The State Legislature In Action (1969)

[Music] through these doors people are entering a state legislature it happens to be the New York legislature but it could be any one of the 50 you've been doing a great job up here and you just go back to the people in your District I understand your bill came out of the committee today in the assembly yes I'm happy to hear about it I'm glad the news is getting around well we keep our ears open we'll try to do what we can on the Senate side it's a busy Place full of visitors lobbyists and staff members in addition to the legislators we've got to increase the annual subsidy for Public House I'm going to push it in the Senate how about [Music] [Applause] the the legislature is the headquarters of the state the legal nerve center which reaches out to every corner and every citizen the main job here is producing laws perhaps hundreds of them every year look at on this bont bill what's the what's the difficulty there what you put it over for the problem was the bill was ready for passage last week but I put it over to today the technical problems have been worked out now you should they've cured those things now I'll see if it gets out tomorrow it would be very helpful Brian thanks for Milbert and I'll look for you tomorrow and check here as in most state governments there are two Chambers a senate and a house in New York the House of Representatives is called the assembly this is the assembly chamber but much of the legislator's work is done elsewhere in party caucuses research groups and committees most of these are open to the public and most are watched over by the Public's other Representatives the correspondents and newsmen who report and comment these newsmen are largely responsible for getting the word of what happens here back to the voters at home the reporters who cover these sessions must be faced by every legislator every time he votes someone who has come here for the first time may be bewildered because the legislators use a special system of shortcuts to speed up the action and only because of this system can all the hundreds of bills be handled so let's watch the action as the speaker enters and calls the house to order the house will be in order Shar upon us as a body and upon each of us individually The Helpful Spirit of thy Grace Rel to overtime conversation for public offic for a second they're doing some work who do you want SE take effect July laid aside 1905 by Mr Bartlet an act star Gates Court act in relation to virtual representation bill is starred 4814 by Mr Black an act amend of members membership corporations law in relation to nonprofit Waterworks corporations read the last section the SE will take effect immediately all all Abrams Les prob young 137 know's n Bill's passed literacy has nothing to do with intelligence these men serve Faithfully in the Army and not only that but if you are literate or illiterate you are bound to pay your taxes we represent the people of the entire State I said before we're proud of our franchise laws in this state we're anxious to keep them that way and these bills on the merits shouldn't be come before us and shouldn't be passed all those in favor say i contr n cler will read the title of the bill number that's the way the action looks from the floor but to get a better idea of what all this means let's follow one bill through the legislative process first it is introduced either here in the house or in the Senate then it is assigned to a committee each committee specializes in some particular field such as cities Finance education taxes or agriculture say I the committee members are drawn from the different political parties and factions a strike a line and goes in and breaks a strike no uh Union even the unions don't uh hold that to be the prop terminology here at a Committee hearing the real work Begins the committee members may vote against the bill or they may change it before it goes on to the other legislators ladies and gentlemen this hearing has been called to consider the legislation by Mr mosy introductory 4740 print 4926 to amend the real property law in relation to the sale of subdivided lands as I understand it this bill is designed to uh put provisions in the real property law which will protect people who buy land which is sold to them through advertising uh subdivided land is that right Mr moski that's correct Mr chairman a little elaboration it affects only those who sell vacant land on the installment plan Frank what's different about this pill is it already covered by law Mr chairman can I have an explanation yeah it's my my understanding that there is a section of the real property law now which provides for the filing of statements verified statement M where you subdivide land and sell it why do we need this amendment Mr chairman this is one section of the real property law where the buyer is afforded no relief whatsoever no Protection Plus the fact that we can't go out of state and extradite the man who sells this out of state this is where we need it he sells it in state but he's out of state we have to get our hands on him you know Frank I think your bill is laudable but I don't know where you're going with it here you're making uh this this crime failure to report a felony isn't that rather har that's not un restri well well you haven't let me finish uh you know the felonies in our state you uh murder robbery in the first degree this is a rather severe penalty well this is a severe instance of millions of dollars involved of people investing their hard-earned money at the end to be used at the end of their retiring years Mr chairman this bill might cause a real problem to some of us Upstate counties a lot of our Farmers you know are going out of farming and they are selling off a lot or two to uh raise cash frankly to put their children through school for the most part M cook we have witnesses who might be able to clear up some of these problems uh Mr Robert Carol would you come in please Mr Carol was a reporter for Newsday who did a series on this installment S Sales won't you sit right here what do you know about installment sales to the people of New York Mr Carol assemblyman in a single County in Arizona Mojave County there are more than 13,000 square miles of worthless desert land without water or roads or utilities this land is worth about $2 an acre but phony promoters are calling them retirement home sites and selling them to New Yorkers for $1,000 for a half an acre of sand and the New Yorkers that they are aiming at are the poor and the elderly thank you Mr Carol will you wait for us please in in event anybody wants to ask any further questions Mr Morton Davis W you be seated Please Mr Davis is one of the thousands of New Yorkers who have been taken in by some of this phony advertising Mr Davis have you anything to Enlighten the committee with on this Mr chairman I'm a post office employee and I expect to retire in a few years three years ago I put $10 down became one of the suckers and I paid $360 so far recently my wife and I decided to take a little vacation and visit our retirement Lots out in Arizona I found nothing not even a bird not a rat no sidewalks no roads no water not even I just feel disgusted I've been taken and I hope you can do something for us I've been to see a lawyer he says he tells me there's nothing I can do I'm just stuck anybody any questions to address to the witness I think he makes a pretty good case Mr Davis will you tell the members of this committee through what media you learned of this land yes is San I learned about it after reading one of these glowing ads in the newspaper and uh I was one of the suckers that answered it I had a representative call on me and uh he also described it in glowing terms and I thought that I had a beautiful place to retire to uh with my wife now you gave him $10 when he called in person how was the rest of the purchase price made after that I paid $10 every single month if there are no further questions of the witness the witness is excused Mr mclusky how many people does this affect in New York state how many people have been swindled by this method here's a list of case history after case history in Newsday and these other articles as well have you read the magazines Mr chairman we need this bill right now Mr C has this bill got the endorsement of the Attorney General and the Secretary of State well certainly and I think the sponsor of the bill can tell you that we spoke for the Attorney General you got this letter on file M yes we have a letter on file not only that Frank if you remember correctly last week we went down to talk to the attorney general and he told us the great need for the Bill of the hundreds of millions of dollars that are going down to drain the effect of this bill is to make the purchaser fully aware of what he's buying and give him recourse in this state in the state of New York against the seller it fully protects the public when they deposit these money for the purchase of the land I'm for that Mr chairman let's move this bill out in the floor where it belongs and I think the bill crosses party lines it ought to be sent out on the floor on its merits and I'm hopeful that the committee will vote accordingly thank you very much good night to you in this case the committee did vote to send the bill to the floor knows here the bill will be voted again9 to save time only the last section of the bill is read purch There is a short roll call the first and last names on the house roster and between those the names of the majority and minority leaders in some states the vote is taken electronically hands down the following Bill clerk will read number 4926 by Mr MOSI an act to amend the real property law and relation to sale of subdivided lens the last section SE take a effect immediately Mr Speaker Mr Speaker I just this minute learned of the purport of the legislation which we are now considering I have not had a chance to fully study this significant Bill its nature is Extreme affecting the basic structure of Interstate relations because of its complexity I most humbly request that the bill be laid aside until next week no Mr Speaker I move this bill Mr Speaker Mr Speaker I object to this bill because if this bill were enacted into law the state of New York would then be policing the entire country to bring these people in from out of the state and prosecute them in this state we don't have the money and on that ground I feel that the bill should be defeated ladies and gentlemen if the only objections to this legislation are technical ones there are no objections this is an emergency situation this bill should pass now I can tell you that there are 70 companies at this very moment soliciting sales in the state of New York for out of state lands estimated sales throughout this nation last year amounted to $700 million and gentlemen this is a situation which prays upon the poor and upon the elderly of our state Mr Speaker I object to this bill this would throw hundreds of people out of work the advertising men that write the ads and perform the services the salesman who sell the land lay it aside no Mr Speaker I move this bill now move the without objection the clerk will read the last section this SE shall take effect immediately call a rooll Abrams Z Les travia young Isa 132 NOS 13 bills passed Rel the title of the next bill number 4535 Bill 4740 on amending the real property law has passed the assembly and now goes on to the Senate [Music] the bill is summarized along with many others in a daily calendar which lists everything on the Senate agenda for that day along with the calendar comes the day's book of bills each one complete down to the last [Music] section it would be impossible for a legisl to read through all of these bills on which he must vote so he depends on other people to keep him informed a great deal depends on party and factional loyalty and on decisions made in party conferences some bills will be supported and opposed strictly on party lines most of the bills taken up have no partisan significance in some cases votes will be traded one man may vote for the Bill of another in return return for support on his own legislation in the Senate as in the house opinions of special interest groups must also be considered Bankers Farmers unions manufacturers all of them lobbying for or against bills which may affect them these groups are made up of Voters and campaign contributors so they must all be considered as the votes are finally lined up opinions like these will be kept in mind when the Senators begin the session in which the bill we are following will be voted on there's no legal protection at all right now for any of the residents in the state when they buy out ofate land uh and there's over 70 uh organizations in the state now selling uh advertising the newspapers with no protection whatsoever in this matter well as you know you've been talking to me about it for several days morning W how are you Bill good to see you Henry how are you fine bill good Henry uh this is the bill with the attorney general uh oh that's right he T work out with the Secretary of State there's been an article in one of the leading newspapers uh that went on for four or five weeks and it's called Misery acres and it really points up this whole program you show me come on in we'll see you get it [Applause] going this session of the Senate is about to begin [Applause] Senate will please be in order the invocation will be offered by Reverend Robert J hwma of the first Reformed Church of Bethlehem Reverend haxa let us pray most gracious God it's not the central government I don't owe my first allegiance to the state of New York the debate ranges over a wide variety of bills to the federal government of these United States if there is a particular program which is conflict with some something the state wants to do I'm certain we can sit down as reasonable men with the administrators of that program in Washington and work it out we don't need some Mind of a watch doog to watch over our president over our elected members of the Congress what kind of nonsense is this why are we allowing ourselves to be suck into this kind of argument I can only tell you I'm very disturbed and I hope the Democrats sit on one side and the Republicans on the other so the debate goes back and forth this this this Bill calls for information and more information I'm sure the senator does not OB to having more information in a field which is one of the most obscure particularly in state as the session progresses the Senators take up various topics personal with most of the members of the legislative correspondence Association whose friendship I value most high and whose Integrity can be questioned by no one what I am questioning here today Mr President because it goes to the very foundations of our government is the Integrity or lack of it the morality or lack of it of a newspaper that was once great may I submit that this be a banner red letter day in the history of this Senate when we say once and for all in a loud voice for all to hear we will not be intimidated by one newspaper we will not succumb and prostitute our judgment and the Order of editorial approval dictated by a quest for greater circulation we will not be so decrepit morally we will not be so weak intellectually as to succumb to that which they are trying to drive down our throats third reading 325 of Mr mclusky assembly print 4926 real property law relation the sale of subdivided lands last section section two this act should take effect July 1st call the roll Senators Anderson Barrett Mahoney Wise zety Eyes 56 bill is passed among the bills passed in this session number 4740 on the sale of subdivided lands has been passed into law its heading says the people of the state of New York represented in Senate and assembly do Ana last that is the story of one bill out of the hundreds which are acted on each year the story is not over for the bill still has to be put into effect perhaps tried in court this bill is now law it may affect the lives of thousands of [Music] citizens