WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2024 11:12 A.M.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: The House will come
to order.
In the absence of clergy, let us pause for a moment of
silence.
(Whereupon, a moment of silence was observed.)
Visitors are invited to join the members in the Pledge
of Allegiance.
(Whereupon, Acting Speaker Aubry led visitors and
members in the Pledge of Allegiance.)
A quorum being present, the Clerk will read the
Journal of Tuesday, May the 7th.
Mrs. Peoples-Stokes.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Mr. Speaker, I move to
dispense with the further reading of the Journal of Tuesday, May the
7th and ask that the same stand approved.
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Without objection, so
ordered.
Mrs. Peoples-Stokes.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Thank you, sir.
Colleagues and guests that are in the Chambers, I'd like to share a
quote today. This one is from Eleanor Roosevelt. And her words for
us today: The purpose of life, after all, is to love it, to taste experience
the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear. Again, these words
from Eleanor Roosevelt.
Mr. Speaker, members have on their desks an
A-Calendar. We will be calling for the Rules Committee immediately
which will produce an A -- we have a main Calendar on our desk,
we're going to produce an A-Calendar after the Rules Committee.
And after you have done any introductions or housekeeping, we're
going to take up resolutions on page 3. And then we're going to take
up the following bills as we continue to pass the Assembly's Earth
Day package: Rules Report No. 40 by Ms. Barrett, Rules Report No.
41 by Ms. Shimsky, Rules Report No. 42 by Mr. Epstein and Rules
Report No. 43 by Mr. Zebrowski. Majority members should be aware
that there will be a need for a conference immediately at the
conclusion of our floor work today, and as always we'll check with
our colleagues. There may be a need for additional announcements
for floor activity, Mr. Speaker, if so I will be pleased to advise at that
moment. So that's a general outline of where we are, sir. If you have
introductions and/or housekeeping, that would be great. Actually,
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
(inaudible) that, Mr. Speaker. Would you please call the Rules
Committee to the Speaker's Conference Room?
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Rules Committee,
Speaker's Conference Room immediately.
For the purposes of a introduction, Ms. Buttenschon.
MS. BUTTENSCHON: I rise today to introduce my
friends and family of the heroic fallen Syracuse police officer,
Michael Jensen who was raised in Rome, New York. Today with us
are his parents, Michelle and Paul Jensen; his sister ShelliAnn; her
fiancé Jared; along with his aunt and uncle, Donna and Jimmy
Smaldon; cousin Brandy Smaldon; aunt and uncle Cindi and Rowe
Wheeler and friends Kenny, Tyler and Michael. This is the support
system that raised and guided Officer Jensen to be the outstanding
young man and dedicated police officer that he was. His heroic
actions and courageous character can be traced back to all of these
individuals that are here today and so many more. He was raised as
an outstanding athlete. He enjoyed family time, and he was always
there for others, as I recently learned, with a smile and always
something to add. Michael was exceptional. A caring individual that
always made others feel to be the most important individual. He had
the keen ability and the significant impact on his community and those
around him and will continue throughout. This family has to continue
and know that their beloved Michael has made the ultimate sacrifice
for all of us, and I ask you to join them as they have come to the
Assembly today and offer them the cordialities of the floor. We thank
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
Michael's family and friends for joining us today, and we will
continue to honor your son, brother, nephew, cousin, and friend
through a resolution that we will pass later today in Session and for
the remainder of our Legislative Session and many, many sessions to
come. God bless Michael and all of you.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On behalf of Ms.
Buttenschon, the Speaker and all the members, we welcome this
extraordinary family here to the New York State Assembly, extend to
you the privileges of the floor. Our greatest sympathies on your loss.
Know that you will always be welcome here. You will always have
the support of this body. Thank you so very much.
(Applause)
Mr. McDonald for the purposes of a introduction.
MR. MCDONALD: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This
past month we passed a resolution with unanimous support with the
members of this House to dedicate May as Neurofibromatoses Month,
otherwise known as NF. NF encompasses a set of distinct genetic
disorders that cause tumors to grow along various types of nerves
anywhere on or in the body. NF tumors can cause significant damage
to nerves leading to hearing loss, visual impairment, balance issues
and other functional problems depending on the location of the
tumors, and there are over 7,800 families in New York State affected
by NF. Because of continued efforts like today, awareness about NF
has helped educate clinicians regarding the disease and treatment and
has enhanced opportunities for patients to receive treatment from
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
knowledgeable local commissions such as Dr. Lauren Weintraub and
Katharine Halligan who work at the Melody Center here at the Albany
Medical Center, a leading institution. The realities of living with NF
like living with any other chronic disease is challenging and at times
discouraging. Our purpose to designate May as NF Month is to call
attention to this devastating disease, to acknowledge the clinicians
who treat patients and the scientists whose work provides hope for
patients and their families. But also, in its greatest sense, is to
recognize those people whose lives are affected by NF and whose
valiant struggle to live full and productive lives in spite of the disease
is an inspiration to all of us. With us today - and I just want to briefly
mention their names - Vito Grasso, Rebecca Grasso, Anne Patterson,
Dr. Lauren Weintraub, Susan Benjamin, Allison D'Ottavio, Julia
D'Ottavio and Sharon Klein.
Mr. Speaker, if you could please extend the
cordialities of the House to this great, great group of people, we'd
sincerely appreciate it, and thanks to my colleagues for the unanimous
support.
ACTING SPEAKER EACHUS: On behalf of Mr.
McDonald, the Speaker and all the members of this Assembly, we
welcome you, this great, great group as mentioned and thank you for
your work with NF, and we extend the privileges of the floor and hope
you will enjoy the proceedings, and we thank you for all the work
you've done and for joining us today. Thank you.
(Applause)
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
Mrs. Peoples-Stokes for an introduction.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker, for allowing me the opportunity to have an introduction. My
colleague Mr. Thiele at some point is going to introduce all of the
advocates from across the State who are here on behalf of lupus, but I
want to give a special introduction to Mr. Nazir Jackson. He has been
here, I want to say, at least four or five times or more. He was a
college student at my alma mater some years ago, he is now a
graduate and into his second year as one of Buffalo's finest, the
Buffalo Police Department, as well as a substitute teacher. But as you
can see, Mr. Speaker, you can survive with lupus but it is something --
a disease that we can do a much better job of dealing with this so
people have an access to a good quality of life. Fortunately for my
brother here and for many others, they're making it through but it's a
challenge and we need to make sure that we're always supporting
these issues around lupus. With that, if you would welcome this
newly -- well, I will say these two years new Buffalo police officer
and lupus survivor to our Chambers and give him the cordialities of
the House and the floor.
ACTING SPEAKER EACHUS: On behalf of Mrs.
Peoples-Stokes and the entire Assembly, the Speaker and all the
members, Mr. Nazir [sic], we welcome you to this floor. You are an
amazing person because you're both a police officer and a substitute
teacher so you are definitely involved. Thank you for all of the good
work that you do. May God bless you and be with you all the time
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and thank you for joining us today. I hope it's a wonderful experience
for you. Thank you.
(Applause)
Mr. Thiele for an introduction.
MR. THIELE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's always
hard to follow the Majority Leader, but I'm going to try with my
introduction. Yesterday, this House unanimously passed a resolution
memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 2024 as
Lupus Awareness Month. And as I said, that resolution was
unanimously adopted by the State Assembly and today the lupus
agencies of New York are here on a double purpose. One, is to accept
that resolution, but also to be here today to provide greater awareness
to our colleagues in both the Assembly and the Senate about what
lupus is all about. And it's a disease that affects an estimated 105,400
New Yorkers, 1.5 million Americans and 5 million people worldwide.
And it's a disease that people don't seem to know a lot about, which is
why the work of these agencies is so critical. And for me, Mr.
Speaker, it's a personal mission in addition to honoring the work that
these various agencies do because my daughter who is now 34 years
old, back in her senior year of college, was diagnosed with lupus when
she was a senior in college. And Mr. Speaker, it was a scary time for
my family. Nobody really knew what was wrong with my daughter.
She was, you know, tired all the time and rashes and swollen joints
and the process of diagnosing lupus is by eliminating other things. It's
almost lupus is diagnosed as the last resort. It was a scary time. And
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my daughter also is proof that you can be diagnosed with lupus, have
this disease and go on to live a very fruitful and successful life. My
daughter is doing extremely well. She is a nutritionist. She lives in
Brooklyn. She is one of those 105,000 New Yorkers that has lupus.
And it has always been my honor not to just honor the work of these --
these folks that are here today working to make people aware of lupus,
but also to honor my daughter, and it is my pleasure to welcome these
folks here today. They are the lupus agencies of New York and their
representatives are -- the organizations are Lupus and Allied Diseases
Association, LupusChat, Lupus Foundation of America, the Northeast
Region and Lupus Research Alliance. And I want to particularly point
out their spokesperson and the one who organizes so much of this, it's
been my pleasure to work with her all these years Kathleen Arntsen. I
would ask that you recognize them and give them the courtesies of the
House for their very, very important mission that they are here for
today. Thank you.
ACTING SPEAKER EACHUS: Thank you. On
behalf of Mr. Thiele and his daughter, the Speaker and all of the
members of this Assembly, we welcome you and this precious most
important work that you do each and every day. We really want to
thank you for that. May you keep that work up and may you solve this
unusual disease for all of us at some point in time. I'd like to extend
the privileges of the floor to you and hope that you enjoy the rest of
the proceedings. Again, thank you so much for everything that you
have done and you will continue to do.
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(Applause)
Mr. Brown for an introduction.
MR. A. BROWN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise
today to introduce my friend, Professor Jeff Lax, Professor of Law at
the CUNY system, CUNY college Kingsborough College. He's a
legal analyst, litigator, constituent, husband, father of two, like I said a
CUNY professor that has been fighting the fight of rapid
anti-Semitism on campuses. As a matter of fact, he's here today to
advocate for a bill that prohibits the granting of tuition assistance
awards to any student that is normally engaged in anti-Semitism. But
most of all he's actually a contributor to the Majority Leader's favorite
news channel Fox News. So Mr. Speaker, would you please offer all
the cordialities of the House to my friend, Professor Lax.
ACTING SPEAKER EACHUS: On behalf of Mr.
Brown, the Speaker and Fox News I guess and all of the members, we
welcome you to this distinguished Chamber here in the Assembly.
Thank you. I'm a SUNY graduate myself so thank you for
participating in the public university system. We extend the privileges
of the floor and hope that you enjoy the proceedings. Again, I'm sure
you have been a wealth of knowledge to the many, many students who
have gone through your classroom, and I thank you very much for all
the work that you've done.
(Applause)
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Resolutions on page
3, the Clerk will read.
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THE CLERK: Assembly No. 2130, Ms. Clark.
Legislative Resolution memorializing Governor
Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 10, 2024, as Provider Appreciation
Day in the State of New York.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Clark on the
resolution.
MS. CLARK: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today
as we look forward to Provider Appreciation Day this Friday. It
fittingly always falls before Mother's Day, the weekend before
Mother's Day, as a moment for us to celebrate and really show our
appreciation to all our child care providers across our State and across
our country. We know our providers, our early child educators are
really doing yeoman's work in ensuring our children have what they
need to thrive, but they also, as it is before Mother's Day, are often the
-- the sole way that most women are able to return to work after
having children. And it is really -- having three of my own and
understanding the role providers played in my own life and in my own
career, really a moment of celebration. We have a lot of work in our
State to ensure our childcare providers and the workforce have what
they need to continue to do this work. We've done some great work to
ensure those who do nontraditional hours, evenings and weekends that
show up for those who have weird shifts, mostly our first responders,
our health professionals, to make sure that they have childcare and
that they should get extra dollars to do that, but we have a lot more to
do to make sure we have a permanent and sustaining revenue for our
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providers and that they get what they need, but Friday truly is a joyous
moment for us to just say thank you for all they do for our children
and for our careers. Thank you.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On the resolution, all
those all in favor signify by saying aye; opposed, no. The resolution is
adopted.
THE CLERK: Assembly No. 2131, Ms. Barrett.
Legislative Resolution memorializing Governor
Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 5-11, 2024, as Compost Awareness
Week in the State of New York.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On the resolution, all
those in favor signify by saying aye; opposed, no. The resolution is
adopted.
THE CLERK: Assembly No. 2132, Mr. Slater.
Legislative Resolution memorializing Governor
Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 5-11, 2024, as Professional Municipal
Clerks Week in the State of New York.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On the resolution, all
those in favor signify by saying aye; opposed, no. The resolution is
adopted.
THE CLERK: Assembly No. 2133, Mrs. Gunther.
Legislative Resolution memorializing Governor
Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 8-12, 2024, as Early Childhood
Educator and Child Care Provider Appreciation Week in the State of
New York.
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ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On the resolution, all
those in favor signify by saying aye; opposed, no. The resolution is
adopted.
THE CLERK: Assembly No. 2134, Mrs. Gunther.
Legislative Resolution memorializing Governor
Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 2024, as Mental Health Awareness
Month in the State of New York.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Mr. Eachus on the
resolution.
MR. EACHUS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't
express how important this resolution is along with some of the others
prior that we have just passed this afternoon. Mental health is an issue
not only for those that have the problems but for those that work in the
field and for those of us who kind of support the field. And what I do
ask for as part of Mental Health Awareness Month is that we all
struggle as much as we can to see through the eyes, the lenses of those
people that struggle with mental health every day so that we truly
understand the difficulties that they go through. Thank you, Mr.
Speaker.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On the resolution, all
those in favor signify by saying aye; opposed, no. The resolution is
adopted.
THE CLERK: Assembly No. 2135, Mr.
Cunningham.
Legislative Resolution memorializing Governor
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Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 2024, as Jaundice Awareness Month
in the State of New York.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On the resolution, all
those in favor signify by saying aye; opposed, no. The resolution is
adopted.
THE CLERK: Assembly No. 2136, Ms. Solages.
Legislative Resolution memorializing Governor
Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 2024, as Trauma-Informed Care
Month in the State of New York.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On the resolution, all
those in favor signify by saying aye; opposed, no. The resolution is
adopted.
Ms. Walsh for the purposes of a introduction.
MS. WALSH: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Hello to my colleagues. You're seeing a whole bunch of fourth
graders up in the balcony who are here from my district from
Shatekon Elementary School, which is in the Shenendahowa School
District in Clifton Park, and I welcome them and I welcome their
teachers and chaperones who are here today as well. They're here to
learn a little bit about how we operate here in the New York State
Assembly. I think that they may be taking a tour of the Capitol as
well. And Mr. Speaker, if you could just please welcome this
wonderful group to the People's House.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Certainly. On behalf
Ms. Walsh, the Speaker and all the members, we welcome these
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marvelous fourth graders here to the New York State Assembly. We
extend to you the privileges of the floor. Hope that you have a
enjoyable time here in Albany on your visit and also that you have a
great and beneficial summer because summer is coming. Thank you
so very much.
(Applause)
Mrs. Peoples-Stokes.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Mr. Speaker, colleagues
have on their desks a A-Calendar. I would like to move that Calendar,
Mr. Speaker.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On Mrs.
Peoples-Stokes' motion the A-Calendar is advanced.
Page 3, Rules Report No. 40, the Clerk will read.
THE CLERK: Assembly No. A05769, Rules Report
No. 40, Barrett, Seawright, Conrad, McDonald, Stern, Sillitti,
Cunningham, Colton. An act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in
relation to establishing the zero-emission vehicles rebate program; and
to providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Barrett, an
explanation is requested, ma'am.
MS. BARRETT: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The
purpose of this bill is to establish a rebate program for previously
owned or one could say previously loved zero-emission vehicles.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Mr. Palmesano.
MR. PALMESANO: Yes, Mr. Speaker. Will the
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sponsor yield for a few questions?
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Barrett, will you
yield?
MS. BARRETT: Yes, sir, I will.
ACTING SPEAKING AUBRY: Ms. Barrett yields.
MR. PALMESANO: Thank you, Ms. Barrett. I don't
have a lot of questions. I just kind of want to go through a couple of
things if I could real quick and then probably more of time will be
speaking on the bill. The first question I have for you. Right now we
have this rebate program for new vehicles, that's correct, right?
MS. BARRETT: Yes, that's correct.
MR. PALMESANO: And how much -- how much
do we spend on that program on a yearly basis?
MS. BARRETT: The amount that was introduced in
2017 for new vehicles and there -- let me see here, I asked that very
same question. One hundred and forty-four million has been spent as
of March of this year.
MR. PALMESANO: One hundred and forty-four
million?
MS. BARRETT: Mm-hmm.
MR. PALMESANO: Now for the used vehicles, is it
going to come out of the same pot of money?
MS. BARRETT: Yes. It's NYSERDA's money.
This is all NYSERDA's money discretionary funds from NYSERDA
(inaudible) fund.
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MR. PALMESANO: So 144 million has been spent
to date, or that's how much we spend on a yearly basis. Is there a cap
on the amount that's spent for this program?
MS. BARRETT: No. This is all part of NYSERDA's
discretion.
MR. PALMESANO: Okay. And how much --
where's NYSERDA get their money for for this program?
MS. BARRETT: I think you know this, that
NYSERDA is not on budget because we do not include them in our
budget, but they get their money from RGGI and other PSC-related
funds.
MR. PALMESANO: They also -- NYSERDA their
-- their funding mechanisms was coming from other bills -- other
taxes, fees and assessments on your utility bills so that's also funded
by the ratepayer, correct?
MS. BARRETT: Yes.
MR. PALMESANO: Yes. So we're spending $144
million on this program and there's no cap on it. So we can spend 300
million, 400 million, whatever the demand sets for this price, correct?
MS. BARRETT: This is a -- this is a five-year
program, it sunsets in 2029 and I think we currently are seeing roughly
about 60 percent of purchasers going - and this is not an official
number - but that's when I asked the number or that are using the
rebate program so I'm not sure we're expecting, you know, any larger
number of -- of purchasers to be using it for the previously owned
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vehicles.
MR. PALMESANO: Okay. Do we know how many
people in New York have purchased electric vehicles today, or how
many electric vehicle purchases there have been when you think of the
whole overall market?
MS. BARRETT: About 230,000.
MR. PALMESANO: And how many vehicles are
sold in New York on an annual basis? Any idea? If not, that's fine.
MS. BARRETT: Mr. Palmesano, I can't hear you.
MR. PALMESANO: I'm sorry. Yes, so 230,000
electric vehicles to date. Do we know how many - and if you don't
know that's fine - how many vehicles are sold in New York State on
an annual basis?
MS. BARRETT: I don't think we know that, no.
MR. PALMESANO: That's fine. I want to get back
to NYSERDA again. Do we know how much NYSERDA has
collected, how much they have on the books to spend on all these
green energy programs, so-called clean or green energy programs; the
vehicles, the wind, the solar? Do we know how much they have
collected or have on the books that are off the State books that are
paid for by ratepayers? Do we know how much they have to spend?
MS. BARRETT: Not off hand.
MR. PALMESANO: We don't have that either, okay.
Now relative to the electric vehicle, and I know we talked about this at
different times, is there anything -- and we passed legislation
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sometime ago on State vehicles saying it had to be sourced with
American product or elements. But there's out -- if it was feasible to
do so. Is there anything in this bill - and I think I know the answer - is
there anything in this bill that says the bet -- the supply chain that
produces the electric vehicle has to be sourced from US sources and
manufacturing?
MS. BARRETT: These are previously owned
vehicles so they have already been owned -- they're already owned
and they go through, you know, whatever the process in the first place.
So this is actually extending the life of these vehicles and not looking
to new vehicles and putting them on the market. So, again, I think this
--
MR. PALMESANO: So how they have been
supplied in the past is how they -- how it's going to continue to be
supplied. So I guess this bill doesn't address that and right now
electric vehicles in the State of New York for purchases are not
required to have their material, their elements that say produce their
batteries to be sourced in the United States. They can be sourced in
other countries using other mechanisms, correct?
MS. BARRETT: Are you going on the bill here?
MR. PALMESANO: No, it's a question.
MS. BARRETT: What's the question? I'm sorry.
MR. PALMESANO: My question is in New York
State right now, for electric vehicles there is no requirement that the
components that produce the electric vehicles, the batteries and those
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batteries, the elements that produce the batteries, there's no
requirement in New York State that that has to be sourced and
produced in the United States so they can -- these batteries can -- the
elements that produce the batteries that make the electric vehicles, that
power electric vehicles, they can be produced in other countries to
make those batteries, right?
MS. BARRETT: Yes, that's true. We are working on
building our capacity in the United States but we're not there yet.
MR. PALMESANO: How far along are we? I know
we said we're building (inaudible) but any idea?
MS. BARRETT: Not specifically.
MR. PALMESANO: Yeah, okay. That's-- that's fair
enough. I'll go on the bill now. Thank you, Ms. Barrett, for your
time.
Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues. There's a lot of
questions I had with this bill. Obviously, you know, it's open-ended,
there's no cap on how much can be spent. The sponsor said already
we've spent 144 million to date on this, now it's going to be opened up
for used vehicles, that's all coming from the ratepayer because
NYSERDA is funded off the books through assessment fees on our
utility bills. Whether it's a system benefits charge, other charges all to
meet the clean energy goals and mandates of the State of New York. I
think there's other questions that need to be brought up and maybe
hopefully will be brought up relative to, you know, how this would --
and I didn't ask the question -- how this would come to play and affect
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the market price of the vehicle. You know, if there's a rebate given,
how that would impact the price. If there's a rebate that's going to
bring it down 2,000, that could affect the overall market just basically
drive up the price anyway to consumers, and that's all going to be
subsidized by the ratepayers or the taxpayers or whoever is funding for
it. I think when we talk about this, the costs associated with this
whole green program is significant. This is one small aspect of it but
it's a big aspect. One hundred and forty-four million dollars is not a
small amount of money to talk about when we can go across the
whole spectrum of the cost and affordability of this program. Right
now NYSERDA, the DEC, last year they came out with a study and
said if we don't change the methodology that we use to measure the
emissions in New York State going to 100-year methodology instead
of the current 20-year methodology that will in fact increase prices at
the gas pump for our residents by 63 cents a gallon and will increase
home heating natural gas costs by 79 percent. Those are your
constituents, that's what you're passing, that's what you're
implementing with the CLCPA. So we have proposals that would
make it a 100-year methodology. That would still -- and that 100-year
methodology that's used by every state in the country, is used
nationally, is used internationally, only New York State has chosen to
use a 20-year methodology which makes no sense whatsoever,
because not only does that affect the price on the consumer, it also
affects the marketplace in having to coincide with other states like
Washington where there are problems. So that's one side of the cost
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side. The other side of the cost side is last year the Public Service
Commission approved on utilities future ratepayer costs of 43 billion,
with a "b", dollars. Future ratepayers costs to pay for this so-called
clean green energy program of the Green New Deal in New York. We
talked about the cost and the affordability, when we talk about
batteries we're talking about electric vehicle rebates here. Our school
districts which are petrified which the budget did nothing to address,
which this House does nothing to address, which this Governor does
nothing to address, the electrics -- the mother of all unfunded
mandates, the electric school bus mandate is coming down the
pipeline with no idea how they're going to pay for it. All the answer
that comes from the administration every time we talk about this
program, we have $500 million in the Environmental Bond Act.
That's nothing. Even at the budget hearings, the president of
NYSERDA said with all the State and Federal dollars that we have in
this program, it's enough to pay for 3,000 school buses, 3,000. We
have a fleet of nearly 50,000 school buses in the State of New York.
Our school districts are -- don't know how to handle this. This upfront
cost of school bus -- electric school bus will cost you $3- to 350,000
up to $400,000 where as a current diesel school bus will cost 125- to
150,000 and these are near -- near zero emission diesel school buses.
They're not just loading up emissions up in the air. They're near zero
emissions and they're reliable. And also we know on these vehicles
they're not reliable with the range issues and things of that nature. We
talked about -- so that's another part of the cost. The charging
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
infrastructure that has to go in for our school districts, part of this
clean green new deal, so called clean green new deal, which this bill is
a part of, which other bills are a part of, you know, Earth Day
legislation and other bills. That's going to have a significant impact
on the charging station infrastructure that needs to be put in place.
That's billion of dollars on our school districts. On top of that, the
grid can't handle it. Some school districts have said -- one school
district up here near the Albany area said they were going to be
charged $30 million to put in a substation enough to bring that power
from the grid into the school district. That's going to be borne by our
property taxpayers. There's another school district in my region in
Horseheads, they said it's going to cost them up to $10 million to bring
the power in from the grid. The dollars keep adding up, the costs keep
adding up to our residents, to our businesses. When is this going to
change? And the reliability, I haven't even gotten into the reliability
side of the equation. The fact of the matter is, NYISO which is tasked
with powering -- making sure our grids and our lights stay on, the
power stays on said that by 2040 (mic cut out) we need 27 to 45
gigawatts of dispatchable emission-free generation to meet the
reliability demands of the full march to electrification. That
technology does not exist yet. They don't know what it's going to be.
They're just saying that's what needs to be done. And if you talk to
businesses and homeowners when they talk about their energy bills,
they talk about two things; they want affordability and reliability.
This bill and the green agenda that you keep -- so-called clean agenda
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
that you keep putting forward is not addressing the needs of the
consumers. Even Basil Seggos and Doreen Harris when they try to go
out and talk about the 63 cents a gallon and 79 percent increase on
home heating bills, they said if families can't afford it and businesses
can't afford it, it's not going to work. I'm here to tell you, families
can't afford it, businesses can't afford it. And I'm telling you, if
businesses can't get affordable and reliable energy in New York,
they're going to go to other states and we're going to continue to see
that out-migration of more and more people leaving the State. And I
will get to the point on this when we talk about clean and green. What
about the fact of how these materials are produced? To produce our
electric -- these batteries to power electric vehicles. It's well known to
produce a lithium-ion battery, to power an electric vehicle or electric
school bus you need cobalt. Seventy percent of the cobalt is extracted,
yes, in the Democratic Republican Congo and yes, using child labor
some 35,000 to 40- undocumented children are impacted by this. And
time and time again whenever this comes up, you want to bury your
head in the sand and not talk about it. I'm not saying you don't care.
I'm sure you care, but the problem is the policies that you're advancing
on this policy does not demonstrate that you care on this issue. I
know you care about it. I know you feel like your hands are tied,
because you're marching full speed ahead with this policy. And it's
concerning, because of the fact of the matter is these kids go in these
mines, these artisan mines, they use their hands to mine for a dollar a
day. These mines are collapsing on them, they're dying, they're being
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
maimed, they're being paralyzed and we do nothing. On top of it, the
lithium that's being mined to do that. They're poisoning waters, rivers
and streams in African countries and we're not talking about that. I
will tell you if kids were dying here in the US doing this or if we were
poisoning waters, rivers and streams in the US, it would not be
happening. You know it, I know it. But because it's happening in
another country that we don't see and don't want to talk about in this
Chamber or act about in this Chamber, it happens over and over again,
day after day after day, but it's okay. Why? Because we got a green
clean agenda that we need to meet. That's nonsense, that's
hypocritical. I mean it's okay to poison water, rivers, streams in other
countries. It's okay to use child labor in other countries but not here,
and we shouldn't. And you want to complain about oil rigs and
natural gas fracking wells, you know what? I don't see any children
working on them, but they are working on the mines of the Congo to
produce the cobalt to help produce the batteries that you all celebrate.
We need more electric vehicles and the electric vehicles don't work.
They don't have the range issues and they have fires and things of that
nature, I mean one thing after another. We're advancing full speed
ahead without developing this policy. We're doing it on the fly. You
don't tear down a bridge before you build a new one. The overall goal
of this administration in this Chamber is totally dismantled. The
reliable and affordable natural gas infrastructure supply and delivery
system totally take away the choice of how you heat your home, cook
your food, power your buildings and the car and the vehicle you
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
decide you drive. Not decide, that you're forced to drive. This is all
going to lead to more blackouts, lead to dangerous -- jeopardizing the
reliability of the grid and it's going to lead to the continued nation-lead
of out-migration that we continue to see of more New York families
and businesses leaving the State of New York.
So for that reason and others, Mr. Speaker, I know
some people will vote for this bill. I'm not until we see some action. I
vote no and I urge some of my colleagues to do so. Thank you.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Mr. Manktelow.
MR. MANKTELOW: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Would the sponsor yield for a couple questions, please?
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Barrett, will you
yield?
MS. BARRETT: Certainly.
MR. MANKTELOW: Thank you, Ms. Barrett. If a
person -- if a New York State resident buys a used EV vehicle outside
of the State, is that eligible for that money?
MS. BARRETT: No.
MR. MANKTELOW: So the vehicle has to be
bought within New York State?
MS. BARRETT: Yes. It has to go through a -- a
certified local authorized dealer.
MR. MANKTELOW: Okay. So -- so let's reverse
the situation. If someone out-of-state buys a used EV vehicle from
New York State, are they eligible for the rebate?
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
(Pause)
MS. BARRETT: So if they would normally be
paying sales tax on the transaction, then that -- that would be relevant.
If not, then they wouldn't.
MR. MANKTELOW: I guess I misunderstood. Can
you repeat that one more time?
(Pause)
MS. BARRETT: So if it would be considered a
normal New York transaction and they would be paying sales tax
here, then it would be applicable. If it was done in a way where
they're selling it, you know, outside and they wouldn't be -- outside of
New York and they wouldn't be paying a New York sales tax, then it
wouldn't be applicable.
MR. MANKTELOW: So it's my understanding you
have to pay the sales tax?
MS. BARRETT: I'm sorry?
MR. MANKTELOW: It's my understanding that you
need to pay the sales tax to be eligible; is that correct?
MS. BARRETT: Yes.
MR. MANKTELOW: Okay. My second question is,
what happens if a car dealership decides to go to a public auction and
they buy ten used EV vehicles. Are they eligible for the rebate?
MS. BARRETT: It's only through a dealer, an
authorized dealership.
MR. MANKTELOW: Okay. So that can be. So my
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
question again is, if I'm a dealer and you're a dealer and I want to buy
ten of your used EV vehicles, am I eligible as a dealer for your rebate?
MS. BARRETT: Go ahead. I'm sorry?
MR. MANKTELOW: Say it again?
MS. BARRETT: Yes, please.
MR. MANKTELOW: Okay. If I'm a dealer in New
York State and you're a dealer in New York State and I want to buy
ten of your used EV vehicles, am I as a dealership eligible for the
rebate?
MS. BARRETT: It's just for consumers.
MR. MANKTELOW: That's not what the bill text
says. The bill text says on line -- line 9, Section 2, that it's also
available for commercial users as well.
MS. BARRETT: This is the same program that
NYSERDA currently has for new vehicles, and that is the criteria that
it's for the consumer. It's NYSERDA's policy.
MR. MANKTELOW: So again, it has to be for an
individual then.
MS. BARRETT: Right.
MR. MANKTELOW: So a dealership would not be
eligible.
MS. BARRETT: Correct.
MR. MANKTELOW: Okay. And I believe in the
same bill, that a municipality being a town or a village, a county, a
non-for-profit within the -- the State, are they not eligible for the
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
rebate as well?
MS. BARRETT: You're asking if municipalities
buying a vehicle are they -- is that the question?
MR. MANKTELOW: Yeah. If --
MS.BARRETT: Are they eligible?
MR. MANKTELOW: If a town buys a used vehicle,
are they eligible for the rebate?
MS. BARRETT: That would be a decision
NYSERDA would make. That would be part of how they're going to
execute this.
MR. MANKTELOW: So that answer isn't clear yet?
MS. BARRETT: I'm sorry?
MR. MANKTELOW: So that isn't clear?
MS. BARRETT: It's -- what we are doing is we're
giving NYSERDA the authority to do the same thing they've been
doing for new vehicles with previously owned vehicles. So whatever
the policies that they have followed for that, they will follow for this.
MR. MANKTELOW: Well, it says in the bill text
local authorities, town, county, village, school district, private schools,
universities, non-for-profit corporations, and other non-for-profit
organizations are eligible for this.
MS. BARRETT: That's NYSERDA's policy.
MR. MANKTELOW: No. This is what's in the bill;
is that correct?
MS. BARRETT: What it does is it -- mirrors what
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
NYSERDA currently has as policy.
MR. MANKTELOW: So because it's in the bill, that
is correct.
MS. BARRETT: Yes --
MR. MANKTELOW: Okay. So --
MS. BARRETT: It's because -- yes, it's correct.
MR. MANKTELOW: So -- so if a municipality or
another organization, a school, can buy them -- so what you told me
earlier where it has to be an individual, does then not the car
dealership have that same option? Are we not discriminating against
the car dealers?
MS. BARRETT: It's -- car dealerships are not a
public body. These are consumers or public entities.
MR. MANKTELOW: So it either has to be a
individual or a municipality or a state-run agency; is that correct?
MS. BARRETT: Yep.
MR. MANKTELOW: Okay. So -- so that goes for
schools to as well, correct?
MS. BARRETT: Right.
MR. MANKTELOW: Okay. My last question is,
how many -- how many vehicles has New York State bought and used
through this process?
MS. BARRETT: We don't have those numbers.
MR. MANKTELOW: So does NYSERDA have
those numbers?
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
MS. BARRETT: I assume NYSERDA has them,
yep.
MR. MANKTELOW: Okay. I appreciate you taking
the time to answer the questions.
MS. BARRETT: I appreciate your questions.
MR. MANKTELOW: Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, on the bill.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On the bill, sir.
MR. MANKTELOW: Again, here's one of the issues
that we have in New York State. On the cover of this it sounds really
good and I -- I think parts of it are really good, but at the same time
there's not a fine line out -- I'll rephrase that. There's not a fine outline
detail of how this is going to work. The bill text says one thing, but
yet we're not sure if that's the case. If we're going to allow individuals
to buy these vehicles, if we're going to allow governments to buy these
vehicles, why would we not allow our businesses to buy these vehicles
and get that same privilege of getting the $2,000 rebate? These are
questions that should be answered before this gets to the floor. And as
my colleague said earlier, we'd really like to know those numbers. We
have an obligation as Assemblymembers to know what those dollars
are and how that's affecting the taxpayers that we represent. So
because of that, I really -- I applaud the -- the idea of doing thi, s but
some of these answers need to be answered before I can support this
bill. So thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, madam sponsor for
answering my questions. Thank you.
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you.
Mr. Goodell.
MR. GOODELL: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would
the sponsor yield?
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Barrett, will you
yield?
MS. BARRETT: Yes, sir.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Barrett yields.
MR. GOODELL: Thank you, Ms. Barrett. You
stated in response to one of my colleague's questions that NYSERDA
so far spent $144 million on the existing $2,000 tax rebate, right -- or
it's a rebate program, right?
MS. BARRETT: Rebate program for new electric
vehicles.
MR. GOODELL: For new vehicles. Is NYSERDA
running a surplus in that account?
MS. BARRETT: It's not -- yeah, it's not account. It's
-- it's part of their -- one of the programs they operate, it's not a
specific account.
MR. GOODELL: Well, then maybe I should make it
clear. Is NYSERDA itself then running a surplus over and above the
144- they've already spent for new vehicles?
MS. BARRETT: I -- I don't understand that question.
NYSERDA has a budget larger than $144 million, obviously and I
don't know what, you know, what do you mean by a surplus? It's not
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
-- this is just one of their programs.
MR. GOODELL: So my question is, this new
program, right, for $2,000 for used vehicles is on a first come, first
served basis based on funds available, right?
MS. BARRETT: Based on what?
MR. GOODELL: Based on funds that are available
with NYSERDA. My question is, as of today, how much money is
available in NYSERDA for this program?
MS. BARRETT: I -- I think NYSERDA would have
to answer that question. I -- it's -- they're going to be able to run it in
the way that -- we're -- we're just allowing them to run this program
just like they run the one for new vehicles and they will -- if they run
out of money, they'll have to make that choice. We're just expanding
the program to include these vehicles.
MR. GOODELL: Well, I appreciate -- I appreciate
your comments that we're just authorizing NYSERDA to do this, but I
would point out that on page 2, line 5, it doesn't say the authority may
offer a rebate, it says the authority shall, right? So it's mandatory on
NYSERDA to provide the rebate, correct?
MS. BARRETT: It's a program that we are asking
them to do, but if they don't have the money they're not going to be
able to do it.
MR. GOODELL: So my question is, do they have
the money to do this?
MS. BARRETT: Yes. They think they do.
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
MR. GOODELL: And how much do they think they
have for this program?
MS. BARRETT: I can't answer that question.
MR. GOODELL: You're the bill sponsor.
MS. BARRETT. I know.
MR. GOODELL: Shouldn't you know how much
they have?
MS. BARRETT: I understand I'm the bill sponsor. I
don't believe that that is relevant to -- to allowing this policy to go --
this program to go forward.
MR. GOODELL: I see. Now under current -- under
current law if somebody buys a new EV, they're eligible for up to
7,500 Federal credit, right and they're up to -- and eligible for a $2,000
NYSERDA rebate, right? That's $9,500. This would then apply to
used cars so they get another 2,000 on the resale, I mean the new
buyer would get a $2,000 rebate. And the Federal Government
provides a $4,000 tax credit, doesn't it, on a used car sale? Is there
anything to prevent a husband from buying an EV, collecting the
$9,500 that's available for new, turning around tomorrow, selling that
used EV to his wife and picking up another six grand?
MS. BARRETT: I think NYSERDA's criteria will
consider all of these things when they approve a -- a rebate for a
customer.
MR. GOODELL: But nothing in this bill addresses
that.
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
MS. BARRETT: We are empowering NYSERDA to
do this and letting them do the work that they know how to do
because they have a track record of already doing it.
MR. GOODELL: No, my question,
MS. BARRETT: So just expanding who they might
be able to give this money to and actually, you know, cutting back on,
you know, the -- the -- the new cars that have to be produced because
we're giving more people an opportunity to participate and having
more used cars on the road.
MR. GOODELL: Am I correct there's no income
eligibility standards.
MS. BARRETT: No.
MR. GOODELL: I mean you can be filthy rich and
you still get this credit or you can be -- it doesn't matter, right?
MS. BARRETT: It's the same program that they
currently operate.
MR. GOODELL: And does the current program
operated by NYSERDA have income limitations?
MS. BARRETT: No.
MR. GOODELL: Now your bill expressly requires
NYSERDA to offer this rebate to institutional and commercial
applicants, correct?
MS. BARRETT: Not commercial but -- but
municipalities and individuals.
MR. GOODELL: Well, I'm looking at page 2, line --
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
line 5. Am I correct, it says the authority shall award rebates to
institutional or commercial applicants?
MS. BARRETT: Okay. So private schools -- those
would be -- there are some commercial entities that would be
involved, yes.
MR. GOODELL: So is it possible that a large
institutional or a commercial applicant who's buying a fleet of used
could use up the entire funding?
MS. BARRETT: You know, anything's possible but
that has certainly not been what they found in operating since 2017 in
new vehicles.
MR. GOODELL: Now this on a first come, first
served basis.
MS. BARRETT: Right.
MR. GOODELL: If NYSERDA runs out of money
and there's a waiting list, does that waiting list automatically carry
over to the next year?
MS. BARRETT: This is part of -- of NYSERDA's
regulations and they would detail that there. It's all on their website.
MR. GOODELL: I understand that but your statute
says first come, first served. Does your statutory language authorize a
carryover from year to year of any waiting list, or do you have to
reapply under this statutory language?
MS. BARRETT: Okay. It's not prevented.
MR. GOODELL: I see. So it's up to NYSERDA to
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
decide whether or not to carry it over? So if we have institutional and
commercial applicants who might have a whole fleet of used vehicles
they're buying, and we have other individuals who might be wealthy
applying for this, is it possible then that the rebate might be carried
over for years? It might be years and years before you are up to that
first come, first served theory?
MS. BARRETT: NYSERDA can refuse to do
anything here. They don't have to be doing this. So if it's a -- if it's a
group that they feel is, you know, more than their -- that would impact
the program by taking in, you know, undue amount, then they can
refuse to do that.
MR. GOODELL: So you're saying that even though
the statutory language says the authority shall provide a rebate, you're
saying that they really don't have to comply with the statutory
language that's in this bill?
MS. BARRETT: They shall operate the program.
That's what the language says.
MR. GOODELL: They shall operate the program but
they have the discretion to not operate it?
MS. BARRETT: They can operate it in the way that
they see best.
MR. GOODELL: I see.
MS. BARRETT: And determine eligibility based on
what they see is appropriate.
MR. GOODELL: Thank you very much. Does this
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
rebate apply to hybrids?
MS. BARRETT: To what?
MR. GOODELL: Does this rebate apply to hybrid
vehicles; part electric, part gas?
MS. BARRETT: Oh, plug-in hybrids. Is that what
you're asking?
MR. GOODELL: Yeah.
MS. BARRETT: Yes.
MR. GOODELL: And the number of plug-in
hybrids, plus the number of total EVs in the State of New York is
roughly 5.2 percent of all vehicles?
MS. BARRETT: I don't have that number.
MR. GOODELL: Okay. Thank you. I appreciate
your comments.
MS. BARRETT: Thank you.
MR. GOODELL: On the bill, sir.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On the bill.
MR. GOODELL: You know, in our quest to promote
EVs, we're adopting a very interesting program as it relates to our
overall concept of helping the poor at the expense of the rich. This
bill does the opposite. This bill uses utility surcharges that the poor in
our State pay in order to give a rebate to people who have enough
income to buy an expensive EV. Think about that. Everyone in New
York City who relies on mass transit who doesn't own a car gets to
pay higher utility rates so that those who are wealthy enough to buy a
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
new EV can sell it to a buyer who can get a rebate at their expense.
Your senior citizens, those on fixed incomes, everyone who's
financially stressed, especially in this time of inflation gets to pay
higher utility rates to provide a $2,000 rebate to a person who can buy
an EV that's substantially more expensive than a used gas car. In fact,
according to the data from the first quarter of this year as tracked by
the current price index, an average EV used vehicle cost $27,800.
That's out of the reach of most lower income or even middle-class
families. Now you might say well, this will help a lower and middle
income family buy an EV because it will drop the average cost from
27,000 down to 25,000. Here's the problem. They don't get the
money when they buy the car. They get to apply. And as the bill
sponsor noted, we don't even know if there's enough money to pay
them. And it's first come, first served and they're competing against
institutions and commercial establishments. Now we don't know
whether a waiting list carries over but let's assume that it does. Great.
You buy an EV today and you're middle income and you hope you
drop the cost to just below 26,000, it'd be 25,600 and you can wait
years for a rebate? It doesn't make sense. So we start with a source of
funds. It's a utility charge that hurts the poor. It hurts everyone who
uses mass transit. We use that in conjunction with a tax credit that's
offered by the Federal Government. Of course, we all know that tax
credits only help those who pay taxes, right? A tax credit doesn't help
the poor. You have to have over 7,500 in taxable income to get any
tax credit. We have a first come, first served but you're competing
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
against institutions, institutions that have -- may have a huge fund
balance. I'm thankful I come from a private university that has a
multi-billion dollar fund balance so great, I get a $2,000 rebate if I buy
a used vehicle. And meanwhile those who need it the most get in line.
And we all do this in order to support EVs that pay no highway tax,
right? So every year we struggle to maintain CHIPS funding while
we're using our tax dollars raised by the 95 percent of people who
don't buy or use EVs in order to subsidize EVs that don't pay highway
taxes so they can use the highways for free. My friends, let's get our
priorities straight. Let's help the poor have more affordable utility
rates rather than pile on more surcharges on the poor. And let's stop
helping the rich buy expensive EVs. Unfortunately this bill charges
the poor and gives the money to the wealthy. That's the wrong
approach for New York State and I will not support that concept.
Thank you, sir.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you.
Mr. Jensen.
MR. JENSEN: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Will the sponsor yield for a few questions?
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Barrett, will you
yield?
MS. BARRETT: Yes, sir.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Barrett yields.
MR. JENSEN: Thank you. I appreciate the Chair's
yielding. Just a few clarifying questions. Would -- when applying for
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
this refund, this tax credit, would the dealership apply or would the
individual purchasing the used car have to apply?
MS. BARRETT: The individual.
MR. JENSEN: The individual, okay. In (inaudible),
so talking to a lot of the car dealerships in my district, they're seeing a
lot of leases of --
MS. BARRETT: A lot of what? I'm sorry.
MR. JENSEN: Leases -- lease contracts. So the
lease expires, the dealership takes back the car and then if they were
to then sell that used -- the used zero emission, would the purchase of
a previously-leased zero emission car be eligible for this program?
MS. BARRETT: The current program does do leases
but this -- we -- you know, previously owned does not.
MR. JENSEN: So under this program in this
legislation, if I lease a zero emission car and then I buy out my lease,
so I'm purchasing the car essentially from my own lease contract.
Would I be eligible for the -- would I be eligible, too, for this program
if I'm buying out my own lease?
MS. BARRETT: This would be up to NYSERDA to
determine.
MR. JENSEN: So there's no --
MS. BARRETT: Each one is a case by case basis
and NYSERDA will make those decisions.
MR. JENSEN: Okay. Do you foresee, in your
crafting of this legislation, how many point of sales or how many
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
transactions of a used car would be eligible? So the dealership sells a
zero-emission car for the first time. They buy a car back from that
person and then they sell it to somebody else. That second purchase
would be eligible. If that second owner then sells the car to another
dealership and the car is purchased by a third buyer, would they be
eligible for this credit as well?
MS. BARRETT: Again, this will be up to
NYSERDA. It's a program that NYSERDA will run based on what
they're currently doing in the new vehicle space and now they will
also make it available for previously owned vehicles and they will
determine how it will work.
MR. JENSEN: So in this -- so as the bill is written, it
has to be a -- you have to purchase the used, previously loved, zero-
emission car from a dealership to be eligible, correct?
MS. BARRETT: Right.
MR. JENSEN: So my understanding is with a lot of
the electric vehicle direct-to-sale companies, they will buy back their
previously sold cars. If then they want to sell a used zero-emission car
that was sold through a direct-to-consumer car manufacturer, would
the direct-to-consumer model it's currently operating the State outside
of the dealership model be eligible for this program?
MS. BARRETT: Yeah. Again, this is up to
NYSERDA to determine how they will do this and what -- what
dealership relationships they will, you know, work with and what they
won't.
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
MR. JENSEN: Okay. So -- and I don't remember the
-- the debate if I was even here or when the original -- the new car,
new zero-emission legislation was passed. Was this the same
provision that NYSERDA was going to have to determine the
regulations for that program?
MS. BARRETT: Yes.
MR. JENSEN: How long did it take them to provide
clarity on a lot of the questions that aren't being answered because of
the need for NYSERDA to develop the program?
MS. BARRETT: So this original program was
passed in the 2016 enacted budget and in 2017 the program was up
and running.
MR. JENSEN: So how long do we estimate and, you
know, I've heard it from some of my -- my answers to a lot of my
learned colleagues that spoke previously that they got the response
that it's up to NYSERDA. How long -- is there any timeline in this
legislation on NYSERDA to provide clarity to a lot of these very
important questions, especially for a lot of the dealerships in our --
communities that are huge economic drivers to know exactly what
kind of environment they're going to be selling used cars in?
MS. BARRETT: The time -- we've asked for a report
in two years' time so that's part of -- that's a piece of timeline.
MR. JENSEN: And will that report be going to all
leaders within the legislature, the Majority and Minority?
(Pause)
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
MS. BARRETT: It goes to the Chair of the Energy
Committee.
MR. JENSEN: I'm sorry. I can't hear. There's some
scuttling around me.
MS. BARRETT: I'm sorry?
MR. JENSEN: I can't hear. There's some scuttling
around me.
MS. BARRETT: Well, you'll have to ask the scuttle
to --
MR. JENSEN: Please stop scuttling around me,
please. Okay. Please proceed.
MS. BARRETT: It would go to the Chair -- Chairs
of the Energy Committee in the Senate and in the Assembly.
MR. JENSEN: So will the ranking members of the
Energy Committees receive that report?
MS. BARRETT: Absolutely.
MR. JENSEN: And will they receive it from --
MS. BARRETT: The idea is not to keep it a secret.
MR. JENSEN: -- NYSERDA or through the Chair?
MS. BARRETT: Through the Chair of the
Committee.
MR. JENSEN: Okay. All right. Thank you very
much, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Walsh.
Mrs. Peoples-Stokes.
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker. Will the sponsor yield just for a few questions?
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Barrett, will you
yield?
MS. BARRETT: Certainly.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Barrett yields.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Would you please
restate how long it's been since we implemented NYSERDA
supporting new electric vehicle sales?
MS. BARRETT: 2017 was when it was -- I just
shared, passed in the 2016 budget and they started the program in
2017.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: 2017. And can you
estimate how many of those were individual purchasers versus a
government entity or a dealership?
MS. BARRETT: I think most of those were
individuals.
(Pause)
I'm sorry. Did you --
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Can you estimate the --
the numbers that were sold by -- were purchased by individual
purchasers versus --
MS. BARRETT: I think most of them were
individuals, do we have a specific number?
(Pause)
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
Right. There were 145,924 rebates as of March of
this year, but I don't have exactly who but our understanding is most
of them were for individuals.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Okay. Because my next
question is, it was mentioned how much the perceived value is of a
used EV vehicle. How many times can that used vehicle receive a
rebate? In other words, how many owners can it end up having and
still be rebated if NYSERDA has the capacity to do that?
MS. BARRETT: Well, this is a new program for
NYSERDA to be able to do this and I think we will hear in that report
two years from know how that works, because I mean we're making --
we're creating an opportunity for these cars to stay on the road and be
-- you know, the owners to be given a rebate so to sort of encourage
them, incentivize buying used EVs. And, you know, I -- I think
everybody's optimistic that it will follow the same pattern, maybe even
be better than what we've done with new vehicles, but that will -- you
know, that will remain to be seen.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: There's scuttling in the
back again. There's scuttling going on in the back again so it does
distract your hearing when people are mumbling behind you.
MS. BARRETT: I see them.
(Inaudible/cross-talk)
It's hard to have a debate when you're -- when there's
a lot of activity.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Thank you, thank you.
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
MS. BARRETT: Thank you.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: I appreciate it very
much.
Just -- just on the bill, Mr. Speaker. I -- I know that
we've been engaged in these debates for quite sometime about
whether or not we should try to study the climate, and this is a small
piece of it. There are a lot of people who -- I won't say I personally
know them but I have personally heard that they have some desires to
own a EV vehicle that honestly, quite frankly, they can't afford. So
they are waiting for the opportunity to buy a used vehicle. And I think
if they do have that opportunity to buy a used vehicle they should get
the same sort of opportunity for rebates as the person did who bought
the car in its original condition. I will also -- just listening to some of
the debate on the floor today, I can imagine if we were around like in
1935, it would've been real kind of similar to this. Also, even 1830.
Between 1830 and 1890 was the first electric vehicles. And by the
time we got to 1914, we had transferred to motorized vehicles. A lot
of debate went on about that I'm almost sure, and clearly the
motorized vehicle people won out, because then all of our cars
became motorized. And now since 1970, we're realizing that there's
value if we had stuck with electric vehicles. It would not have had the
same impact on our environment that cars that run by gas and diesel
do have on our environment. So we're going full circle here. And I
don't think the debate would've been any different then as it is now.
Except at some point I'm hopeful that we're going to win this time. I
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
don't think that we necessarily lost the last time, but we definitely did
not win in a way that protected our environment. This is our
opportunity to do that. And so I would encourage my colleagues to
give it a second thought, don't think so quickly about, you know,
what's happening in the Congo and those other places. Let's think
about how we can make sure that there's an opportunity for a clean
environment at some point for our great-grandchildren. Thank you,
Mr. Speaker.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you.
Read the last section.
THE CLERK: This act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: A party vote has
been requested.
Mr. Goodell.
MR. GOODELL: Thank you, sir. The Republican
Conference is generally opposed to this program for the reasons that
have been mentioned by my colleagues. Those who wish to support
are certainly encouraged to vote yes on the floor. Thank you, sir.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you.
Mrs. Peoples-Stokes.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker. The Majority Conference is generally going to be in favor of
this progressive piece of legislation; however, there could be a few of
us that would desire to be an exception. We should feel free to do so
at our seats. Thank you, sir.
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you.
The Clerk will record the vote.
(The Clerk recorded the vote.)
Mr. Lavine to explain his vote.
MR. LAVINE: Thanks. So much like Captain Louis
Renault in Casablanca, I was shocked, shocked to learn that there's
child labor in the Congo. But I'm not shocked to know that Congo of
all the African nations ranks 43rd in terms of number of children
employed in dangerous labor. Now be that as it may, none of us like
child labor and I think each of us should reach out to our colleagues in
Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Arkansas who are
trying to reduce the age at which children can be employed.
Secondly, the expressed purpose of this bill is to improve air quality,
reduce noise pollution and promote the adoption of quieter
zero-emissions vehicles. Now April was the hottest month in history.
The last 11 months have been the hottest in our history. I guess it's
pretty obvious that we humans play a role in that, and I hope it's
obvious to everyone, but I'm not so sure. And the question that I
might ask is simply this: We must do everything - and I think we'd all
agree - to reduce fossil fuel emissions and greenhouse gas emissions.
And I want to end and I'm going to vote for this good bill. I want to
end with a quote from Kurt Vonnegut and it's this, and it was one of
his better quotes. Will we go down in history as the first society that
would not save itself, that refused to save itself because to some it
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simply wasn't cost-effective. I vote in the affirmative.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Mr. Lavine in the
affirmative.
Mr. Steck to explain his vote.
MR. STECK: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The world is
not coming to an end because we're going away from fossil fuels to
electric vehicles. In fact I've owned two electric vehicles both made
in the United States, one a Chevrolet and one a Volkswagon ID4. The
range is ever increasing, the range of the ID4 is now 260 miles. It can
be charged in 30 minutes. And so the very tax credits that this bill is
continuing and expanding enabled me to purchase that vehicle. And
you can't stand here and say that you want these things to be
affordable and be against measures that make them affordable. It
doesn't make sense and I totally support this bill and can assure
anyone who takes the plunge that these electric vehicles are terrific
and they'll save you a lot of money on gas. Thank you.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Mr. Steck in the
affirmative.
Mr. Jensen to explain his vote.
MR. JENSEN: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I -- I really want to support this bill. There's a lot of car dealerships in
my community that have come to me and talked about the struggle
they have to have used zero-emission cars on their lots and the trouble
they have on reselling them. But unfortunately, the lack of clarity on
the specifics of this program, how many times a car can be resold,
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NYS ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2024
qualified, whether or not the directed consumer cart manufactures can
participate leads me to tremendous concerns about the time it would
take to implement this. And to quote Kurt Vonnegut as well, you
know, those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand if I can support
this. Unfortunately, I can't. So I vote in the negative. Thank you, Mr.
Speaker.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Mr. Jensen in the
negative.
Mr. Manktelow.
MR. MANKTELOW: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, to
explain my vote. I, too, would -- would love to support this bill. I've
asked some questions when I debated the bill. Without having some
of the parameters in place, without really knowing what -- what can be
done, what NYSERDA can do and cannot do really makes me
question. And as I -- as I asked the question about the text of the bill
Section 2, part 8, it says institutional or commercial applicant shall
mean a commercial business. So I Googled commercial business and
I already knew the answer, but it's a business that has an activity
conducted by companies to provide goods or services for sale. So on
this floor we talk about doing things across the board. We talk about
doing things that are equal, that gives everyone a chance in this
House. Well, why are we not doing that with this bill? Shouldn't
every single player out there have a chance to play on the field, to
have a level playing field for everyone? Whether you're a car
dealership, whether you're a commercial business, shall we not allow
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them all to partake in this? So for those reasons I really cannot
support the bill. But just to follow up on the lighter note, it's hard to
believe that our children and our grandchildren today are actually
driving electric vehicles. Do we forget that the little John Deere toys,
the little Jeeps that are running around through the yards, they're all
electric. The little electric scooters that they drive up and down our
driveway. So yes, we do have hope because of our children and our
grandchildren that have already started doing that and what will they
bring to the table in their future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I cannot
support the bill but I do applaud for the try of it. Thank you.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you. Mr.
Manktelow in the negative.
Mr. Palmesano to explain his vote.
MR. PALMESANO: Yes, Mr. Speaker. I thought I
was done with my on the bill but I'm not. I have two minutes left. I'm
glad some of our colleagues are recognizing the Congo and the
children in the Congo that are doing labor, some 35- to $40,000 to
produce the battery -- the elements that make these batteries. I
understand, you know, a colleague mentioned that these electric
vehicles are here and made in the US. Not the elements that produce
the batteries to power these electric vehicles. The fact of the matter is
we know it. Seventy percent of the cobalt is extracted in the Congo
using child labor. Lithium is mined in African countries poisoning
water, rivers and streams. So what might be good for the environment
up here, but there are other countries that are suffering with child
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labor and water pollution. You can say we need to do it to take
action. New York has taken a great deal of action. New York only
contributes 0.4 percent, .4 percent of total global emissions, .4. China
contributes 30 percent, has a 1,000 coal plants and is building more
each and every day. In fact, last year China said they were expanding
their coal generating capacity by 70 gigawatts. Our total generating
capacity in New York is 41 gigawatts. That includes wind, solar,
hydro, coal -- or not coal because we don't like coal, nuclear, natural
gas and oil. So China's not helping us out. This doesn't affect China,
it only effects New York taxpayers and businesses. And Joe Biden,
our President said if China's not helping us, we're wasting our time. I
don't agree with him on much of anything. I agree with him on that,
we're wasting our time because China's not helping. And the fact of
the matter is China controls 80 percent of the rare earth materials to
produce the electric vehicles and 80 percent of the solar market. And
as my colleagues said, that benefits wealthier people with higher
incomes who can afford the electric vehicles, who can afford solar
panels on the roof. That is being subsidized by low income people in
the City and around our State with higher utility bills. So where's the
equitability and fairness in that? So you can talk about how great this
is and isn't --
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: How do you vote,
sir?
MR. PALMESANO: I -- I vote no.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you. Mr.
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Palmesano in the negative.
Mr. Friend to explain his vote.
MR. FRIEND: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Zero-emission vehicles, what is that? I mean we know for years now
that there is no such thing as a zero-emission vehicle. And actually
what we need to be looking at in America is where is the exhaust,
where is the emission coming from? The reports show us that the
majority of the emissions actually come from your brakes and your
tires. And with these so-called referenced zero-emission vehicles,
they weigh upwards of 1,000 pounds more, which means when you're
braking, when you're running that vehicle on the road, you're causing
your brakes to wear down faster every time you touch the pedal.
You're causing those tires to wear out more rapidly kicking off
carcinogens into your neighborhood, faster -- don't believe that these
vehicles don't have tires so we're contaminating the environment even
faster with these vehicles on the road. And this has been known for
years. And this wasn't brought up at all today. It's not being brought
up anywhere in our community. People need to know that they're
being lied to. These are not zero-emission vehicles. You're causing
cancer at a higher rate by driving these vehicles, by kicking off more
carcinogens in your community driving these vehicles. I cannot
support this. I vote no.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Mr. Friend in the
negative.
Ms. Walsh to explain her vote.
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MS. WALSH: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I -- I,
too, was intrigued by this bill and was really hoping to be able to
support it. I liked the concept of the bill because I do like the idea of
an incentive versus a mandate. I like the idea, generally speaking, of
using a carrot rather than a stick. However, what -- and I've
mentioned this so many times on the floor. What really troubles me is
when we develop -- or we don't -- I guess we don't really develop the
whole program here. We're voting on the outline of a program that
will then be developed by NYSERDA that never comes back to us for
a vote. So we're just voting today to basically tell NYSERDA go for
it, develop this program. We don't -- I did not feel that they were
really satisfactory answers to a number of questions about exactly how
this program would work, and for that reason alone I could not
support this bill. I also, as far as what the previous speaker said, I
would say that although I did -- I did purchase a plug-in hybrid last
year and I'm enjoying it, I definitely am. I believe I saw the sponsor
the day I picked it up. I do think that, you know, for -- for myself, I'm
enjoying that technology. I do think that I am troubled by the -- the
battery fires and the issues that may arise with older EV vehicles and I
don't think we're necessarily doing what we should to take a look at
that and the environmental damage that's caused when we have one of
those fires. So for all of those reasons, unfortunately, I won't be able
to support this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Walsh in the
negative.
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Are there any other votes? Announce the results.
(The Clerk announced the results.)
The bill is passed.
Mr. Goodell for the purposes of a introduction.
MR. GOODELL: Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker. On behalf of our colleague Scott Bendett, we have a number
of distinguished residents from Sand Lake. It's the Sand Lake Seniors.
I am eligible, except I don't live in Sand Lake. These seniors have
done a great deal for their community. These are the people that have
helped build that small town, they're part of the fabric, they continue
to contribute to the community. And our colleague Mr. Bendett is
proud to represent them and proud to help them in their efforts to
make their community even better. So if you would kindly welcome
the Sand Lake Seniors to our Assembly floor.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Certainly. On behalf
of Mr. Goodell, Mr. Bendett, the Speaker and all the members, we
welcome these seniors from Sand Lake. We extend to you the
privileges of the floor. We are really grateful that you've joined us
here today. Hope you've enjoyed the debate on the last bill and get a
sense of the kind of question and answers that get done here in the
New York State Assembly. You are always welcome here. Please
know that you are more than welcome to come back. You certainly
will make Mr. Bendett happy to see you again. Thank you so very
much.
(Applause)
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Mrs. Peoples-Stokes for an introduction.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker, for the opportunity to introduce some other very important
guests that are in our Chambers. We have with us District Attorney
Michael McMahon from Staten Island, he's President of the District
Attorney's Association. We have District Attorney Mary Pat
Donnelly, she's from Rensselear County, President-elect of the District
Attorney's Association. Morgan Bitton, Executive Director of the
District Attorney's Association. Ashleigh Owens, Chief Assistant to
the DA in Staten Island. James Clinton, Commissioned Director for
Staten Island and we have two New York City Detectives, Sean
Kennedy and Nicholas Archos (phonetic).
Mr. Speaker, if you would please greet our guests and
give them the cordialities of the House and welcome them to our
floor.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Certainly. On behalf
of Mrs. Peoples-Stokes, the Speaker and all the members, we
welcome you here to the New York State Assembly. We extend to
you the privileges of the floor, both district attorneys and staff and I
see the entire Staten Island Delegation is standing with you, very
proud of you I'm sure. Please continue your great work. We will
always welcome you here in Albany. Thank you so very much.
(Applause)
Mrs. Peoples-Stokes.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Mr. Speaker, do you
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have further housekeeping or resolutions?
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Yes. We do have a
piece of housekeeping.
On a motion by Mr. Epstein, page 26, Calendar No.
361, Bill No. A494-A, amendments are received and adopted.
We have privileged resolutions.
Resolution No. 2137, the Clerk will read.
THE CLERK: Assembly No. 2137, Ms.
Buttenschon.
Legislative Resolution mourning the untimely death
and paying tribute to the life and heroic service of Officer Michael E.
Jensen who died in the line of duty on April 14, 2024.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Ms. Buttenschon on
the resolution.
MS. BUTTENSCHON: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
This resolution is to honor Officer Michael Jensen whose family and
friends are with us today and I introduced them earlier. Regarding the
resolution on April 14th, Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen
tragically lost his life in the line of duty. Officer Jensen and
Lieutenant Michael Hoosock both made the ultimate sacrifice that
night after raising the right hand to protect all of us in our
communities. I want to take this time to talk about Officer Jensen's
accomplishments and upbringing in Rome, New York. An
extraordinary athlete, friend, son, brother, cousin, nephew. He grew
up in Rome, New York and is a graduate of Rome Free Academy.
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After graduating high school he attended LeMoyne College where he
played hockey, and to this day Michael remains the leader in all-time
points, goals and assists at the college. After four years serving as an
accountant, Michael decided to join the Syracuse Police Department
to serve the public and help others as he always had. While at the
police academy he expanded his friendship to include so many other
new officers who had take [sic] the oath of office as he did. He is
defined as a model of an outstanding, dedicated, committed, law
enforcement officer whose compassion and admiration by all officers
that he served with, including those friendships that Michael always
was able to accomplish with such ease. We need to remind ourselves
daily what an outstanding member of the community, family, as well
as law enforcement. Michael's commitment to serve his community
and his heroic actions do not go unnoticed. In December, Officer
Jensen received the Officer of the Month in recognition for his
commitment and passion to wearing the badge, and the humble acts of
kindness and duty that he didn't want to be recognized for but others
put forward to recognize him. Michael was so much more than a
police officer, as I had stated, to his family, to his friends, everyone
looked up to him. Michael has left a lasting impact on our lives of so
many. Is [sic] all that he has done as an officer, as well as a friend and
a family member to know Michael was to love him. And I am
honored to call this caring family as my friends. I share in my sincere
condolences with the Jensen family, his police family, his friends and
all those athletes that know him so well. And I am proud to carry this
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resolution on behalf of his family and on behalf of the State of New
York and the New York State Assembly. With sincere gratitude and
sacrifice, we thank the Jensen family for being here today. And God
bless you all.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: On the resolution, all
those in favor signify by saying aye; opposed, no. The resolution is
adopted.
(Applause)
Resolution No. 2138, the Clerk will read.
THE CLERK: Assembly No. 2138, Mr. Stirpe.
Legislative Resolution mourning the untimely death
and paying tribute to the life and heroic service of Lieutenant Michael
"Hootch" Hoosock who died in the line of duty on April 14, 2024.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Mr. Stirpe on the
resolution.
MR. STIRPE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing
me the opportunity to offer a few words of condolence for Onondaga
County Sheriff's Lieutenant Michael Hoosock. Our community is still
reeling from this devastating loss. I will never forget the powerful
image of thousands of uniformed police and first responders from all
over New York State paying their respects to this man dedicated to a
life of service to keep others safe and who made the ultimate sacrifice.
On Sunday April 14th, 2024, we tragically lost a true
hero. Lieutenant Hoosock was killed in the line of duty at 37 years
old leaving behind a wife and three children. He had served in the
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Onondaga County Sheriff's Office for 17 years. Lieutenant Hoosock
distinguished himself in many ways including as a volunteer
firefighter in several Central New York fire departments since 2005.
He was a paramedic, bomb squad commander for the sheriff's office
and was honored as Deputy of the Year for the New York State
Sheriff's Association. Above all, he excelled as a husband to his
remarkable wife Caitlin, and father to their three children. I offer my
sincerest prayers to them. Lieutenant Michael Hoosock will be
missed but never forgotten by his fellow officers, his many colleagues,
friends and neighbors. I cannot imagine the pain his family feels for
this loss. Today I'm introducing this resolution mourning the untimely
death of Lieutenant Michael "Hootch" Hoosock and paying tribute to
his admirable life as a man and a public servant. Thank you, Mr.
Speaker.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you.
On the resolution, all those in favor by saying aye;
opposed, no. The resolution is adopted.
Resolution No. 2139, the Clerk will read.
THE CLERK: Assembly No. 2139, Mr. Durso.
Legislative Resolution mourning the untimely death
and paying tribute to the life and heroic service of NYPD Officer
Jonathan Diller who died in the line of duty on March 25, 2024.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Mr. Durso on the
resolution.
MR. DURSO: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today
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to honor and recognize the life and dedication and service of Officer
Jonathan Diller, now Detective Jonathan Diller who lost his life in the
line of duty on March 25th of this year during a traffic stop. Officer
Jonathan Diller was born on September 15th, 1992, the youngest of
three children, grew up in Franklin Square on Long Island and moved
to my hometown of Massapequa Park. Officer Diller graduated with a
degree from Maritime College, married his wife Stephanie in 2019,
joined the NYPD in 2021 and they welcomed their son Ryan in 2023.
During Officer Diller's short career in the NYPD he made a lasting
impression, made over 70 arrests, decorated three different times for
excellence in police duty. There's no doubt that Officer Diller was a
hero and we thank him for his service. I had the opportunity to attend
both the wake and funerals for Officer Diller. And the outpouring of
support for Officer Diller and his family from not only the NYPD
community, the community at-large but of my hometown of
Massapequa and Massapequa Park was amazing. I hope Officer
Diller's family remembers that our community and us here will always
be there for them. But I want to point out if anybody witnessed on
television watching the proceedings or being at the funeral or wake,
the strength and grace that Officer Diller's wife showed not only
during this tragedy but also speaking about her husband. And that
display of strength and humility, also we saw yesterday during the
arraignment of her husband's killer. When Stephanie spoke at the
funeral speaking about Jonathan was her true love, how he was a hero
not only at work but at home. A hero to her, their son, friends, family,
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fellow officers that could count on him day in and day out. To help be
involved in the community, willing to go that extra mile at home or at
work. During this time many of us were asked questions in the media
whether at the wake or at the funeral if we knew Jon, if we knew
Officer Diller and that question made me both sad and angry at the
same time. In our hometown of Massapequa it's big, but it's small.
And Officer Diller's young son is only a year old and most of us in our
hometown are involved in sports and our children play together and
are involved in community events, and unfortunately Officer Diller
lost his life too early and I didn't get to meet him. I got to meet his
wife for a brief moment and like I said, to see her strength but we
were all robbed. But nobody is robbed more than Stephanie and Ryan
of their husband, their father, their hero. But like I said, the
dedication that Officer Diller had to not only his community, the
NYPD, his family, was taken from all of us and I did not get the
chance to meet him. But we must do everything we can at this point
to make sure that this does not continue and others like Stephanie and
Ryan don't have to have the same heartache that they're feeling now.
But today I want to thank this Body for allowing me to honor Officer
Diller, Detective Diller for his service and dedication to the NYPD,
the residents of New York City and the residents of New York State.
God bless him and his family. Thank you, sir.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you.
Mr. Ra on the resolution.
MR. RA: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just briefly on
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this resolution. As my colleague mentioned and I thank my colleague
for bringing this forward today. Officer Diller grew up in my
hometown of Franklin Square, really just a few blocks from where I
grew up. So while I didn't know him, I have lots of friends and
members of my community that knew him well growing up. I know
he was an avid hockey player and hockey fan, a fan of our New York
Islanders, a fan that I share. But as -- as Mr. Durso said at the funeral
when his widow Stephanie spoke, one of the things that she said was
that Officer Diller, Detective Diller, yes, he died a hero but that he had
always been a hero to her and their son Ryan and the rest of the world
was just catching up. And she talked about who he was as a man and
who he was as a police officer and it was clear to me that this was a
person that had -- like so many who wear that uniform had found a
calling to protect the community that he served. So I just want to join
my colleagues in expressing our sympathies to Stephanie, to Ryan, to
his siblings, to his entire family and saying that, you know, we need to
always be there for -- for his family, for Ryan as he grows up and I
know that there's nobody that does that quite like our law enforcement
community. They are always there for the families. But, you know, I
hope we all continue to support them just like the families of the other
officers that -- that we're honoring today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Mikulin.
MR. MIKULIN: Briefly Mr. Speaker, on the
resolution. I represent Massapequa and even though Officer Diller
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was not my constituent, many in Massapequa knew him and it
affected the community as well as this tragedy affected the entire
nation. We saw what had happened, this was a tragedy that never
should have happened. He died way too young and he left behind a
young child, a wife, parents, people who love him. I just want to take
a moment to say that we can never forget not only him, but all those
who have been lost in the line of duty. It is a tough job. It is one that
people like Officer Diller are called to to protect and serve us. We
should all take a moment and keep Officer Diller and his family in our
prayers from this day forward and hope and pray that his wife and his
son do well and always remember the hero that he was. Thank you.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you.
Ms. Hyndman on the resolution.
MS. HYNDMAN: Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank
my colleague for introducing this resolution today. Detective Diller
served in the 105th Precinct which is in Queens South. So while we
did not know him personally, we know the -- the impact that the
precinct has felt as well as South Queens and our deepest condolences
go to his -- to his family. I think there's always this feeling that when
our brothers and sisters put on the -- the uniform of the NYPD, that
we never think that sometimes they're not going to come home at
night. But for the Southeast Queens community that he protected, our
deepest condolences to his family, our deepest condolences to the
NYPD community, and I want -- and I want to thank my colleague for
introducing this resolution. Although his family is not here with us in
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the Chamber, they feel that we support them. And although
sometimes people want to politicize this, a wife has to bury her
husband, a son will never know who his father was. But the legacy of
Detective Diller in the Southeast Queens community lives on as we
get stood up for moments of silences and wrap our arms around the
105th Precinct.
Just this past weekend we remembered Officer Brian
Moore. We say no more and we will do more in the Southeast Queens
community to make sure our brothers and sisters in blue are protected
while they serve. Thank you.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Thank you.
On the resolution, all those in favor signify by saying
aye; opposed, no. The resolution is adopted.
We do have numerous other resolutions we will take
up with one vote.
On these resolutions, all those in favor signify by
saying aye; opposed, no. The resolutions are adopted.
(Whereupon, Assembly Resolution Nos. 2137-2142
were unanimously approved.)
Mrs. Peoples-Stokes.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: Mr. Speaker, will you
please call on Mr. Jacobson for the purposes of an announcement?
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Mr. Jacobson for the
purposes of a announcement.
MR. JACOBSON: I have good news for the
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Majority. We will have conference immediately following Session in
Hearing Room C.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Conference, Hearing
Room C for the Majority.
Mrs. Peoples-Stokes.
MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: I now move that the
Assembly stand adjourned until Thursday, May the 9th, tomorrow
being a Legislative day and that we reconvene at 2:00 p.m., on May
the 13th, Monday being a Session day, and Happy Mother's Day to all
the mothers.
ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: Happy Mother's Day
to all the mothers in our hearing and in the House. The Assembly
stands adjourned.
(Whereupon, at 1:00 p.m., the Assembly stood
adjourned until Thursday, May 9th, Thursday being a Legislative day,
and to reconvene on Monday, May 13th at 2:00 p.m., Monday being a
Session day.)
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