Jan 22,2008

Top of Form 1
Date: 01/22/2008
Session: Regular
89
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 January 22, 2008
11 3:21 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 LT. GOVERNOR DAVID A. PATERSON, President
19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
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Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
3 come to order.
4 I would ask all assembled to please
5 rise and join me in reciting the Pledge of
6 Allegiance.
7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
9 THE PRESIDENT: In the absence of
10 clergy -- unless either of these two gentlemen
11 has been ordained since I last saw them -- we
12 will have a moment of silence.
13 (Whereupon, the assemblage
14 respected a moment of silence.)
15 THE PRESIDENT: The reading of
16 the Journal.
17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
18 Monday, January 21, the Senate met pursuant to
19 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday,
20 January 19, was read and approved. On motion,
21 Senate adjourned.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Without
23 objection, the Journal stands approved as
24 read.
25 We will move to the order of

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1 business.
2 Presentation of petitions.
3 Messages from the Assembly.
4 Messages from the Governor.
5 Reports of standing committees.
6 Reports of select committees.
7 Communications and reports from
8 state officers.
9 Motions and resolutions.
10 Senator Libous.
11 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
12 there is a resolution at the desk,
13 Number 4040, by Senator Perkins. May we
14 please have the title read and move for its
15 immediate adoption, please.
16 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
17 will read the title of Resolution 4040.
18 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
19 Perkins, Legislative Resolution Number 4040,
20 commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the
21 Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in
22 the United States.
23 THE PRESIDENT: On the
24 resolution, all those in favor please indicate
25 by saying aye.

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1 (Response of "Aye.")
2 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
3 (No response.)
4 THE PRESIDENT: The motion
5 carries.
6 Senator Libous.
7 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 There is another resolution,
10 Number 4041, at the desk, by Senator Malcolm
11 Smith. Could we please have it read in its
12 entirety and move for its immediate adoption,
13 sir.
15 will read Resolution Number 4041, authored by
16 Senator Malcolm A. Smith. It will be read in
17 its entirety.
18 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Smith,
19 Legislative Resolution Number 4041,
20 commemorating the 79th Birthday of the
21 Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., and
22 paying tribute to his life and
23 accomplishments.
24 "WHEREAS, From time to time we take
25 note of certain individuals whom we wish to

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1 recognize for their valued contributions and
2 to publicly acknowledge their endeavors, which
3 have enhanced the basic humanity among us all;

4 and
5 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such
6 concern, and in full accord with its
7 long-standing traditions, it is the intent of
8 this Legislative Body to commemorate the 79th
9 birthday of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther
10 King, Jr., and pay tribute to his life and
11 accomplishments; and
12 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body
13 pauses to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of
14 the observance of his birthday as a national
15 holiday; and
16 "WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr.,
17 was born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta,
18 Georgia, the son of Alberta and Martin Luther
19 King, Sr., whose maternal grandfather founded
20 the Ebenezer Baptist Church, which the young
21 Dr. King would be associated with for most of
22 his life; and
23 "WHEREAS, Following his graduation
24 from high school at the age of 15, Martin
25 Luther King, Jr., earned a Bachelor of Arts

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1 degree from Morehouse College in 1948, a
2 Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer
3 Theological Seminary in 1951, and a doctorate
4 from Boston University in 1955; and
5 "WHEREAS, In 1953, Martin Luther
6 King, Jr., married Coretta Scott, who was an

7 accomplished individual in her own right, as a
8 talented singer and graduate of the
9 prestigious New England Conservatory of Music.
10 From this union came four children: Yolanda,
11 Martin III, Dexter, and Bernice; and
12 "WHEREAS, One year later, Martin
13 and Coretta King arrived in Montgomery,
14 Alabama, where he assumed leadership of the
15 Dexter Avenue Baptist Church; and
16 "WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
17 leadership skills would be put to the test in
18 early December 1955, when Rosa Parks' refusal
19 to remove herself from her seat in the 'Whites
20 Only' section of the city bus triggered the
21 382-day Montgomery Bus Boycott, the first
22 great Negro nonviolent demonstration of
23 contemporary times in the United States; and
24 "WHEREAS, The bus boycott -- which
25 ended December 21, 1956, when the Supreme

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1 Court declared unconstitutional the laws
2 requiring segregation on buses in the South --
3 propelled Martin Luther King, Jr., into the
4 national spotlight; and
5 "WHEREAS, In 1957, Martin Luther
6 King, Jr., was elected president of the
7 Southern Christian Leadership Conference
8 (SCLC), an organization formed to provide new
9 leadership for the burgeoning civil rights

10 movement, drawing their ideals from
11 Christianity and strategy of nonviolent
12 protest from Gandhi; and
14 and his allies in the civil rights movement,
15 at great danger to themselves, used
16 nonviolence to call attention to the racial
17 inequities that were pervasive throughout the
18 South, as well as to call for full voting
19 rights for African-Americans; and
20 "WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
21 commitment to racial equality was laid out in
22 dramatic fashion on August 28, 1963, before
23 200,000 Americans of all races and from all
24 corners of the country. His 'I Have A Dream'
25 speech, where he spoke of a nation that would

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1 'rise up and live out the true meaning of its
2 creed: We hold these truths to be
3 self-evident, that all men are created equal,'
4 and where his four little children would 'one
5 day live in a nation where they will not be
6 judged by the color of their skin but by the
7 content of their character'; and
8 "WHEREAS, The Nobel Committee
9 recognized Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work as a
10 civil rights leader and his moral stance
11 against racism with the 1964 Nobel Peace
12 Prize. At age 35, he became the youngest

13 recipient of this prestigious honor; and
15 also saw beyond race to address important
16 issues that affected all Americans, regardless
17 of the color of their skin, including the war
18 in Vietnam, economic injustice, and labor
19 issues. Indeed, by 1967, he had plans to
20 initiate a Poor People's Campaign to bring
21 much-needed attention to issues of poverty,
22 and was in Memphis, Tennessee, in support of
23 striking black sanitation workers when, on
24 April 4, 1968, he was taken from us by an
25 assassin's bullet; and

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1 "WHEREAS, Just as Gandhi had
2 inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., so did
3 his words inspire Nelson Mandela and hundreds
4 of thousands of black South Africans to fight
5 against the system of apartheid until it, too,
6 was destroyed; and
7 "WHEREAS, Today, four decades after
8 his death, Dr. King's commitment to racial
9 equality -- and his tireless efforts to make
10 this country 'one nation ... indivisible, with
11 liberty and justice for all' -- is still
12 remembered not just by young and old Americans
13 alike, but by men, women, and children around
14 the world who study his work and his words and
15 are moved to action by his declaration that

16 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
17 everywhere,' and
18 "WHEREAS, A moving example of the
19 high regard with which Dr. King is held
20 globally is at London's Westminster Abbey,
21 where his statue, along with those of nine
22 other 20th-century martyrs, adorn the west
23 front end of this venerable cathedral; and
24 "WHEREAS, Upon the occasion of the
25 observance of the 79th birthday of Martin

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1 Luther King, Jr., this Legislative Body wishes
2 to commemorate the lifelong struggle of the
3 man who wanted to be known as a 'Drum Major
4 for Peace'; now, therefore, be it
5 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
6 Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate
7 the 79th birthday of the Reverend Doctor
8 Martin Luther King, Jr., and pay tribute to
9 his life and accomplishments; and be it
10 further
11 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this
12 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
13 to the New York State Black, Puerto Rican and
14 Hispanic Legislative Caucus and the family of
15 the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr."
16 THE PRESIDENT: On the
17 resolution, Senator Smith.
18 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very

19 much, Mr. President.
20 To all my colleagues and to our
21 staff and friends in government, Martin would
22 have been 79 years old yesterday. And I think
23 if he was here, Mr. President, he would be
24 very proud just to look around these chambers.
25 Martin talked about justice,

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1 equality. And here you now have a chamber
2 where you have a Craig Johnson who is an
3 individual who came to the Senate just
4 recently; he sits on the same floor and shares
5 an office in terms of prestige with a Senator
6 Ruth Hassell-Thompson.
7 In addition to that, we now have a
8 Senator Jose Serrano. In addition to that,
9 you also have a Senator Bill Perkins.
10 If Martin was here today, I'm sure
11 he would say, as he said in his speech at
12 Washington, that he hoped one day we would
13 all -- black, white, Hispanic, Jews,
14 gentiles -- be able to sit across from one
15 another and be equal partners.
16 It is obvious that the 40 years
17 from this date that Martin would have been
18 here, he would have been able to say to
19 himself -- to himself -- job well done.
20 But I think the one thing that we
21 need to ask ourselves, as Martin has said so

22 many times, is he talked to you more about
23 justice, he talked more about who you were,
24 what you stood for. And I think if Martin was
25 here today, the question that would be asked

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1 beyond "who am I" would also be asked "why am
2 I here."
3 And I think each one of us need to
4 ask ourselves that question -- not so much you
5 being here in this chamber, but who are you
6 and why are you here in terms of 2008. What
7 is your purpose?
8 Is your purpose just to be a staff
9 person for the Senate? I don't think so. Is
10 your purpose just to be a member of this body
11 and sit here three days a week and vote on
12 different things and go home? I don't think
13 so. Is your purpose just to be able to say,
14 Well, I've done my job, I've achieved what I
15 need to achieve? I don't think so.
16 I think if Martin was here today, I
17 would say to each and every one of us: It is
18 time for us to dig a little bit deeper in
19 ourselves and find the Martin in you. And
20 when you find that Martin in you, the question
21 then becomes, very simply, are you part of
22 what I consider to be a common-sense
23 revolution?
24 Now, we've had revolutions

25 throughout our history. We've had the

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1 Industrial Revolution, we've had the dotcom
2 information revolution. Now I believe we're
3 in what I call the common-sense revolution.
4 And the common-sense revolution is
5 very simple. I know you say, Malcolm, what
6 does that mean? Well, it means, to me, three
7 different things.
8 You can't do everything, but you
9 can do your part. Common-sense revolution.
10 You may not be the best at everything, but you
11 can be the best at something. Common-sense
12 revolution. You can't guarantee equal
13 outcomes for everybody, but you can guarantee
14 equal opportunity for someone. Common-sense
15 revolution.
16 I believe, Mr. President, today, as
17 we are on this floor, it is time for us all to
18 begin to use common sense. Common sense that
19 says yes, we've got to do something about the
20 way our children are educated; yes, we have to
21 do something about the way bills are passed on
22 the floor of the Senate; yes, we have to do
23 something about how resources are passed to
24 each and every one of us.
25 Because common sense dictates that

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1 in order for us to do our job, to understand
2 why we are all here, we also have to be
3 balanced in our approach on how we do things
4 for the people around this state.
5 It is time for us to do the common
6 good. And the common good means that just as
7 much as Senator Libous sits over there and I
8 sit here, there's not much difference between
9 us. Senator Libous would love his children to
10 be educated like I would like mine. Senator
11 Libous would love his children to make more
12 money than he does, just like I would like
13 mine. Senator Libous would like to make sure
14 that his family is safe when he leaves home,
15 just like I would.
16 So I think if Martin was here, he
17 would clearly indicate to all of us: know why
18 you are here, understand your purpose in life,
19 but more than anything else, adopt the
20 common-sense revolution, which I think is
21 important to all of the people of this state.
22 Mr. President, I thank you, as I
23 see the Martin in you that I've seen so for so
24 many years, all that you've said and done when
25 you were on this side of the aisle. But I

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1 continue to ask you to help us all use our
2 common sense.
3 Thank you very much.
4 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
5 Senator Smith.
6 By the way, Senator Smith, are you
7 aware of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s given birth
8 name?
9 SENATOR SMITH: Yes.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Perkins.
11 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you,
12 Mr. President.
13 I just want to first commend my
14 Minority Leader for this resolution. It's
15 very timely, needless to say.
16 And, you know, yesterday I had the
17 privilege of being at one of the annual events
18 that take place in my district in which we
19 celebrate the legacy of Dr. King. And one of
20 the speakers made this profound observation
21 based on her knowledge of Dr. King, having
22 walked with Dr. King and actually being
23 89 years old. So she gave sort of her
24 reflections on him.
25 And one of the things that she said

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1 which was most poignant to me was that
2 Dr. King, despite how much he accomplished and
3 how important he is, was really just an
4 ordinary person, just like us, and how
5 ordinary people can create extraordinary

6 things.
7 And so I think that's a very
8 valuable and powerful message that brings to
9 mind all that we have the privilege and the
10 opportunity to do by virtue of his work, and
11 that within all of us there's a Dr. King --
12 male or female, black or white, tall or short,
13 however you want to describe yourself.
14 So I just wanted to bring that to
15 you as I also reflect on the fact that January
16 is such an important month for us, from the
17 point of view of American history. It was,
18 like my resolution pointed out, 200 years ago
19 that the slave trade was ended, which
20 obviously was very significant for this
21 country. And then shortly thereafter not only
22 was the slave trade ended, but slavery in the
23 United States itself was ended.
24 So all of this has happened for us
25 in January. And so January for us is not only

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1 just a wonderful time to begin a legislative
2 resolution, but it's also an important time, a
3 historic time, a momentous time for us to
4 begin to look at some of the foundations upon
5 which this great nation was built that created
6 so many momentous moments that we all can be
7 proud of and that have really become examples
8 for the rest of the world in terms of how they

9 move forward with their democracy.
10 So again, I want to appreciate very
11 much what you have done in bringing this
12 forward and reminding us of how important
13 Dr. King was and how there's a Dr. King in so
14 many of us and how this month, especially for
15 those of us of African descent, is so
16 important. But as we are of African descent,
17 we are also citizens of this great nation, of
18 this great democracy, ordinary people that can
19 create extraordinary changes.
20 Thank you.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
22 Hassell-Thompson.
23 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
24 you, Mr. President.
25 I rise too to thank our Minority

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1 Leader for his leadership on this resolution
2 and to just add my word of support to the
3 legislation, in that I too had the
4 opportunity -- I did not march with Dr. King,
5 but I did get the opportunity to meet him when
6 the Southern Christian Leadership and my
7 pastor brought him to the city of
8 Mount Vernon.
9 And I followed his life, as most of
10 us did. But one of the things that I think
11 that the press talks about more than most is

12 his "I Have A Dream" speech, because that's
13 kind of a comfortable speech for most people
14 to remember. But if you are reflective of
15 much of his work, at the end of his life he
16 talked about changing paradigms.
17 And changing paradigms does not
18 mean that we build more homeless shelters, but
19 that we try to resolve the issues that cause
20 homelessness to occur. We don't just feed the
21 hungry, but we look at the elements that cause
22 hunger.
23 And so that as we deliberate in
24 this chamber, if we believe that Dr. King's
25 life was significant, then I would hope that

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1 we would dedicate our lives and make a renewed
2 commitment to changing the paradigm of the
3 people for the State of New York.
4 Thank you.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Adams.
6 SENATOR ADAMS: Thank you,
7 Mr. President. I too rise and I want to thank
8 the Minority Leader for this.
9 I think that as a part of Dr.
10 King's life that everyone overlooked often,
11 when Dr. King was a child, he was playing and
12 sliding down a bannister in his house. And he
13 knocked his grandmother down -- he was very
14 close to his grandmother -- and she was

15 unconscious. And he thought that he had
16 killed his grandmother. He ran up to the
17 second floor of his home, and he jumped out
18 the window in an attempt to commit suicide,
19 and he was unconscious. But he lived.
20 And I don't know anyone in this
21 room that would not have wanted to be there to
22 save him so that he didn't take his life.
23 We have to fast-forward, because
24 sometimes we romanticize and live in the past.
25 His dream of the '60s shouldn't be a nightmare

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1 of today. Countless number of our children
2 will never become a Dr. King because of
3 senseless violence. Countless number of our
4 children are finding themselves on the other
5 side of bullets that young kids are paving
6 highways of death and taking their lives.
7 Yet we are moving slow and losing
8 all of these Dr. Kings. Every day another
9 group of Dr. Kings is dying and dying. They
10 may not be committing physical suicide of
11 jumping out a window, but they are killing
12 themselves emotionally and spiritually every
13 day of their lives.
14 So we can't say we love Dr. King if
15 we continue to be detached spectators and not
16 fully participate in this thing called life
17 and helping these young people to stop

18 committing suicide in this proportion.
19 Lastly, Dr. King was right in
20 New York City, in Harlem, during a
21 book-signing. A deranged woman pulled out
22 what they thought was a knife -- but in fact,
23 it was a letter opener -- stabbed him in his
24 chest, inches away from his heart. Then she
25 went to the police precinct. People thought

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1 that was the end of it when in fact it was
2 not. Hidden in her bosom was a firearm, was a
3 gun that she wanted to shoot him if the knife
4 didn't have its final resolve.
5 Guns were taking lives back then.
6 It took his life in Memphis. It's taken our
7 Dr. Kings of today right here, in Monroe
8 County and in Brooklyn and Bed-Sty and
9 throughout this entire nation. If we don't
10 get off this sick fast pace of believing that
11 we have to have an overproliferation of guns,
12 we're going to continue the process of losing
13 Dr. King.
14 If we truly remember and love his
15 contribution, then we need to start with
16 bringing that dream not only in the '60s, but
17 we need to bring it here with us in 2008.
18 Thank you.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
20 Stewart-Cousins.
21 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Thank
22 you, Mr. President.
23 I just wanted to raise my voice and
24 certainly thank the Minority Leader for
25 bringing the resolution before us.

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1 And as I was listening to my
2 colleagues speak on Dr. King, I thought it was
3 important to remember that Dr. King was
4 obviously not always spoken of in this way and
5 in these glowing terms. I remember growing
6 up -- although I grew up here in the North,
7 obviously all eyes were peeled on what was
8 going on in the South.
9 And I remember my parents, who had
10 enjoyed some sort of pseudo-freedom in the
11 North, thinking that Dr. King was maybe
12 pushing just a little too hard, thinking that
13 Dr. King was maybe lifting the hopes of people
14 just a little too high, thinking that maybe we
15 were going to, by pushing for progress, find
16 ourselves in a situation worse than the one we
17 were in.
18 It was an extraordinary thing to
19 watch as my parents, holding on with their
20 fingertips to the very little that we had in
21 public housing, the very little opportunity we
22 had, afraid that we might lose it by the likes
23 of a Dr. King.
24 So as we stand here in 2008 and we
25 talk about the issues that face us in the

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1 state that still have in its roots the fact
2 that there is still inequality, there is still
3 unemployment, there are still economic
4 concerns, there's still homelessness, there's
5 still violence, there's still drug abuse,
6 there's still things that we must do -- we
7 have to understand that although Dr. King's
8 dream doesn't say he was a dreamer, he had the
9 vision to understand that he could move
10 mountains. So can we.
11 We cannot allow ourselves not to
12 push forward for fear of what we might lose.
13 It is our time to do that, and certainly in
14 the memory and the legacy of Dr. King.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Is any other
16 Senator wishing to speak on the resolution?
17 We will now recognize, because of
18 his unique participation with Dr. King,
19 Senator Larkin.
20 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you very
22 I enjoyed hearing the comments on
23 Dr. King, as one who met Dr. King only one
24 time. I met Dr. King March the 21st, 1965, in
25 Selma, Alabama, to start the march from Selma

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1 to Montgomery.
2 And you know, as an individual --
3 two weeks from today I'll be 80 years old, so
4 I start to think to myself: What are we doing
5 to teach our children about a gentleman who we
6 all acclaim did wonders?
7 I've been hearing politicians on
8 radio and TV for the last month and a half of
9 who did the most to get the Voting Rights Act.
10 And I heard one say, "Oh, it was President
11 Johnson. That's a lie." President Johnson no
12 more than Governor Spitzer. They can't vote
13 on the bill.
14 But as you remember in your days
15 sitting down here, Mr. President, that the
16 members passed the bill, the President or the
17 Governor signs the bill.
18 Without Dr. King's energy,
19 forthright and deep concern and how he managed
20 it, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would have
21 never passed.
22 And for my colleagues on that side
23 and this side of the aisle, you're a little
24 young to remember '65. But there's been
25 movies out in the last week that found people

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1 sitting on their hands when it came to voting
2 for the Voting Rights Act, at which time the
3 President had to go to Bill Nolan from
4 California and say: "We need Republican
5 votes." And they got them, and the bill
6 passed. And some of the prominent Democrat
7 families from the South were outraged because
8 of it.
9 Dr. King was smart. He didn't
10 fight back. He went and said what this would
11 mean from our country in the eyes of the
12 world. I thought it was great.
13 We had to march from Selma to
14 Montgomery. As a young schoolchild asked me
15 about a month ago, "What was it like?" Well,
16 let's look at what happened. Because we had
17 one mission from the Secretary of Defense,
18 that the march on the 21st of March would have
19 one idea, to ensure the safety and the
20 security of the marchers, of the people
21 watching it, the people who didn't want it,
22 and anybody else in between.
23 And we were very successful. We
24 brought military troops from Fort Lewis,
25 Washington, from Fort Hood, Texas, from Fort

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1 Benning, from Fort Bragg, from Fort Harrison,
2 Indiana. And we all had a mission: safety
3 and security. Because without it, we would

4 have had people like Bulldog Conner, with his
5 bullwhip, his bullhorn, and his water hose,
6 for which there was no need.
7 Governor Wallace did not want it.
8 And you know, if you really look at it,
9 Governor Wallace had two pieces of string.
10 One string said if I do what the federal
11 government wants, the people of Alabama will
12 have to pay for all the troops. If I wait and
13 let the President do it, there will be no cost
14 to the taxpayers of Alabama, it will be spread
15 across America. And that's the way it finally
16 ended up.
17 But I think we have a
18 responsibility here. I appreciate everything
19 that was said here, and I don't minimize it.
20 Malcolm, you know I don't. But I think we
21 need to carry this forward by deeds, what we
22 teach children.
23 Martin Luther King had a dream. I
24 read in the paper yesterday, it said he had a
25 dream. He didn't only have a dream; he had a

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1 vision. And I thought about it for a long
2 time, because I commanded an
3 all-African-American company in Korea in
4 combat. And the blood that come out was just
5 as red as that which come out of me.
6 So I think we need to step back and

7 say what kind of a program can we have to
8 teach young people what really took place.
9 The march had a purpose, to alert America and
10 the world that we're one nation, and united we
11 stand and divided we fall. And we don't need
12 people saying I'm going to vote, I'm not going
13 to vote, I'm going to do this, I'm not going
14 to.
15 And as you and I, Mr. President,
16 spoke, your father was in the front row of
17 that match from Selma to Montgomery. Am I
18 correct?
19 It doesn't matter what you are.
20 It's what you stand for. And I think we need
21 to go back to basics in schools and teach
22 these children what happened. Because the
23 final act was in April of '68 in Memphis, on a
24 balcony, when he went there to help the
25 sanitation workers and was shot and killed.

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1 And I know everybody tells me "I was there,"
2 "I was there," "I was there," "I was there."
3 We've got to start remembering
4 these young children weren't there. They only
5 know what we're telling them. And if we talk
6 in violence, that's what they'll remember.
7 And there's no need to be talking in violence.
8 There's a need to tell everybody that this
9 gentleman had a vision.

10 He had a purpose, he had a vision,
11 because he wanted his children to have the
12 same benefits my children had. And the voting
13 rights was one way for him to establish for
14 African-Americans.
15 He did a great job. I think we
16 need to go back and start to remember what he
17 did, how he did it, and how we can educate our
18 young people to not just respect him but
19 gather momentum from what he did on our
20 behalf.
21 Thank you.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
23 Senator.
24 Senator Maziarz.
25 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very

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2 I never met Dr. Martin Luther King,
3 like my colleague Senator Larkin; I'm a little
4 bit younger than Senator Larkin. But I did
5 have an occasion several years ago to meet
6 with Dr. King's wife, Coretta Scott King.
7 And you know, when we appropriately
8 honor Dr. King on this day each and every
9 year, I always tell young people that I speak
10 to at celebrations to remember his partner of
11 many years.
12 We sat next to each other at a

13 luncheon for a domestic violence program in my
14 district, and she was just the most engaging,
15 intelligent person. Talked to me about her
16 husband and the civil rights movement. And
17 you could tell that I'm sure that Dr. King
18 derived an awful lot of his strength from this
19 very remarkable woman.
20 So as we sit here today, and as we
21 did yesterday, across this state, honor this
22 great man, I think it's important that we
23 remember sitting next to him, confiding with
24 him, sometimes during some very tough
25 struggles, was a great and remarkable woman

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1 also.
2 Thank you, Mr. President.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Is there any
4 other Senator wishing to speak on the
5 resolution?
6 On the resolution, all those in
7 favor please indicate so by saying aye.
10 (No response.)
11 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution
12 carries.
13 The man that we knew as Martin
14 Luther King, Jr., was born January 15, 1929,
15 under the name Michael Luther King, Jr. In

16 1934 his father, a minister, was so regaled by
17 the readings pertaining to Martin Luther that
18 he changed his name and his son's to the man
19 whom we have just honored.
20 We will open the resolution to
21 cosponsors. We will list all Senators.
22 Anyone wishing not to be on the resolution may
23 indicate so at the desk.
24 Senator Libous.

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1 Mr. President.
2 There will be an immediate meeting
3 of the Rules Committee in Room 332, and then
4 we'll come back and pass the one bill, and
5 then we will adjourn for the day.
6 THE PRESIDENT: There will be an
7 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
8 Room 332.
9 The Senate stands at ease.
10 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
11 ease at 3:52 p.m.)
12 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
13 at 4:00 p.m.)
14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Libous.
16 with respect to Resolution Number 4040, we'd
17 like to, at the request of the sponsor, open
18 that up for all members to go on. Is that

19 okay with you, sir?
20 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Libous,
21 we will open up Resolution 4040, sponsored by
22 Senator Perkins, for cosponsorship.
23 Every member of the Senate will be
24 placed on the resolution. Anyone wishing
25 otherwise may indicate so at the desk.

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2 Mr. President.
3 And can we return to reports of
4 standing committees, please.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Reports of
6 standing committees.
7 The Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
9 from the Committee on Rules, reports the
10 following bill direct to third reading:
11 Senate Print 6773, by Senator
12 Robach, an act to amend the Civil Service Law
13 and the State Finance Law.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Libous.
15 SENATOR LIBOUS: Move to accept
16 the report of the Rules Committee.
17 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor.
20 (No response.)
21 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is

22 reported direct to third reading.
24 at this time may we please take up Calendar
25 Number 76, Bill Number 6773, which was just

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1 reported by the Rules Committee.
3 will read.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 76, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 6773, an
6 act to amend the Civil Service Law and the
7 State Finance Law.
9 is there a message of appropriation at the
10 desk?
11 THE PRESIDENT: Yes, there is,
12 Senator.
13 SENATOR LIBOUS: I move to accept
14 the message of appropriation.
15 THE PRESIDENT: On the motion,
16 all those in favor.
19 (No response.)
20 THE PRESIDENT: The message is
21 accepted.
22 Read the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 27. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.

25 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.

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1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
3 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
4 passed.
5 Senator Libous.
7 is there any other business at the desk at
8 this time?
9 THE PRESIDENT: No, there is not,
10 Senator.
11 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you.
12 There being no further business, I
13 move that we adjourn until Wednesday,
14 January 23rd, at 11:00 a.m.
15 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate stands
16 adjourned to Wednesday, January 23rd, at
17 11:00 a.m.
18 (Whereupon, at 4:03 p.m., the
19 Senate adjourned.)
20
21
22
23
24
25

(518) 371-8910

Jan 22,2008

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1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE

4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD

9 ALBANY, NEW YORK

10 January 22, 2008

18 LT. GOVERNOR DAVID A. PATERSON, President

19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will

4 I would ask all assembled to please

5 rise and join me in reciting the Pledge of

7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited

8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)

9 THE PRESIDENT: In the absence of

10 clergy -- unless either of these two gentlemen

11 has been ordained since I last saw them -- we

12 will have a moment of silence.

13 (Whereupon, the assemblage

14 respected a moment of silence.)

15 THE PRESIDENT: The reading of

17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,

18 Monday, January 21, the Senate met pursuant to

19 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday,

20 January 19, was read and approved. On motion,

22 THE PRESIDENT: Without

23 objection, the Journal stands approved as

25 We will move to the order of

3 Messages from the Assembly.

4 Messages from the Governor.

5 Reports of standing committees.

6 Reports of select committees.

7 Communications and reports from

9 Motions and resolutions.

11 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,

12 there is a resolution at the desk,

13 Number 4040, by Senator Perkins. May we

14 please have the title read and move for its

15 immediate adoption, please.

16 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary

17 will read the title of Resolution 4040.

18 THE SECRETARY: By Senator

19 Perkins, Legislative Resolution Number 4040,

20 commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the

21 Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in

22 the United States.

23 THE PRESIDENT: On the

24 resolution, all those in favor please indicate

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2 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.

4 THE PRESIDENT: The motion

7 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you,

9 There is another resolution,

10 Number 4041, at the desk, by Senator Malcolm

11 Smith. Could we please have it read in its

12 entirety and move for its immediate adoption,

14 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary

15 will read Resolution Number 4041, authored by

16 Senator Malcolm A. Smith. It will be read in

18 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Smith,

19 Legislative Resolution Number 4041,

20 commemorating the 79th Birthday of the

21 Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., and

22 paying tribute to his life and