Assembly Live Stream (partial)

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Master of Milk Master of Milk Master of Milk Master of Milk Master of Milk Super Ikot Milk Master of Milk Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. ? ? Thank you. Thank you. It MIESilleurs distance from different blocks This CSU willing to slash right That MIESbury IP Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. That's where it will be.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you The storytellers Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Madam Speaker, can you please call the house to order?

Visitors are invited to join members in the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. A quorum being present, the clerk will read the journal of Sunday, May 3rd. Mr. Fall. Madam Speaker, I move to dispense with the further reading of the journal of Sunday, May 3rd, and that the same stand approved.

Thank you, Madam Speaker, for allowing me to do an introduction to someone I greatly admire, Rabbi Boaz Mormon has served the congregation Shara Tefillah in Saratoga Springs since the summer of 2020. Truly a challenging time in our history to begin any new position, but perhaps particularly so as the leader of a new congregation. I have come to know the rabbi as a buoyant and jubilant faith leader, particularly well-suited for these times. He grew up the son of a rabbi who spent much of his career as a chaplain in the United States Army and Air Force. His youth was spent in places around the globe and across the country. Rabbi Marmon has followed his father's footsteps into military service, working as a signals intelligence analyst and Iraqi-Arabic linguist in the U.S. Army, serving mostly in California and Germany. He then completed a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering at Old Dominion University before finding his true path in a rabbinic career. Rabbi Marmon was ordained in 2015 by the Academy of Jewish Religion, a non-denominational seminary located in Yonkers. He is a musician, a storyteller, and a scholar. Rabbi Marmon leads his congregation with a vibrant perspective born of a diverse set of experiences and a deeply rooted faith in the wisdom and tradition of Judaism. Madam Speaker, please offer the rabbi the cordialities of the House.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to introduce the Bronx Community College women's basketball team, the Broncos, who have just completed a historic 2025-26 season, joining us today under the leadership of Rund Community College President, Dr. Larry Johnson. This remarkable group of young women closed out their campaign with a 70-68 victory over the road runners of Rund College of South Jersey in the consolation game of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Women Basketball Tournament marking the first tournament win in program history. They finished the season with an outstanding record of 19 wins and 6 losses. After reeling off an 11-game winning streak to open the 2026 calendar year, the Broncos captured BCC's first CUNY Community College Championship in nine seasons and went to qualify for both the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 15 and 3rd Women's Basketball Tournaments. On February 2nd, Bronx Community College made its first ever appearance in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Women's Basketball National Poll. They stayed in the top 15 for three consecutive weeks and climbed as high as 11 in the entire country. The Broncos also boasted four new CUNY All-Conference selections for National Junior College Athletic Association 15. all Region honorees and two players recognized as Region 15 Student Athlete of the Month for January and March respectively. I'm finishing, no better. And leading this extraordinary group on the court is head coach Craig Williams, who was named coach of the year by both the CUNY College Athletic Conference Region 15. We also have with us the president of BBC, Dr. Larry Johnson. Johnson. Madam Speaker, I ask that all members join me in celebrating this outstanding student athlete, their coaching staff and President Larry Johnson. Please welcome them and extend

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's a great day here in Albany and I have an esteemed group with me this morning, so go ahead and stand up. I had a chance to meet these individuals several years ago because they cared about the community. They cared about Rochester Monroe County which is part of my Assembly District Madam Speaker And I got to know them and Lavelle Lewis who is the president Emily Foster who is the vice president Cecil Johnson, who is the treasurer of communications, Leticia Gonzalez, the secretary, Cleanda Florence, Dre Collins, Joyce Carver, and Kalinda Washington are here today because this group of individuals are going to make a difference in the world that we live in, in the world that they live in. And bringing this group here today for me is one of the reasons why I do this job, Madam Speaker. They are a club in Rochester that are going to do the work that they set out to do. So it's my honor and privilege to represent them, serve them, but also introduce them here on the New York State Assembly floor. So if you could give them the cordialities of the House and welcome them, Madam Speaker, I would surely enjoy it. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today to introduce two heroic students from Monticello High School in my district, Gavin Shoup and Emma Stanton. And this happens to be the district where my two children graduated. so I'm doubly proud. On March 5th, Gavin and Emma were on a school bus on their way back to the high school coming from their health occupation class which was held at our hospital Garnet Medical Center when they noticed that the bus that they were on was entering State Route 17 in the wrong direction. They saw right away that the bus driver was having a serious medical issue that rendered him incapacitated and they both jumped right into action. Working together, Gavin, who is an EMT with the Rock Hill Ambulance Corps, helped the driver pull one of the emergency brakes, slowing them down, and Emma, right behind him and came up to the front of the bus and pulled the other emergency brake, which stopped the bus safely on the side of the road. These students acted fast and decisively, saving their classmates, the bus driver, and countless other drivers along the road. Both of these students are enrolled in alternative medically-based programs through Sullivan County BOCES. Gavin is in the New Visions program, offering seniors a rigorous hands-on site-based experience in health care settings, and Emma is a student in BOCES health occupations. We are so lucky that these students seemingly found their calling. With them today is their principal Jennifer Gore And I just want to thank these students again for their true acts of courage and bravery stepping up in the most dire of moments We are all so proud Thank you Madam

Mr. Fall? Madam Speaker, can you call the Rules Committee to the Speaker's conference room?

Mr. Fall? Madam Speaker, can you kindly put the House at ease?

Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Madam Speaker, can you please call the House back to order?

Mr. Fall. Members have on their desk an A calendar. Madam Speaker, I now move to advance the A calendar.

Yes, Madam Speaker, and good morning, my colleagues. Before us, we have another extender. As we're working toward a budget agreement, this extender would ensure funding for state operations and other programs through May the 6th. This bill includes additional funding for administrative payroll, Medicaid, WIC, unemployment insurance, transportation assistance, OPWDD services, veterans programs, and other state general charges. Mr. Palmasano. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Chairman yield for some questions? Mr. Patlow yield? Absolutely.

Thank you Mr Patlow Hope you had a nice weekend I did sir And you I did Thank you very much A couple of quick questions and then we get into some other questions The first one I wanted to ask, you answered the question about the May 6th. This being our ninth budget extender, what is the total amount of the appropriations to date of those nine extenders? The total to date is $19.8 billion. Okay. And the increase of this extender over the previous extender is how much? $3.1 billion. Okay. Thank you. And before I get into some more questions, I kind of just wanted to get maybe an idea of, you know, you see a lot of reports over the weekend, things are moving along, there might be some talks on financial issues. Just generally speaking, what would be your assessment of where things stand today as far as this budget process? Well, things are moving along, and I hope you'll be glad to hear that we have agreed to an additional, well, we've agreed on the distribution of $380 million, better known as table targets. And if you'd like this specific breakdown, I can give it to you. Actually, that would be wonderful. If you have any table targets, I'd love to see what you have. Our approved table targets or agreed upon table targets, these are all in millions of dollars. Economic development, $25 million. Education, $85 million. Environmental and agriculture and housing, $25 million. Local government, $10 million. Health, $45 million. Higher education, $25 million. Human services and labor, $120 million. Mental hygiene is $10 million. public protection $30 million, and transportation $5 million, which comes to a total of $380 million agreed upon. Thank you for that, Mr. Pretlow. With that being said, I know when we talked before, we talked about it was all the policy issues that were holding up the budget. Given the fact that we have the table targets, I'll go through a few of them with you. Today, do we have agreements on Seeker or are we close? We have a general agreement. We're close, but there is no language written. Okay. How about on the auto insurance? We have a general agreement there also, but it's not been reduced to language as of yet. How about on the proposed immigration discussions that are going on? Same thing. We have a general agreement, but nothing is in writing yet. Okay. How about on tier six? That's in discussion. Okay. And certainly not last. What about on climate? Climate, we have a general agreement there also that it has not been reduced to writing. And given that on the fiscal side of things, because you say you gave us some table targets, the other issue I would say that's more fiscally related, how about on possible tax increases? Have you had any agreements or specifics you could share with us on what we'd be looking at for a tax? We're not there yet, no. Okay. Well, so based on where we are, do you think by the end of this week we'll start passing actual budget bills? I don't think we'll have the time to put the budget bills in print. We may have a total agreement on everything, but as you know, it takes a while to print them, and then we have to, if we don't get a message, I'm assuming we will get a message, have to wait three days before we can start voting on them. And I know that you're going to quiz me for at least four hours or maybe five hours on each bill, and it's nine bills, That's 45 hours of debate, which I don't look forward to, but I will willingly do it. I appreciate that. So you expect maybe we might have an announcement of a conceptual agreement between the governor and two houses by the end of this week or sometime this week? If I were a hoping person, and I'm not saying this will happen, I'm looking at the end of the week to make some kind of a positive general announcement. Okay, so you're thinking probably... I'm thinking. This is not that second floor. It's not across the hall. It's not over here. This is me talking. I understand, Mr. Prello. Believe me. And so obviously we'll need another extender come Thursday probably. Yes, we will. And probably another one. We don't know how long that extender is going to run through this one. We don't know how long that extender will be. So probably we'll need at least two more extenders or at least one? At least one. Okay. All right. Mr. Prello, as always, I thank you very, very much for your time. time. Madam Speaker, on the bill. On the bill. Madam Speaker, my colleagues, here we are, our ninth extender. Nine of them. Think about that. Last year we had 12 extenders before we enacted a final budget. Here we are a month late already. And now here we are hearing some positive news that there were a deal could be a conceptual deal possibly this week. But there are still some unanswered questions that we need to know about. There's still some clarity that needs to be addressed for the tax taxpayers that we represent. We really don't know when we're going to see actual budget bills. We're hoping, it sounds like probably next week as far as our conversations. It sounds like the conversations we're spending are moving along with the table targets being announced, which we appreciate that. That's certainly long overdue, but this has been a process that's really problematic. Actually, these conversations, you'd think we would have had more conversations on the fiscal stuff weeks ago, but obviously we know with the policy. Where we are now, it's really just the bare minimum. And these conversations are real, but the public deserves to have them in an updated financial plan. So hopefully we'll get some financial plan information when we get this budget votes coming for us because it would be unfair for us to be voting on budget bills without an actual financial plan in front of us. And now we're like into May, and we've got about one month left of the scheduled session, one month to finish the budget, and then legislative work that we have left to do. And we all know how this ends. It's really a race to the finish. And in Albany, a race to the finish means last-minute deals and more votes taken in the dead of night. It's really not how we're supposed to be operating. New York is one of the largest economies in the country and shouldn't be governed this way. Again, I will say I am going to vote for this extender because we need to keep our governor open, and we need to pay our dedicated employees who do such a great job for us. But this being the ninth time around, we've got to stop acting like this is the normal. It's just not. It isn't. And every time we pass another extender, we just make it harder to get back to the process of getting to work on other things that we need to be working on. So with that, Madam Speaker, again, we'll be supporting this extender bill, and it's my hope that we get this thing wrapped up soon and hopefully the numbers being discussed are going to be in the fiscal interest of the New Yorkers we represent and it's a budget that's fiscally responsible and that my colleagues and the governor don't forget this is the people's money they're talking about. It not their money our money to spend just for them Thank you Madam Speaker

Thank you. Thank you.

This is an Article 7 bill, and it provides authorization for certain payments and transfers related to the state operating assistance. Mr. Palmisano. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the chairman yield for a few questions? Yes. Will the chair yield?

Thank you again, Mr. Partlow. Could you just, on this bill, just walk us through, maybe in plain terms, what this bill is actually doing? Specifically, what authority is this giving to the comptroller to move funds between accounts? Okay, well, there are two sections to this particular piece of legislation. Section 1 permits the state controller to loan funds to certain transit accounts, and Section 2 provides a general fund transfer of $48.9 million for the MTA financial assistance plan. Okay. Could you say which transit programs or systems will ultimately be supported by these transfers? All of them. All of them. Okay. And just to be clear, this type of transfer authority is normally provided as part of the sweeps and transfers section of the budget, correct? Yes. So what we're doing here really is effectively pointing out one piece of the broader authorization and advancing it on its own. Is that accurate or correct? That's pretty accurate. Okay. Thank you very much, Mr. Prelow. No further questions. Okay.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. We all know that it's a dangerous world. And we all know that much of the world is now clouded by the fog and the fogs of war. If not for foreign correspondents, if not for the press, we would really not even have any idea about what's going on. because any of the governments involved in any of these wars are going to want us to believe what they want us to believe, not what the truth is. There is nothing new there. It has always been that way for as long as there has been sharing of information. So it is very fitting today that we gather to recognize Press Freedom Day, And it's very fitting that we value and show our respect for the press, which is dedicated to making sure that we have some sense of what the truth is, not only in New York State, not only in the United States, but throughout the world itself. And this has been a year in which far too many journalists have been killed and injured and maimed in far too many places. So I think it's time that we stand up, and we stand up for those who put themselves in danger to make sure that we know what the truth is. And I thank you for allowing me to speak on this resolution, and I thank my colleagues for supporting it. Thank you.

Thank you to my colleague for supporting this resolution to recognize the extraordinary service of New York's volunteer firefighters. Across our state, nearly 100,000 men and women stand ready to protect our communities at a moment's notice. In districts like mine, which entirely consists of volunteer fire departments, they are not just first responders, they are neighbors, friends, and family. In many of our communities, volunteer firefighters are the backbone of public safety. Without them, there simply would be no immediate response when emergencies strike. They leave their families to respond to fires, accidents, medical emergencies, and disasters of every kind. They do this with extreme courage, professionalism, and unwavering sense of duty. This resolution, declaring May 4th as Volunteer Firefighters Appreciation Day, is a meaningful way to recognize their sacrifice, including those who have given their lives in the line of duty. I'd like to take a moment to thank these individuals for their service, their bravery, and their commitment to keeping New Yorkers safe. Thank you for letting me speak on the resolution.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. On the resolution, I want to thank the sponsor for bringing this bill forward. Obviously, our volunteer fire people and EMS Workers do an amazing job in all of our communities, whether it's 4 a.m. or 4 p.m. They answer the call. Many of them, you know, just because they believe in what they're doing to take care of the communities. So we can't thank them enough. Unfortunately, it can't just always just be words. It has to be done with legislation and actions. And unfortunately, in this House, sometimes we don't do that. But today we are honoring those volunteers that put themselves in harm's way to protect all of us, and we thank them. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I also just wanted to lend my voice in support of this important resolution. My district vastly is serviced by volunteer firefighters who every day are neighbors, men and women who are living right next door to us, responding to emergencies that we are calling for their help for. They are arriving on our worst day, making sure that we're safe, making sure that we're cared for. They are leaving their work, they're leaving their families, they're sacrificing their kids' birthday parties, wedding anniversaries, all those milestones when we need their help the most. And so I think it's very important that we recognize them, that we celebrate their service, and we thank them, as my colleague has just said, not just with words but with more here in the Assembly to recognize their great service and sacrifice to us every single day. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. May 4th, 2026, Volunteer Firefighters Appreciation Day in the state of New York. And we're also grateful for the sacrifice that all of these great men and women do. and they're called volunteer firefighters but there's so much more they just don't fight fires if there's a flood, who do you call? if it's a downed tree limb in the middle of the night they don't call the highway department they call the volunteer firefighters to go there first to assess in case wires came down with it to make a scene safe if there's a lost hunter in the woods or a lost child in a neighborhood volunteer firefighters get the call They do so much more than fighting fires, and the training that goes into this is just immense. The amount of time that they sacrifice away from their family, their friends, events, school activities, and work. And I am very, very grateful to each and every one of them. The 121st Assembly District has 47 volunteer fire departments, and I'm appreciative to each and every one of them. And I am so happy to see that we're going to proclaim May 4th as Volunteer Firefighters Appreciation Day in the state of New York. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution. Across the state and communities like those that I represent, men and women volunteers answer the tone. They respond without hesitation to neighbors and families and visitors in their most urgent moment of need. This work is tough and it is dangerous. The demands are countless hours of training and time away from families. For many more, in this role it is a calling and often a family legacy. Today I want to lift up one exemplar from my district, Chief Arthur Brault. A friend a former colleague Art passed away in the line of duty death on December 20th 2016 I will never forget receiving that phone call in the early morning hours as town supervisor In fact, Art's name is engraved on the New York State's Fallen Firefighters Memorial in the Empire State Plaza, a permanent reminder of his sacrifice. Art joined the Cumberland Head Fire Department in 1987, became the longest-serving fire chief in Clinton County, leading it from 1992 until his passing. He helped establish the Coldwater Rescue Team, a program that continues to save lives today. The department wasn't just something he did, it was his life. As we recognize Volunteer Firefighters Day, we honor Art and the countless others like him, individuals who embody courage, commitment, and community. To every firefighter out there, stay safe and thank you. God bless.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. As the chair of the subcommittee on emergency volunteer services, I want to thank the sponsor for this resolution. I take great pride in what this chamber has been able to do, whether it is stipends for training, and most recently in my district, the addition of EMT and firefighting services in our BOCES programs as a pilot project. I'm always willing to work with any person who's willing to further that legislation. With that said, I want to say thank you to our 80,000-plus volunteers, men and women, across the state, and I appreciate their work. I was fortunate to go to the River Road installation this weekend, and they were very appreciative of the work that we've done on training and providing tuition assistance and so on, and I hope to further that work this year. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am honored to once again stand before you and sponsor this resolution to celebrate New York State's many volunteer firefighters and recognize these dedicated, brave, and selfless men and women who valiantly serve our communities. New Yorkers rely on volunteer firefighters statewide, with nearly 93 percent of fire departments across the state being volunteer-run. In my district alone, like we heard from my colleague, there's more than 40 fire companies that are, and the vast majority of them are volunteer. Some are hybrids, but the volunteer corps is critical, and women have become an influential force in the volunteer firefighter space. While 11% of firefighters are women, 80% of women firefighters in the nation are volunteers. These are men and women who put their lives on the line for their community, who rescue our pets, our family treasures, our family members when they're in crisis. Although they may be called volunteers in the sense that they're not paid, they are professionals who train often at their own expense, and they sacrifice time with family and friends and serve, in many cases, for generations. Volunteer firefighters provide vital life services while saving us taxpayers lots of money because it would cost billion a year if we were paying all of these volunteer firefighters And to transition a currently volunteer firefighter department into a paid would cost the state billion and that would be a significant increase in our property taxes There lots of ways that our volunteers have been saving us lots of taxpayer dollars, and we are indebted to them. Their major challenges, as we all know, are recruitment and retention. The number has dropped two decades ago, 120,000, now closer to 80,000. I personally am proud to continue supporting efforts to encourage and support firefighters. Our legislation, A-288, would allow volunteer firefighters to claim both the New York State Volunteer Firefighters and Ambulance Workers' Income Tax Credit, as well as local property tax. Thank you all for your kind words. I really appreciate the support from the floor, this is truly a bipartisan issue, and I ask my colleagues to all join me in passing this resolution. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise to speak on this resolution out of a sense of gratitude. The MECO Volunteer Fire Company is one of the community pillars that helped make me who I am today, and I'm proud to represent them and all of the volunteer fire organizations in the 118th Assembly District. I'm very proud of my grandfather, Harry Smullen Sr., who in 1951 was the founding chief of the MECO Volunteer Fire Company. He and his brothers and their neighbors and their friends erected the fire station on the corner across from MECO Elementary School where I grew up. I'm also very proud of my father, Richard Smullen, who joined the fire company at 18 years old in 1953 when he came of age. I'm especially proud of this fire company for its role in our lives. They were kind enough to make my son, AJ, a posthumous member of the MECO volunteer fire company after his passing. It just goes to show you from generation to generation, things do not change in upstate New York. The more time goes on, the more things stay the same, where neighbors help neighbors, friends help friends, and communities watch out for one another. And I urge all people in this body to support the bills that have been put forth to preserve our volunteer fire system for what it is, a great part, a great legacy, part of our lives here in upstate New York. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. As the grandson and a son, and actually myself, a volunteer firefighter, I want to say thank you to the sponsor. But what troubles me most is the hypocrisy that goes on in this chamber. We have this resolution here honoring our volunteer firefighters, which I think is great. But two weeks ago, we had an opportunity to do a great thing for them, and we didn't do it. We didn't do it. And there are many people here today that are going to support this bill, but did not support the opportunity to give tax credits to our volunteer firefighters. And even the sponsor of this resolution said a few minutes ago, volunteer fire in the state of New York saves the state of New York taxpayers billions of dollars a year. My friends it just like I stand up here and say many many times no farms no food What a disaster in our rural upstate communities when the siren rings or the tones go off and nobody shows up I hope that you all will rethink my colleague's bill from earlier two weeks ago with the tax credits for our great volunteer firefighters. And I hope everyone will stick together today and vote for this great resolution. Thank you, Madam Speaker. God bless. God bless our firefighters and God bless America.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today in strong support of this resolution. Our volunteer firefighters are the backbones of our communities, and they deserve our support in every way possible. They are the folks who miss their children's birthdays, holidays, family outings, work opportunities, and other just regular family days because they get the call. I rise today also to specifically honor two members of my home district, Rock Hill, who passed this year, Chet Smith and Karl Kerber, and Richard Martinkovic from the Town of Liberty. And I rise in honor of line-of-duty death of Chief John Mazza from the Pocatello Fire District, and my father Martin Kay, who was a member of the fire police in Rock Hill and died in 2019. Thank you. Thank you. On the

thank you madam speaker I rise and to speak on this resolution and I would I'd like to thank the sponsor of the resolution. I'd also like to thank Chair Stern for his cooperation and collaboration as we host Fort Drum Day in the capital. Fort Drum is home to the 10th Mountain Division, the most deployed division in the United States Army. The soldiers train and deploy from the North Country to defend freedom across the globe. The installation is a strategic national asset, and New York is proud to call home. Fort Drum is the largest single site employer in New York and the installation generates over $2 billion in annual economic activity for our region and the state. Thousands of soldiers, their families, civilians, employees, contractors call the North Country home because of Fort Drum. The Fort Drum family strengthen our hospitals, our clinics, broader healthcare across Jefferson, Louis and St. Lawrence County. Spouses and veterans serve as nurses, doctors, EMTs and providers throughout our community. The installation is a key partner in advancing rural healthcare access in the North Country. Students from the installation enrich our classrooms in the North Country. Federal Impact Aid assists our school, ensuring quality education for military children and local families alike. Our colleges and universities, including Jefferson Community College and SUNY Potsdam, benefit from the strong ties to Fort Drum. Soldiers and families volunteer, coach, worship, and lead in every corner of the North Country. They are our neighbors, our friends, and a vital part of who we are. The bond between Fort Drum and the surrounding communities is one of the strongest military-civilian partnerships of any installation in the United States. Today, we honor the soldiers, families, and civilian workforce of Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division. Their service protects our nation. Their presence strengthens our community. I am proud to support this resolution. I ask my colleagues to support me in supporting Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division. Climb to glory.

Thank you, Madam Speaker, on the resolution. I want to thank my colleague for bringing the resolution forward. This morning I had an opportunity to talk with some of the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division and what they do for our country. And as I talked to them, and especially one individual who is actually from the southern part of the United States, said he has been working his whole life in the military and took him almost his whole career to be stationed at Fort Drum with the 10th Mountain Division. and how happy he was to come to New York and seeing upstate New York, the Adirondack area, and everything that it stood for. And I just remember the last thing he said to me, he goes, you know, when we get deployed, we often forget about where we come from, our base, but not where we come from in life. But he did say that when his family's back here, they still are part of New York, and they're very thankful that we as New Yorkers take care of those individuals and those families, as my colleague just said, and the important parts that they bring to the upstate New York, to New York State, and to our country. So just say a prayer for all these men and women as we go to sleep tonight, because they are defending us for the freedoms we have today. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Smolin on the resolution. Thank you, Madam Speaker. As a United States Marine, I have the highest regard for the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division. My great uncle was a trooper in the division during World War II. He trained at Camp Hale, Colorado, and participated in all the campaigns in Italy, from up the spine at Monte Cassino, across the Po River, and ending at the Brenner Pass as the war ended. And I myself served directly in combat in Afghanistan in 2006-2007 with troops from the 10th Mountain Division. and some of the tallest, most forbidding, and most dangerous mountains of the world in Kunar and Nuristan provinces, I watched the soldiers of the task force from the 10th Mountain Division fought for their country alongside the United States Marines and the Afghan soldiers that I was with. I have nothing but the highest regard for the most deployed division in the United States Army. They are busy, they are out there, and they and their families are bearing the brunt of preserving and protecting Americans and their freedom around the world. Climb to glory. Thank you.

Aye.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise in support of this resolution, recognizing the Legislative Staff Week in the State of New York. Too often the work of this body is viewed only through those of us elected to serve. But none of us would accomplish anything, and it would not be possible, without the dedicated professionals working behind the scenes every single day. Our legislative staff are the backbone of this body. They draft our legislation. They conduct critical research, assist constituents, ensure accessibility, and quite literally keep the operation of this institution running smoothly. Their expertise, their professionalism, and commitment allow us to further serve the people of the State of New York. Whether they are in our district offices or here in Albany, these individuals work hard, not for the accolades, but for a shared commitment to public service. This week, in conjunction with national efforts led by the National Conference of State Legislatures, we take a moment to do what we should do more often – to say thank you. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for your dedication. And thank you for your vital role you play in strengthening our democracy. I thank my colleagues who joined me today in supporting this resolution and recognizing the extraordinary contributions of our legislative staff. Thank you.

Ms. Button-Shone on the resolution. Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is my honor to sponsor this resolution calling upon the Governor to proclaim May as Lupus Awareness Month in the state of New York. Every year we designate this month to Lupus Awareness to show support for more than the 100,000 New Yorkers and 1.5 million Americans that suffer from this debilitating effects of lupus It is a chronic autoimmune disease that can cause severe damage to tissues and organs in the body And unfortunately no one is exempt from this disease as it crosses all ages, all genders, all race, and all ethnicity. This weekend, many will host walks across the state of New York. I will be attending the Masonic Medical Research Institute Walk as we remind ourselves of the importance to support the efforts in research. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you.

Thank you Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. So I just wanted to briefly explain why I support this bill particularly so much. In my family, recently a family member has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and it's a really devastating diagnosis that impacts the entire family, certainly caregivers, all of us have been just so incredibly upset and sad and confused and wondering how we can best support our family member as he's going through all of this. And I think that making sure that information is getting out there is all for the good and we need more of it and it is changing As time goes on there are resources that are important to get the word out on So I'm so glad that the sponsors brought this bill forward and that it's clear from the board that everybody is supporting it, as I will. So thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am here to announce immediate majority conference in the Speaker's conference room, immediate majority conference. Thank you. Immediate majority conference.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Visit them to help with study science fishes are useful Animated psychology Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. So Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you I Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. There we go Thank youkehr quote Student name is kind of favorite are similar collage encouragement Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. For more information, visit www.fema.gov Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Music animations Furlough Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Madam Speaker, can you please call the House back to order?

Mr. Fall. Madam Speaker can we turn our attention to the calendar 404 on page 7 by Mr Burroughs

And continue consent.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain my vote. This bill protects vulnerable individuals in Article 81 guardianship proceedings. especially those unable to manage their own affairs. Today, highly sensitive personal and financial information in these cases is publicly accessible. That exposure creates real risk. There are millions of identity theft cases each year, mostly targeting seniors who lose billions annually to financial exploitation. This legislation limits access to these Article 81 guardianship records to only involve parties unless a court orders otherwise. It aligns guardianship cases with existing privacy protections and other sensitive proceedings. This is not about limiting transparency. It's about preventing exploitation and harm. I want to thank the county clerks across New York State for their advocacy and support on this because this bill was their idea because as county clerks, they saw how damaging this could be. This bill also provides clearer standards for safeguarding records, including past and current cases where feasible. I also want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for supporting this legislation. At its core, this bill ensures privacy, promotes dignity, and enhances security for those who need it most.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I just want to say thank you to the sponsor of this piece of legislation. As she indicated, it's a bill that does just that. It protects some of our most vulnerable. And it's very important, you know, having been charged with these documents and these records. It common sense legislation And I just want to say thank you and as part of the association when I was on the County Clerks Association this became our number one priority so it great to see it cross the finish

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you

Thank you. Thank you. . Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. .

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Just briefly to explain my vote. So this property, the facilities that are being proposed on Governor's Island, that's in the sponsor's district. So this is akin to a local bill, which is why the bill is not being laid aside for any debate or questioning or anything. The bill allows DASNY to provide financing to the New York Climate Exchange, Inc. for the construction of facilities on Governor's Island, and that facility is an $800 million climate education and research campus. So there were some no votes in committee, in both committees, and so that's why there will be some no votes here on the floor. But I just wanted to explain my vote. I'm personally not going to be supporting it today. Some of us will, some of us won't. But thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Thank you. . Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you

Thank you. Thank you. . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. . Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you

Thank you. Thank you. . .

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you Thank you. Thank you.

Clerk will record the vote. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Mr. Fall. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'd like to turn our attention to the debate list. We're going to take on calendar number 172 on page 32 by Mr. Simone,

The purpose of this bill is to provide voters access to their sample ballot before Election Day. As we know, exercising one's right to vote is the fundamental pillar of our democracy. However, the process of voting can be overwhelming when many races for various levels of government all appear on the same ballot. This bill seeks to provide voters with early access to view their sample ballot so that they may be informed and prepared to fill out their ballot when they go to cast their vote. The bill will require the County Board of Elections to transmit a sample ballot for all election districts within that county to the State Board of Elections. The time that sample ballots may be mailed to each eligible voter by the State Board of Elections would be amended to three days before the first day of early voting, and the alternative for the State Board of Elections to publish sample ballots in local newspapers would be removed. The bill would further require the State Board of Elections to post at least 12 days prior to the first day of early voting, a sample ballot for each election district in the state board's website in a secure and searchable database. We'd also authorize county board of elections to post sample ballots for all the election districts in the county.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the sponsor yield for a few questions? Will the sponsor yield? Let me think about it. Sure. The sponsor yield. Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm glad to see that you got a fresh cup of coffee. So I know you're ready to go. Just a couple of questions, because I know that we debated this last year, and I just wanted to see if anything has changed. So the current law requires sample ballots to be made available shortly before Election Day, but does not specifically account for early voting, correct? Yes. And I agree. I think that's a valid issue. I think most of us do. If voters are casting ballots earlier, obviously it makes sense that they should be able to view their ballot earlier. But wouldn't you also agree that this bill goes beyond just that one particular piece, beyond simply fixing the timing issue? Because it does create a couple of new things. It creates that new statewide database. It requires the full ballot be sent from the county to the state. And it adds new technical requirements that don't currently exist in law. Yes, but we also make – there's no – the thing on the technical side is security. We don't speak directly to that, so it's up to the Board of Elections. They can't secure a searchable database. They could just list it on their website. We'll get into security in a second, but I appreciate you explaining that. Under the current law, counties already have the ability to post ballots online, and they can mail sample ballots to voters as well. Is that correct? Yes. So if ballots are already available to voters, what specific gap are we solving beyond the timing issue that we just discussed? Well, this specific to the ballot before the law had just specific to candidate and contents information. So you may have a, you know, like we have ballot initiatives in New York City. It makes sure the entire ballot is included. So as opposed to just information on the candidate. Understood. So it would be the full ballot, what you'd see once you receive your actual ballot, whether it's via early voting, absentee, whatever it might be, election day voting. Correct. I've had constituents come up to me and tell me I didn't know I had to turn it over and there was other things to vote on. When I got to the election booth, I didn't know how to vote because I didn't study upon it. They have plenty of time now to study it. Understood. And this bill creates a centralized statewide searchable database hosted by the State Board of Elections, correct? Correct, but they already do that under current law. They already do. And our counties already maintain their own systems. And my question is, does this shift responsibility from our local boards into a centralized system maintained by the state, if they're already doing it? No, it doesn't. But does it prohibit the counties from continuing to provide that information as they currently do? It doesn't. Yeah, the counties can still do it themselves. Great. So the counties will be able to do it, and the state will be able to do it. What happens if there's conflicting or outdated information between a county board of elections and what the state posts? Which source do you think or would you advise voters to rely on in that case? Yeah, this shouldn't be because they have to mail the exact sample ballot that will appear on early voting and election day. And if something like that does occur, though, if there is an error in transmitting, what's the cure? There shouldn't be an error because the ballot has to be exactly the way it would appear on election day and online. Okay, so on page two of the bill, it requires an embedded security tool. I know you talked about security earlier, and that's to prevent tampering and printing. Can you clarify what specifically qualifies as an embedded security tool? So this bill doesn't define it specifically. the Board of Elections would have discretion to implement this. So say a local county Board of Elections didn't have the wherewithal to get it on a searchable database as long as it's listed somewhere on their website. So we don't really speak to the specifics of security. And do we know then, even though the bill doesn't speak directly to what the definition is, do we know if there has been a cost analysis done as to what that would cost our counties to implement? As far as you know, there's no added cost. But we also don't know what it is because it's not defined in the law. Is that correct? Right. The state board can do it if the local county doesn't have enough money to do it. The state board can do – can you explain that to me? So the state board can develop and implement an embedded security tool within a county board of elections. No, in the state board of elections. Right. But so but the but the county board of elections, according to your bill, also has to have this embedded security tool. Is that correct? Only if they're doing it themselves and they're capable of doing it. So then let's take a step back then. So if they're required under the bill to be transmitting sample ballots for every election district within their county, they can only do that if they have the embedded security tool at their disposal. Am I understanding that correctly? Correct. And if they can't do it, the State Board of Elections will do it. And so if they can't implement a... It's literally like listing it on a website. I'm sorry? It's literally just listing the ballot on the website if they can have the security for a searchable database Right I just trying to again understand the concept of the embedded security tool that we saying that we requiring but we also at the same time saying we not really requiring because the State Board of Elections can just implement it for a specific county. Am I understanding that properly? Right. Like I said before, if the county can't do it, then the State Board will do it. And what does the county have to do to demonstrate that they cannot implement the embedded security tool? Yeah. It doesn't speak specific. They're not mandated to do it. They can do it if they want to. But the state board has the ultimate responsibility to make sure it's secure. But we're still asking the counties to transmit the ballots. So you're still asking the counties to transmit the ballots? First to the state board. To the state board. The state board's like the check. Right. Can you give me an example of what an embedded security tool is? It would prevent tampering or printing of such sample ballots. It would just prevent tampering or printing of the ballot, copying the approved ballot. And that would only have to be in place if a voter goes to the state board of elections, to their election district, to pull down the sample ballot. Right. They can look on the website, and they'll also get it in the mail. Right. But we're not asking the counties to do the same in this bill. It's permissive if they can. If they can. So if I represent Westchester and Putnam County, so if they want to have these ballots for every election district on their website, they can do that as long as they have this embedded security tool in place. Correct. But if you represent a smaller county, then all they have to do is send the ballot by election district to the State Board of Elections, but they aren't required to host it on their own website. Yeah, the State Board would take care of that. So they're not required. So will the county still have to transmit that to the State Board of Elections? Yes. Yes. But they will not be required to host it on their own website because a state board would have it. Right. Okay. Understood. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate you answering my questions. One last question on effectiveness when we plan to have this in place by. The bill speaks to 90 days once it's passed. So obviously it wouldn't be in place for the coming June primary. is the expectation that it would be in place for the November general election. Yes, it would be ready for the midterms. Okay, very good. Again, I appreciate you answering my questions. Madam Speaker, if I can just go on the bill briefly.

So again, I just want to begin by acknowledging a point that the sponsor raised, and I think it's a valid one, and that's that our current law is written before early voting existed, and it doesn't clearly align with today's election timelines. If voters are casting ballots earlier, it absolutely does. make sense that they should be able to view their ballot earlier as well. I think that's a reasonable update, and I think most of us would support addressing that issue. But the bill does not simply fix the timing issue. It goes further because today sample ballots are already available to voters. They can be mailed. They can be posted online by the county board of elections, as we just heard. Voters already have access to the information that they need. So what this bill does is creates a new centralized statewide system requiring every county to transmit full ballots standardize those formats and rely on a state searchable database Again something that may already be in place but we putting a greater burden on our counties And in doing so, it introduces this requirement that still seems rather ambiguous. For example, the bill mandates that embedded security tool to prevent tampering and printing, but we still don't know what the tool is, and we still aren't really— I understand that we were trying to get some answers on who and how it would be implemented, but if we can't explain it, we aren't really sure how we're going to expect the Board of Elections to understand how to implement it as well. So we're writing into law a requirement that remains undefined, unscoped, and still I question how a smaller Board of Elections is going to be able to manage it. It doesn't clarify whether the same standard must be used across the state, raising the possibility of inconsistent systems from county to county, Because remember, our individual county board of elections, they have the ability to implement their own voting machines. They have the ability to implement their own printing contracts. And so it's still there's no uniformity there that may be required. And we don't have to speculate on what happens when election law lacks clarity because we've seen it recently right here in our state. We have candidates who've been denied access to public financing system over technical requirements that were newly imposed and not clearly communicated. In some cases, millions of dollars in matching funds were denied, not because of fraud, not because of wrongdoing, but because the rules weren't clear and the process didn't provide a meaningful opportunity to cure. That's exactly why precision matters when we're legislating in this space, in the election law. We also need to consider the practical realities facing our boards of elections. These are professionals who are already operating under tight timelines, especially when it comes to early voting. This bill takes effect in 90 days, potentially requiring the rollout of a new system, as we heard, for the midterm elections. As we still don't have clarity on whether these requirements are expected to be in place as soon as practical. The kind of uncertainty, that kind of uncertainty, is exactly what we should be avoiding when it comes to election administration, because that creates risks. And when it comes to elections, we should be minimizing risk, not introducing new variables without clear guidelines. There's also a question of accountability. And I raised an issue about centralized databases, and if there's incorrect information or outdated information, if voter relies on that information, what happens next? So I understand the purpose of the bill. I appreciate the sponsor answering my questions. I was just hoping that we have a little bit more detail on some of the aspects that were raised today. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The Republican conference will generally be in the negative on this piece of legislation, but if there are affirmative votes, now would be the time for members to cast them at their seats. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The majority conference will support this bill. For those that would like to vote differently, they could do so at their best. Thank you.

Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. This bill is in order to ensure safety uniformity. Businesses that are selling or leasing bicycles with electric assist or electric scooters must equip the devices with front and rear lighting prior to the sale or lease. Mr. Gandolfo. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Would the sponsor please yield for just a few questions? Will the sponsor yield? Yes.

Thank you. So I really just have a couple of clarifying questions on this bill before us. So just first, current law requires that for e-bikes or e-scooters to be operated at night, there must be lights affixed to them? Correct. Okay, so now this is expanding it to any bike that is bought, sold, leased. And I guess a lease would include something like a city bike in New York City or some of the bicycles we see around Albany. Is that correct? Of the e-bike? Of the e-bike, yes. okay yes it was okay so there that would require all of them to have the proper lights affixed red or amber in the back normal white headlight in the front yes I believe the front light up to 500 feet the rear up to 300 feet okay and how does that apply to like a private reseller if I owned an e-bike and I wanted to list that on Facebook marketplace what subject to this requirement? It applies to businesses, so I believe it would also apply to them. Okay. So if I were to own it, I could retrofit the bike with the light myself? Would that be permitted? Yes. Okay. Yeah, that's perfectly fine. Is there any, I guess, requirement of how it's affixed to the device? Like, can I duct tape or zip tie it to the front or the back? Well, if your business is willing to sell that product like that, Mr. Gundolfo, I think it would be okay. We try to keep costs down, but I do appreciate the clarification. That's all I have. Thank you to the sponsor. Madam Speaker, briefly on the bill?

I appreciate the sponsor answering some of these clarifying questions. I was just a little concerned on whether or not this would apply to private resale to avoid any ambiguities with someone who might have an e-bike or an e-scooter sitting in their garage that they wanted to sell on a private marketplace. Maybe it's not their business, but they just want to make a little extra cash and get rid of a device that they no longer use. So anyone out there who is watching session at five o'clock on a Monday, if you want to sell your e-bike on Facebook marketplace, just make sure that you duct tape some lights to it. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I know this is part of the debate, but I do want to raise a point from our previous comments. If you're engaged in a private business sale, transaction, person-to-person, this isn't applicable. This is only applicable if you're in the business of that resale. So I'll leave it at that. But I do want to explain how this came about. This bill came from a town hall meeting in my community, which education, teachers, students, parents, and leadership from around the county because of the issues that we've had with e-bikes and e-scooters. Most of those have to do with wattage and other issues about what we would really consider e But there has been unfortunately many deaths We seen an increase on the roads especially at night where they much more severe And in one case, it was just reported last April at Stony Brook Hospital, they saw a 900% increase in major injuries to children that were operating these vehicles. And just today in the news, a parent is being arrested for letting her 14-year-old operate one in which he killed someone, and she is being arrested as the parent because he is a minor. So not in this state, but it is an issue. This is one of many bills that I have, and I will be voting in the affirmative. Thank you.

Madam Speaker, do we have further housekeeping or resolutions?

I now move that the assembly stand adjourned and that we will reconvene at 2 p Tuesday April 5th Tomorrow being a session day