
25 anyone's ever been -- it is the most
3724
1 destabilizing thing that could ever happen to
2 anyone.
3 And I proudly vote aye. Thank you,
4 Senator Brisport, for the bill.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
6 Cleare to be recorded in the affirmative.
7 Senator Salazar to explain her vote.
8 SENATOR SALAZAR: Thank you,
9 Madam President.
10 And thank you, Senator Brisport, for
11 introducing this important legislation. There is
12 no justification for naming a child, a minor, in
13 an eviction petition or an eviction warrant.
14 Evictions for a family can be deeply
15 traumatic and disruptive, especially for
16 children. There is no need to make the process
17 even more harmful for children by putting their
18 names on eviction documents.
19 I want to also thank our
20 Majority Leader for demonstrating our commitment
21 to preventing unjust evictions and minimizing the
22 harms of the housing crisis in our state.
23 And I will also urge us to take
24 additional action through good-cause eviction and
25 policies to keep families in their homes.
3725
1 Thank you.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Salazar to be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Senator Brouk to explain her vote.
5 SENATOR BROUK: Thank you,
6 Madam President.
7 There's a lot of things I believe.
8 Two of them are that to house someone is humane,
9 and that we should do everything we can to
10 protect our children. That's why I want to thank
11 Senator Brisport, the sponsor of this bill, thank
12 my colleagues, and of course our Majority Leader,
13 Andrea Stewart-Cousins, for bringing this bill.
14 And I think that this house often
15 acts on these two values, the fact that housing
16 people and keeping them housed and keeping our
17 families housed is a humane thing to do. And I
18 think that this bill does that. And it protects
19 our children.
20 But our work is not done until we
21 actually take further action when it comes to
22 keeping people housed.
23 And I want to quickly share -- I
24 didn't know we were voting on this bill today
25 when this happened, but this weekend I hosted a
3726
1 baby shower for our community to hand out diapers
2 and wipes and baby clothes. And there was a
3 woman there who said she didn't feel comfortable
4 going around and asking for these things. And I
5 said, Well, let's go walk together, because this
6 is my event, we're going to walk together.
7 And she shared with me that she has
8 four kids under the age of four. They lived in
9 seven different places in the last month and a
10 half, and they currently are on a night-by-night
11 basis in a hotel. She doesn't have anything that
12 she needs. And Senator Cleare talked about how
13 destabilizing that can be, for young children
14 especially.
15 So that's why bills like this are so
16 important. But it's also why our work will not
17 be done June 8th if we have not also voted on
18 good cause and other tenant protections.
19 For those reasons, I vote aye.
20 Thank you.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
22 Brouk to be recorded in the affirmative.
23 Senator Liu to explain his vote.
24 SENATOR LIU: Thank you,
25 Madam President.
3727
1 I think that it's clear that unjust
2 evictions are a big problem and contribute to our
3 housing crisis in the State of New York.
4 This particular bill, though, is
5 clearly common sense and there should be no
6 reason why anybody would not support this. To
7 name children in eviction papers is really doing
8 so much more harm on a permanent basis than the
9 immediate harm by removing them from their homes.
10 Which is already bad enough.
11 I want to thank Senator Brisport for
12 this bill, and let's move on to more
13 housing-related protections.
14 Thank you.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
16 Liu to be recorded in the affirmative.
17 Senator Rivera to explain his vote.
18 SENATOR RIVERA: Thank you,
19 Madam President.
20 Every now and then you bump into
21 bills or ideas, legislative ideas, or somebody
22 says, like, you really -- there isn't a law about
23 this? This is actually something we have to do,
24 so I'm incredibly thankful for Senator Brisport
25 for bringing something that again, as Senator Liu
3728
1 said, should be a commonsense thing.
2 But I would also add that some of my
3 colleagues have spoken about what I believe is
4 also a commonsense approach in the State of
5 New York, and that is to pass good cause eviction
6 in the State of New York.
7 I believe that it is a commonsense
8 idea that people should have a reason to take
9 somebody out of their homes. If somebody has --
10 is someplace where they can sleep at night, where
11 they're not putting pressure on any other -- on
12 society as a whole, and then we kick them out
13 onto the streets, that has an impact on them, has
14 an impact on the family, has an impact on society
15 as a whole.
16 So anything that we can do to
17 minimize that should be a no-brainer, and that's
18 why I believe that we should certainly pass good
19 cause eviction.
20 But in this case, this is a
21 no-brainer bill and I'm glad to vote for it. I
22 vote in the affirmative.
23 Thank you, Madam President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
25 Rivera to be recorded in the affirmative.
3729
1 Senator Sepúlveda to explain his
2 vote.
3 SENATOR SEPÚLVEDA: Thank you,
4 Madam President, for allowing me to explain my
5 vote.
6 As a veteran of Housing Court -- I
7 practiced there over 30 years, and to me, anytime
8 a child was named in a petition, I thought it was
9 rather disgraceful and disgusting.
10 These -- unfortunately sometimes
11 when you have judgments against a family and a
12 child under the age of 18 is named on the credit
13 report and other areas, this can potentially show
14 up as a liability for a child who had no,
15 absolutely no responsibility for paying the bill.
16 So I want to commend Senator
17 Brisport for doing an excellent bill and beating
18 me to the punch. Great work.
19 And also to voice what my colleague
20 was saying about housing in New York State. We
21 have to do much more to keep people in their
22 homes. We have to give more money for things
23 like ERAP and other ways so that they can be --
24 they can remain in their homes.
25 Seeing children -- and I remind
3730
1 everyone that over 40 percent of kids that are
2 homeless in New York State -- 40 percent of
3 people that are homeless in New York City are
4 children. And so we need to do more to make sure
5 that people remain in their apartments.
6 So thank you, Senator Brisport.
7 Thank you for allowing me to explain my vote.
8 And let's make sure we continue to do everything
9 to protect children, their names, and their
10 future.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
12 Sepúlveda to be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Announce the results.
14 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
15 Calendar 601, those Senators voting in the
16 negative are Senators Ashby, Borrello,
17 Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming,
18 Lanza, Martins, Mattera, Murray, Oberacker,
19 O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec,
20 Tedisco, Walczyk, Weber and Weik.
21 Ayes, 40. Nays, 21.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
23 is passed.
24 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
25 reading of today's calendar.
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1 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
2 Madam President.
3 If we could return to motions for a
4 second, on behalf of Senator Hoylman-Sigal, on
5 page 13 I offer the following amendments to
6 Calendar Number 271, Senate Print 2422, and ask
7 that said bill retain its place on the
8 Third Reading Calendar.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
10 amendments are received, and the bill will retain
11 its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
12 Senator Gianaris.
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there any
14 further business at the desk?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There is
16 no further business at the desk.
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to adjourn
18 until tomorrow, Tuesday, May 9th, at 3:00 p.m.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: On
20 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
21 Tuesday, May 9th, at 3:00 p.m.
22 (Whereupon, at 4:46 p.m., the Senate
23 adjourned.)
24
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