Regular Session - June 10, 2023
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1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 June 10, 2023
11 2:37 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR JAMAAL T. BAILEY, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
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21
22
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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 BAILEY: 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 BAILEY: Today's
9 clergy will be from Butler Memorial United
10 Methodist Church, State Senator Jamaal Bailey.
11 (Laughter.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
13 you, Senator Bailey.
14 Thank you, Mr. President.
15 (Laughter.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: In all
17 seriousness, let us pray.
18 Father God -- whoever you may pray
19 to, whoever brings you here -- we are all here
20 for a real reason on a particular path. And that
21 path is often walked by different people at
22 different times, but Lord, you know that we're
23 walking for the same reasons: To bring safety,
24 equality, justice and fairness to all of our
25 residents in each county of the great State of
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1 New York.
2 Whether Watertown or Westchester,
3 Bronx or Broome County, we are all charged with
4 reasons, and in seasons, to make sure that we are
5 providing for our constituents in all ways -- not
6 just in all ways, but always.
7 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
8 (Response of "Amen.")
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Reading
10 of the Journal.
11 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Friday,
12 June 9, 2023, the Senate met pursuant to
13 adjournment. The Journal of Thursday, June 8,
14 2023, was read and approved. On motion, the
15 Senate adjourned.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Without
17 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
18 Presentation of petitions.
19 Messages from the Assembly.
20 Messages from the Governor.
21 Reports of standing committees.
22 Reports of select committees.
23 Communications and reports from
24 state officers.
25 Motions and resolutions.
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1 Senator Gianaris.
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: Good morning,
3 Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Good
5 morning, Senator Gianaris.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: On behalf of
7 Senator Breslin, I wish to call up Calendar
8 Number 1189, Assembly Print 4925.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
10 Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1189, Assembly Print Number 4925, by
13 Assemblymember Hunter, an act to amend the
14 Insurance Law.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: I move to
16 reconsider the vote by which this Assembly bill
17 was substituted for the Senate bill, Print 6827,
18 on June 10th.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
24 is restored to its place on the Third Reading
25 Calendar.
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1 SENATOR GIANARIS: I now move that
2 Assembly Bill 4925 be committed to the Committee
3 on Rules and the Senate bill be restored to the
4 order of Third Reading Calendar.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
6 amendments are received, and the bill will retain
7 its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's take up
9 the calendar.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: There is
11 a substitution at the desk.
12 The Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Cooney
14 moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
15 Assembly Bill Number 3301A and substitute it for
16 the identical Senate Bill 1051A, Third Reading
17 Calendar 1073.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY:
19 Substitution so ordered.
20 The Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1073, Assembly Bill Number 3301A, by
23 Assemblymember Rajkumar, an act to amend the
24 Executive Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
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1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
8 the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
10 Calendar Number 1073, voting in the negative:
11 Senator Tedisco.
12 Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1299, Senate Print 6858B, by Senator Rhoads, an
17 act authorizing the County of Nassau assessor to
18 accept an application for a real property tax
19 exemption.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
21 last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
25 roll.
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1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
3 the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
5 Calendar Number 1299, voting in the negative:
6 Senator O'Mara.
7 Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1822, Senate Print 7362A, by Senator Cooney, an
12 act to amend the General Municipal Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
16 act shall take effect March 1, 2024.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
21 the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
24 is passed.
25 There is a substitution at the desk.
7142
1 The Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kavanagh
3 moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
4 Assembly Bill Number 7768 and substitute it for
5 the identical Senate Bill 7573, Third Reading
6 Calendar 1840.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY:
8 Substitution so ordered.
9 The Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1840, Assembly Bill Number 7768, by
12 Assemblymember Colton, an act to amend the
13 Education Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
17 act shall take effect July 1, 2023.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
19 roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
22 Kavanagh to explain his vote.
23 SENATOR KAVANAGH: Thank you,
24 Mr. President.
25 The hour is late, so I will be
7143
1 brief, as Senator Liu has instructed me to be.
2 That's a bit of an inside joke.
3 But no, this is a very significant
4 thing we're doing. We in fact changed the day to
5 Saturday just to do this tonight.
6 We are, with this bill, designating
7 the Asian Lunar New Year as a statewide school
8 holiday. And we know that across New York one of
9 the ways we convey the significance of a
10 particular culture, the inclusiveness of our
11 state, is to recognize holidays that are
12 important to the many different people in our
13 diverse communities across the state.
14 This holiday is a very significant
15 holiday for many of our Asian-American
16 New Yorkers and, for many, the most significant
17 holiday in the year. And we know that the AAPI
18 community has been growing across the state by
19 38 percent between the last two census counts by
20 the U.S. government. But we also know that Asian
21 representation has been growing right here in our
22 own Senate chamber and in the Assembly chamber.
23 So this is a very, you know, proud
24 moment for me to be a sponsor of this bill, as a
25 representative of Chinatown. I want to thank my
7144
1 colleagues, particularly Senator Liu and
2 Senator Chu and the leadership of our leader,
3 Andrea Stewart-Cousins; and in the Assembly,
4 sponsors Assemblymember Colton and
5 Assemblymember Lee -- who is here -- and the
6 Speaker, for working with our leader to get this
7 across the finish line.
8 And also our -- I should acknowledge
9 our Education chair, Senator Mayer, who has been
10 very supportive of this.
11 So with that, I vote aye.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
13 Kavanagh to be recorded in the affirmative.
14 Senator Liu to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR LIU: Mr. President, in the
16 interests of full disclosure, I'm Asian. I've
17 been Asian my whole life. And this is pretty
18 darn important to Asian Americans. With that, I
19 proudly vote aye.
20 I want to thank Senator Kavanagh for
21 sponsoring this. And Senator Kavanagh, this is
22 how you do brief.
23 Thank you. I encourage my
24 colleagues to do the same.
25 (Laughter; applause.)
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
2 Liu to be recorded in the affirmative.
3 Senator Mayer to explain her vote.
4 SENATOR MAYER: Thank you,
5 Mr. President. I will be brief -- not as brief
6 as Senator Liu.
7 But thank you, Senator Kavanagh,
8 Senator Liu, Senator Chu, all my colleagues for
9 their leadership in expanding the holidays for
10 schools throughout the state, and particularly
11 for making Asian Lunar New Year a school holiday
12 for every district.
13 As we do so, we're going to need to
14 work with the State Education Department, the
15 Board of Regents, Commissioner Betty Rosa, to
16 ensure that we have flexibility as our schools
17 struggle to both diversify the holidays they
18 celebrate and also deal with the 180-day
19 requirement that the state imposes on them.
20 This is going to require flexibility
21 and creativity. I look forward to working with
22 our colleagues across the street at the
23 State Education Department to find ways to ensure
24 our kids both celebrate holidays and have all the
25 requisite learning we need them to do.
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1 I proudly vote aye and salute my
2 colleagues for bringing this to the floor.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
4 Mayer to be recorded in the affirmative.
5 Senator Chu to explain her vote.
6 SENATOR CHU: Thank you,
7 Mr. President. Happy Saturday.
8 I'm very excited to be here to speak
9 on this bill that still keeps my eyes open at
10 this hour. Lunar New Year right now, this
11 holiday is probably one of the most celebrated
12 holidays in the world. Right now, around the
13 world there's about 2 billion people, population,
14 who are celebrating Lunar New Year this holiday.
15 And usually this holiday falls in
16 late January, early February. And next year it
17 is February 10, which the night is the eve we
18 have a big feast, a dinner with our family. And
19 it is a month-long, 30 days of celebration.
20 So this -- it is absolutely the time
21 for our family and friends who celebrate and come
22 together for each other to celebrate for our
23 culture and our future.
24 As an Asian-American myself, our
25 expansive cultures and traditions have typically
7147
1 not been recognized in the public domain. I'll
2 simply state it is about time we do so.
3 So I really appreciate all my
4 colleagues, especially State Senator Kavanagh and
5 all the Senators and our leadership who support
6 this one. I really, really appreciate it.
7 It means a lot for our AAPI
8 community because by passing this bill it means
9 our students, our families who celebrate this
10 holiday, they no longer need to choose between
11 their homework, their tasks, their attendance in
12 their school, their records -- or they can spend
13 the time to celebrate with their family.
14 And I'm really proud to be a
15 cosponsor of this bill.
16 For all these reasons, I proudly
17 vote aye. Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
19 Chu to be recorded in the affirmative.
20 Announce the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
23 is passed.
24 There's a substitution at the desk.
25 The Secretary will read.
7148
1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Addabbo
2 moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
3 Assembly Bill Number 7769 and substitute it for
4 the identical Senate Bill 7574, Third Reading
5 Calendar 1859.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
7 substitution is so ordered.
8 The Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1859, Assembly Bill Number 7769, by
11 Assemblymember Rajkumar, an act to amend the
12 Education Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
16 act shall take effect July 1, 2023.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
21 Addabbo to explain his vote.
22 SENATOR ADDABBO: Good morning,
23 everyone.
24 Light over darkness, good over evil,
25 the ability to address your challenges. These
7149
1 are the messages of Diwali, and this is the
2 characteristic of Diwali.
3 And now, because of this bill --
4 hopefully the Governor signs it -- the residents
5 of New York City, through the school system, will
6 realize this as a holiday.
7 It's a positive message that I think
8 certainly in today's times we need that message
9 that Diwali brings us. I want to thank you all
10 for your support. I want to thank our leader, of
11 course, for bringing this to the floor.
12 But I really want to thank
13 Eric Katz, my legislative director, and the team.
14 To deal with the Assembly on this bill, and their
15 persistence to get it to the floor and to have us
16 do this bill -- it was an adventure. So I want
17 to say thank you.
18 And I'll be voting aye. Thank you
19 very much.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
21 Addabbo to be recorded in the affirmative.
22 Senator Liu to explain his vote.
23 SENATOR LIU: Thank you,
24 Mr. President.
25 Diwali is the triumph of good over
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1 evil, of light over darkness, of everything good
2 over bad. It's very important as well. And I
3 thank Senator Addabbo for carrying this bill.
4 This is very meaningful to the
5 growing population of New Yorkers who are of the
6 Hindu, the Jain, the Sikh and also the Buddhist
7 faith.
8 So I want to thank Majority Leader
9 Stewart-Cousins for all of her support in this,
10 as well as many of our colleagues here, and I
11 proudly vote aye.
12 Thank you, Mr. President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
14 Liu to be recorded in the affirmative.
15 Senator Chu to explain her vote.
16 SENATOR CHU: Thank you,
17 Mr. President, again for another reason I still
18 keep my eyes open for these exciting bills.
19 Diwali means "world of light." It's
20 a holiday usually to celebrate for five days
21 long. That's where our people celebrate with
22 great happiness and joy and symbolize the
23 spiritual victory of light over darkness, good
24 over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.
25 And majorly, usually there's three
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1 traditional ways to celebrate this holiday. We
2 dress in colorful traditional clothing, we light
3 up the inside and outside of our homes with a row
4 of lights, and probably the last one is the most
5 universal celebration, is we celebrate with
6 fireworks.
7 And with that, by passing this
8 bill -- sorry, late hours.
9 Unfortunately for those holidays,
10 those five days' celebration time, our students,
11 they're not given any time off of the school to
12 partake in the festival. However, this bill will
13 make Diwali a school holiday in New York City and
14 send a message to our constituents that we
15 recognize their celebration and encourage their
16 traditions by allowing them to take home to focus
17 on their religious obligations.
18 In my district this bill will allow
19 my constituents the ability to participate in
20 Diwali celebrations. And I would like to thank
21 Senator Addabbo for advancing this important
22 representation in embracing our diversity. And
23 I'm a proud cosponsor of this bill.
24 For all these reasons, I vote aye.
25 Thank you.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
2 Chu to be recorded in the affirmative.
3 Announce the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
6 is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1861, Senate Print Number 7571, by
9 Senator Scarcella-Spanton, an act in relation to
10 authorizing the Silver Lake Foundation Inc. to
11 receive retroactive real property tax exempt
12 status.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
21 Persaud to explain her vote.
22 Just kidding, Roxie.
23 Announce the results.
24 (Laughter.)
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
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1 Calendar Number 1861, voting in the negative:
2 Senator O'Mara.
3 Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
5 is passed.
6 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
7 reading of today's calendar.
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: That was like
9 getting called on when you didn't do the reading
10 for the day.
11 (Laughter.)
12 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President, I
13 move to recommit the calendar of bills to the
14 Rules Committee.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: So
16 ordered.
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please recognize
18 Senator Ortt.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
20 Ortt.
21 SENATOR ORTT: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 It is late, and I'd like to say I'll
24 be brief, but that's a very subjective term. So
25 I'll be between Senator Liu and Senator Walczyk,
7154
1 somewhere in the middle there.
2 (Laughter.)
3 SENATOR ORTT: You know, as a
4 leader, you know, whenever you do these closing
5 comments you think about things you're going to
6 say on behalf of your conference, you think about
7 things you should say. And of course we always
8 do these at like 4:00 in the morning, right?
9 So -- and the truth is not only am I not at my
10 best, it's 4:00 in the morning. You really don't
11 feel like doing all the comments you wrote at
12 10 p.m. So -- so that was the strategy. Great
13 job.
14 (Laughter.)
15 SENATOR ORTT: Great job.
16 But I just want to -- first of all,
17 I want to thank -- I think the most important
18 thing at the end of session is to thank everyone
19 who helps make the New York State Senate run.
20 Because there's a lot of folks who don't sit in
21 these chairs, whose names are never on a ballot,
22 whose names aren't in the newspaper, probably
23 much to their appreciation. But they make this
24 place run on behalf of the 20 million people who
25 live in New York State. And they help us do what
7155
1 we have to do.
2 So to all of the staff, both in this
3 room and out there, who help make us look as good
4 as we can be looked -- look as good as we can,
5 and who help us do our job, I just want to thank
6 the staff collectively, Republican and Democrat.
7 And I would like a round of applause for all of
8 them.
9 (Applause.)
10 SENATOR ORTT: No doubt on both
11 sides -- and I'm sure Senator Stewart-Cousins
12 will mention her staff. I do want to thank our
13 staff, our counsel staff, who's spent a lot of
14 time working with our counterparts across the
15 aisle to get bills in, to get changes made so
16 that these bills can be put on the floor and
17 hopefully put into law.
18 And it's a hard process even when we
19 were in the majority. You don't get all the
20 bills you want. Things happen. The Assembly
21 makes a change and screws them up or whatever,
22 however it goes. But it's tough.
23 But I want to thank our staff;
24 again, counsel's office, for the work that they
25 do working with Majority counsel's office to get
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1 these calendars in, make sure we have time to
2 brief. Much of our staff is briefing these
3 bills. Certainly in the Minority they're
4 briefing us at 1:00 in the morning, 2:00 in the
5 morning, they're briefing us on very little
6 sleep. Even if they're briefing us at 10:00 in
7 the morning, they probably didn't sleep much the
8 night before as they were going through these
9 bills.
10 And all the great questions you
11 heard, most of them were written by staff. Not
12 all of them, but a lot of them. And so I want to
13 thank our staff certainly for the work that they
14 do.
15 I want to thank our members. It is
16 a privilege to serve in leadership in this body.
17 It is certainly a privilege to be a conference
18 leader. And for me, to be chosen by your
19 colleagues, by your peers to lead them -- I mean,
20 we're all Senators. And to be chosen by
21 Senators -- I'm sure the Majority Leader feels
22 exactly the same way -- it's really a very high
23 honor.
24 And it is not always easy, but it is
25 certainly an honor and pleasure. And I want to
7157
1 thank my members for how you conducted yourselves
2 on the floor, for the debate, for the questions,
3 and for the job that you do.
4 So I want to thank you, of course,
5 for letting me lead this conference. It is one
6 of the great honors of my life, Mr. President, to
7 lead the Republican Conference here in the
8 State Senate.
9 I want to thank the Majority Leader,
10 Senator Stewart-Cousins, for her partnership, for
11 her cooperation, for her understanding, and for
12 the role she plays as the leader of the body but
13 also the leader of her conference, and for
14 working with me as we try to get through what we
15 have to get through on behalf of the people of
16 New York State.
17 I want to thank Senator Gianaris for
18 what he does here on the floor.
19 And of course I'd be remiss if I
20 didn't thank my deputy leader, Senator Lanza.
21 Senator Lanza, as you might know, doesn't really
22 leave the chair a whole lot. Now, I've told him
23 he can leave to go to the bathroom, get something
24 to eat, get away from Senator Gianaris for a few
25 minutes --
7158
1 (Laughter.)
2 SENATOR ORTT: -- whatever it is,
3 right? But he really doesn't. He sits here --
4 and I came over here, he's got bottles of water.
5 It's like he's a hostage out here.
6 (Laughter.)
7 SENATOR ORTT: But he's -- he does
8 not like to leave because he takes his role,
9 being a floor leader, being that floor general,
10 very seriously.
11 And there's a lot of hours spent on
12 this floor -- not just today, but the whole week
13 and all session. And certainly on behalf of our
14 conference, I want to thank Senator Gianaris
15 {sic} for your leadership here as well.
16 (Applause.)
17 SENATOR ORTT: He thought he was
18 going to be the most fashionable guy and he wore
19 the seersucker suit, and then he saw
20 Senator Walczyk and that was out the window,
21 so --
22 (Laughter.)
23 SENATOR ORTT: Very, very briefly,
24 Mr. President.
25 Look, it's no surprise, it's been a
7159
1 long session, there's been a lot of twists and
2 turns this session from the judicial nominations
3 to the budget to -- you know, here we are today.
4 And it's probably no secret that our conference
5 feels very differently about a lot of
6 legislation -- not all of it. Not all of it. If
7 you've probably looked at the number of bills
8 that were passed, many of them were passed
9 overwhelmingly or unanimously.
10 But there's a lot of bills that our
11 conference has very real disagreements about, and
12 you say that in the debate. And it's a
13 philosophical difference. I really believe at
14 our core, and I think it was crystallized in the
15 elections bill, the changing of the election.
16 And I was thinking about, you know, what was I
17 going to talk about, and I wanted to boil it down
18 because it's late and I wanted to just get to the
19 one bill. But I think it crystallizes the
20 difference between our conference and the
21 Majority.
22 This is a conference that believes
23 that the smaller the form of government, the
24 better. The bigger it gets, the worse it gets,
25 the more divorced from the people. So whether
7160
1 it's your village government, your city
2 government, your town government, your county
3 government, I firmly believe that that is the
4 level of government certainly that's closest to
5 the people and that produces the best result and
6 that ensures our principles, which are freedom,
7 public safety, affordability -- those are our
8 principles here in this conference.
9 And generally speaking, when we talk
10 about Albany, I don't believe in my time here,
11 both Majority and Minority, I haven't seen a ton
12 of solutions that came out of this place that
13 made life infinitely better for people on the
14 ground. And certainly in Washington, D.C., I
15 think we can all agree that's even more the case.
16 Because you're just getting bigger.
17 And yet what we did with that
18 bill -- and I know, we heard things like, you
19 know, voter turnout. And, you know, so obviously
20 the argument being that we are against voter
21 turnout, which means we must be against
22 democracy. That's -- nothing can be further from
23 the truth.
24 I've watched over the past several
25 years as this body has made several Election Law
7161
1 changes. We have made it easier and easier and
2 easier to vote. Or at least we've said that.
3 We've said we're making it easier to vote. You
4 can vote early, you can vote absentee, you can
5 change your registration very close to the
6 Election Day. You can register to vote very
7 close to the Election Day. You can have an
8 absentee ballot that's not even postmarked.
9 We've made many, many changes, all
10 in the name of boosting voter turnout, making it
11 easier to vote. And yet still, apparently that's
12 not enough. So we've got to condense these
13 elections.
14 I don't believe it's about turnout.
15 I firmly believe it's about nationalizing
16 elections. That's what it's about. And we know
17 why. We know why. Senator -- the sponsor during
18 the debate said, you know, turnout, what's the
19 problem? When you nationalize elections here in
20 the State of New York, that is going -- if you
21 look at the numbers, Republican voters turn out
22 at a higher rate in midterm years. They also
23 turn out in the even years, but they turn out at
24 a higher rate in midterm years. Democrat voters
25 tend to turn out big in national elections,
7162
1 predominantly presidential.
2 Those are the numbers. Despite all
3 the efforts we've made, those remain the numbers.
4 So what do we do? Let's merge them. That'll --
5 that's the ticket. We'll merge the elections,
6 and then hopefully that addresses the issue of
7 turnout. But what it really does is it changes
8 the outcome in local elections. And it
9 absolutely will drown out local government
10 elections, campaigns and issues. There's no way
11 it doesn't. There's no way it doesn't.
12 When you -- when your average
13 constituent turns on their TV and watches CNN,
14 MSNBC, Fox News, whatever it is, they're not
15 talking about the town board or the county
16 legislature, they're talking about the
17 presidential politics, Washington, D.C. That's
18 true for most people. That's the level of
19 politics they know.
20 And we've seen the nationalization
21 of politics due to social media and other reasons
22 across the board. I see people running for
23 school board talking about the southern border.
24 So we know what it's really about.
25 And our conference stands opposed to that because
7163
1 we believe in the primacy of local government.
2 And they should have their own year to talk about
3 local issues. And we see the results. Democrats
4 vote for Republicans in those local years. In
5 national years, Republicans vote for Democrats,
6 because the issues are different. And that
7 separation is key, and it's always been that way.
8 And it has worked because everyone
9 is -- even Senator Martins said everyone in my
10 district's registered to vote that wants to vote,
11 and they are free to vote. We've made it easier
12 for them to vote. And that's not a bad thing.
13 It's not a bad thing. I served for a year in a
14 country where they didn't have the right to vote,
15 and it was only people with guns that allowed
16 them to go vote. So it is a good thing when
17 people can turn out, and we should always
18 encourage that.
19 But to drown out local election
20 years, to essentially nullify the importance of
21 local elections in the effort of partisan
22 politics -- that's what this is. And let's not
23 pretend that partisan politics don't ever enter
24 this august chamber, because they do. They did
25 before, and they do today, and they will in the
7164
1 future. That's a reality. The folks at home
2 watching, they're smart enough to know -- whether
3 it's 20 percent or 70 percent, they know that's
4 what's going on here.
5 So while we were disappointed with
6 that and other bills, certainly the Clean Slate
7 legislation and some others, I was proud of the
8 way this conference has conducted ourselves the
9 past week.
10 And I would just say this, because I
11 noticed on the floor, you know, things get a
12 little tense, Mr. President. They get a little
13 tense this time of year. People are tired, we're
14 up late. But how we conduct ourselves I think is
15 important. And how we conduct ourselves when
16 we're having passionate debates is important to
17 me. I know it's important to the
18 Majority Leader, because I've talked to her and
19 she's affirmed that. And I know it's important
20 to our conference.
21 And so I would just remind my
22 colleagues across the aisle that we do have a
23 different governing philosophy that is
24 represented by our constituents. We're not your
25 bro, we're your colleagues. We're not stupid, we
7165
1 have a different way that we think government
2 should be run.
3 Mr. President, we sleep just fine at
4 night.
5 Thank you for your indulgence. I
6 want to thank the members. God bless.
7 (Applause.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
9 Gianaris.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
11 please recognize Majority Leader Andrea
12 Stewart-Cousins.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
14 Majority Leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
15 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Thank you
16 so much.
17 And I'm not going to say I'm going
18 to be brief, but I certainly will not bring this
19 to an extraordinarily long end. But there are
20 thank-yous, there are sentiments that obviously
21 need to be expressed.
22 But I think the sentiment overall is
23 gratitude. Gratitude, again, for the opportunity
24 to be in these chambers. Gratitude for the
25 opportunity to share our opinions, to debate our
7166
1 philosophies, and to govern in a way that
2 reflects, yes, our districts and what we believe
3 is for the betterment of the state.
4 But as Senator Ortt said, none of
5 this happens without all of us working together.
6 And this is, in this night of gratitude, the time
7 where I too get a chance to thank all of the
8 people who make this work.
9 And I of course want to say
10 thank you to my deputy, the guy who keeps it
11 moving, keeps the decorum. He too is really not
12 allowed to leave. Every once in a while you do,
13 and then you're like, okay, let me get back.
14 But I want to thank you,
15 Senator Gianaris, for really helping to guide the
16 ship and getting us to the end.
17 (Applause.)
18 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: I'm going
19 to tell a secret. He's going to be a daddy!
20 (Applause.)
21 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Very
22 exciting.
23 And of course your -- your
24 counterpart, Senator Lanza. We've been --
25 (Laughter.)
7167
1 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: You know,
2 I was going to -- you don't know what you did, do
3 you?
4 SENATOR LANZA: I have that effect.
5 (Laughter.)
6 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Yeah.
7 No, no.
8 (To Senator Ortt.) You know, I
9 was -- because when you were thanking him, you
10 actually said "Gianaris."
11 SENATOR ORTT: No.
12 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Yes, you
13 did. So I was going to do that. You thanked
14 him, and then you said -- but I knew we were --
15 so I will give you -- but thank you also,
16 Senator Lanza, for what you do.
17 (Applause.)
18 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Senator
19 Ortt, certainly it is a pleasure. Even when you
20 staged a mini-revolt. Then we're like, okay,
21 what's going on, you know. But I found out.
22 And, you know, we get to talk. And then
23 everybody comes back together and we eventually
24 get to the end.
25 But it's good working with you, and
7168
1 I will always strive to keep the lines of
2 communication open.
3 Obviously I want to thank the
4 incredible staff on both sides of the aisle. I
5 know my staff has really -- like you said,
6 there's been so many twists and turns, and so
7 it's been a perpetual going and going and going.
8 So I thank each and every one of you for really
9 creating an environment, no matter how bumpy or
10 how uncertain, really just -- just even and
11 really professional.
12 And again, I know we've been on the
13 Minority side, and staff in the Minority work
14 just as hard -- and sometimes even harder because
15 you have to do a lot of catching up.
16 So again, thank you so much to the
17 staff. Thank you.
18 (Applause.)
19 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: And when
20 I talk about staff, I really have to shout out my
21 senior staff, who really have just been
22 incredible. My counsel, Eric Katz.
23 (Applause.)
24 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: The money
25 man, my Finance director, Dave Friedfel.
7169
1 (Applause.)
2 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Mike
3 Murphy, communications director. Where's Mike?
4 There he is.
5 (Applause.)
6 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: I want to
7 thank Jonathan Alvarenga, my director of
8 operations.
9 (Applause.)
10 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: And all
11 of my staff here in the Capitol, 907, in the
12 district, just thank you so much. I said I know
13 you have to run a lot because of me.
14 And I also want to thank -- where's
15 Alejandra, Alejandra Paulino, the Secretary of
16 the Senate?
17 (Applause.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: She
19 thought of getting us all these cool bottles so
20 that we will stay hydrated during the summer.
21 But thank you, Ale, for always
22 making sure everything is, again, the way it
23 should be.
24 Also Big Ben, Ben Sturges.
25 (Applause.)
7170
1 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: And all
2 the Sergeant-at-Arms who keep us safe.
3 I think it's pretty clear that it
4 takes a village. And every single one of you,
5 every single one of us plays an essential role in
6 this village.
7 And of course I want to thank my
8 conference. Every time I get an opportunity to
9 say, you know, how incredible you are -- and I
10 look over there too, and I've got to look back
11 there.
12 And thank you. Thank you for
13 never -- never being afraid to take on the hard
14 fights, to do things that were never, ever
15 entertained before in these chambers because so
16 many -- so many of us were never in the chamber.
17 But here we are. And every day we prove to
18 New York and to New Yorkers what leadership looks
19 like.
20 I also want to thank my first ever,
21 the first-ever class of all women freshmen
22 Senators --
23 (Applause.)
24 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Never
25 done. Come on.
7171
1 I was trying to get Patricia over,
2 but -- you know, Patricia, because you were alone
3 in the group. I said, Come on over, but she
4 didn't. She stayed. (Laughing.)
5 But I want to say to them that they
6 all brought such unique and diverse perspectives
7 to our body. And you all have accomplished so
8 much in your very, very first year in Albany.
9 When I stood in front of the chamber
10 at the beginning of the year, it was to lead
11 New York State's first ever back-to-back
12 supermajorities in state history. Voters sent us
13 here once again to continue addressing the most
14 pressing issues of the day with the same level of
15 tenacity and resolve that we've demonstrated
16 since the beginning.
17 We were tasked with formulating
18 timely solutions that not only alleviated the
19 symptoms but rooted out the disease. We spent
20 this session fighting at every turn for the best
21 interests of the people we represent, and
22 certainly for middle- and working-class families.
23 We opened strong pro-democracy, pro-choice
24 legislation to counter national rollbacks.
25 We used our purse to craft a
7172
1 historic budget that funds resources and
2 opportunities from the middle out and from the
3 bottom up, creating a more affordable New York
4 for all. And now we're closing with robust
5 policies that carry this year's momentum to
6 unlock our greatest potential for generations to
7 come.
8 The rest of the nation looks to us
9 to set an example. That's why the work we do
10 here carries enormous weight, because the path we
11 clear today will be the road that others will
12 take tomorrow.
13 As some seek to up-end the pillars
14 of our democracy and claw at the heart of
15 American values, New York continues to stand as a
16 breakwater. Per our tradition since taking the
17 majority, we started this session by advancing a
18 new spate of voting reforms and election
19 protections that pay homage to the people who
20 sent us here and ensure that they always have the
21 final say in these halls of power. We expanded
22 ballot access, strengthened anti-suppression
23 measures. We took steps to join the ERIC
24 database that will keep voter registration
25 information up-to-date across state lines.
7173
1 We also rejected the draconian
2 attacks on our reproductive freedoms by advancing
3 the second passage of the Equal Rights Amendment,
4 which codifies reproductive care and gender
5 equality in the State of New York.
6 We further strengthened provider
7 protections, increased access to services,
8 solidifying New York as a destination state for
9 anyone in need of reproductive care.
10 And we held ourselves accountable by
11 enacting much-needed judicial reforms, ensuring
12 the arbiters of justice are beholden solely to
13 the law.
14 Our state was founded by those
15 fleeing oppression in search of the freedom we
16 hold dear. That's why we took proactive steps in
17 this year's legislative budget to allocate
18 $1.3 billion for asylum-seeker support, and we'll
19 continue to work with our state and federal
20 partners in addressing this situation with
21 humanity and grace.
22 We also passed the Coverage For All
23 legislation that will help provide healthcare to
24 immigrant brothers and sisters without burdening
25 our state taxpayers.
7174
1 New York will look to champion the
2 values we were built upon, but we can only do
3 that if our own foundation is rock-solid. That
4 means continuing to make New York an affordable
5 state where families can settle down and raise
6 their children without being priced out of their
7 livelihoods. This session we helped make that a
8 reality by raising the minimum wage and indexing
9 it to inflation to make it a true living wage.
10 We also continued supporting
11 families by expanding the childcare tax credit
12 eligibility to kids under five, because no parent
13 should have to choose between raising their child
14 and making a living.
15 We looked to make the everyday costs
16 of living a lot cheaper by ratepayer protections,
17 capping the price of insulin, prohibiting
18 price-gouging of medicine, and this week passing
19 the New York HEAT Act. With these measures we're
20 making it more economically possible to stay in
21 the place you've always known, keeping New York's
22 excellence right here at home.
23 Reinvesting in New York communities
24 is fundamental to the continued growth and
25 success of our state as a whole. That's why, in
7175
1 addition to supporting households, we've also
2 taken steps to bolster local resources.
3 We prioritized public transportation
4 and infrastructure by continuing to fund MTA
5 services that result in better service, including
6 a pilot program of five free buses throughout the
7 city boroughs.
8 We implemented recommendations from
9 the Task Force on Limo Safety to make commercial
10 rentals safer and more reliable. We passed the
11 first-ever railroad safety package in our state's
12 history to prevent future calamities like the one
13 in East Palestine, Ohio, from happening right
14 here in New York.
15 We always invest in the best when it
16 comes to our communities by creating
17 opportunities at every turn. For many, it starts
18 with education. And that's why I'm so proud that
19 this year, for the first time, we're fully
20 funding Foundation Aid for our public schools,
21 finally ensuring that no one is owed money and
22 looking to make sure that no one is locked out of
23 a brighter future because of the zip code they
24 live in.
25 And we're guaranteeing that students
7176
1 will eat at least two free meals during the
2 school day. In a world where many children
3 receive the majority of their nourishment at
4 school, this is important, it's imperative, and
5 it's groundbreaking.
6 We halted any increases in state
7 tuition for SUNY and CUNY. We continued our
8 investment in our public higher education system
9 by providing $3 billion in capital investments.
10 We know that in order for people to
11 make good choices, they need to have good
12 choices. That's why we've strengthened
13 after-school programming, expanded investments in
14 activities dedicated to the arts and youth
15 athletics. And this week we passed a bill to
16 enact the School Anti-Violence Education Act,
17 aimed at reducing gun violence among children.
18 I remain a firm believer that public
19 safety and justice reform can work together.
20 This conference has never been a one-and-done
21 shop. So we clarified the bail law to ensure
22 that it's working as intended by providing judges
23 greater discretion, and put greater funding
24 towards gun violence reduction and mental health
25 treatment.
7177
1 And we're prioritizing second
2 chances. And I'm so proud that today we passed
3 Clean Slate, which will remove barriers that have
4 prevented too many from reintegrating into
5 society after they've fully paid their debt. Now
6 we can tap into the talent and potential that has
7 been needlessly withheld from our communities due
8 to perpetual punishment.
9 In the same effort, we passed the
10 landmark Wrongful Convictions Act, which grants
11 citizens a meaningful review of their case to
12 redress wrongful convictions, even in guilty
13 pleas.
14 We've also begun the process to
15 fully outlaw forced labor as a punishment for
16 crime, the well-known 13th Amendment loophole
17 that has allowed legal slavery to flourish
18 throughout U.S. prisons. Our bill, "No Slavery
19 in New York," is a monumental step towards
20 stamping out our nation's original sin and
21 accounting for the ways it still permeates our
22 everyday lives.
23 Our conference is committed to
24 correcting the mistakes of the past so they are
25 no longer the playbook of the future. That's
7178
1 also why we're finally advancing the
2 Commission on Reparations, which will be tasked
3 with studying the effects on how New York's
4 status as an economic and cultural hub of the
5 world has in many ways been built and shaped by
6 slavery, and how we as a state, as a nation, can
7 atone for the generational trauma that's
8 incurred.
9 These are crucial steps towards
10 building a strong and more equitable New York.
11 But as I so often say, we can't reap the true
12 reward of these efforts if the earth is
13 uninhabitable. Just this week New York was the
14 center of the world's attention as we led the
15 planet in the worst air quality by hundreds of
16 points, shattering all records since the EPA
17 first started keeping track, as a result of the
18 Canadian wildfires.
19 We often hear the refrain "It will
20 never happen in New York." But we as leaders
21 know better. Whether it be reproductive freedom,
22 gun control, climate action, we see now that the
23 only guaranteed protections are the ones that we
24 secure for ourselves. The stakes have never been
25 higher. That's why I'm not only so proud of this
7179
1 nation-leading climate action we've enacted in
2 the past, but of our continued efforts to make
3 good on climate promises in the CLCPA while
4 reversing the damage that's been done. Because
5 we no longer have to imagine how bad the
6 alternatives can be.
7 We finished the session strong in
8 our commitment by getting the Build Public
9 Renewables Act done and passing the
10 Climate Superfund Act, which requires our biggest
11 polluters to pay up on the costs of adapting to
12 climate change. It also has the teeth necessary
13 to ensure our clean, green infrastructure of the
14 future is union-made right here in America.
15 That's what our conference is all
16 about: Implementing ground-up reforms that not
17 only target the urgent needs of our citizens and
18 our state, but do so in a way that generates
19 growth and prosperity throughout all levels of
20 society.
21 The challenges we face are really
22 opportunities lying in wait. As this
23 deliberative body passes common-sense solutions,
24 we're writing the blueprint for our greatest
25 potential yet. So as you return to your
7180
1 districts to meet with your hardworking families
2 and the community, all the people who you
3 represent, I invite you to consider the ways our
4 work here will change their circumstances for the
5 better, and to feel proud of what we've
6 accomplished on behalf of New Yorkers.
7 I want to thank you all for another
8 incredible, memorable and historic year. And
9 when you go back to meet all your hardworking
10 constituents, don't forget to hang out a little
11 bit with the people you actually know, love and
12 that have missed you for so long as you come up
13 here away from your families.
14 Have some time, enjoy yourself.
15 Replenish. Travel a little bit. Stay safe. And
16 I will see you back, happy and healthy, in 2024.
17 God bless. Thank you.
18 (Extended standing ovation.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
20 Gianaris.
21 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
22 is there any further business at the desk?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: There is
24 no further business at the desk.
25 (Laughter.)
7181
1 SENATOR GIANARIS: I move to
2 adjourn to a date and time at the call of the
3 Temporary President of the Senate, with
4 intervening days being legislative days.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: On
6 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until a date
7 and time at the call of the Temporary President
8 of the Senate, intervening days being
9 legislative.
10 (Cheers; applause.)
11 (Whereupon, at 3:27 a.m., the Senate
12 adjourned.)
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