August 24, 2016
by Susan Lawrence
Time is running out to take essential action that addresses climate change and other critical threats to our environment. We cannot afford to keep the “do nothing” legislators in the NYS Legislature and in Congress. We need leaders with clear, deep understanding of the issues to stop climate change, control pollution, and protect our natural resources and with the integrity and guts to take action.
There is dangerous, intolerable gridlock in the US Congress and the NYS Legislature. Year after year, in our State Legislature, high-priority environmental legislation is introduced and approved by the Assembly but never makes it out of the Senate. Unbelievably, some of this legislation is supported by the majority of all the Senators. This happens when the Republican president of the Senate, elected by the Republican Senators with the support of the Independent Democratic Conference, has the power to block legislation from coming to a floor vote.
Top priority 2016 legislation that passed the Assembly but not the Senate included the:
• Climate and Community Protection Act — omnibus legislation supported by the NY Renews coalition
• Oil Train Liability and Safety — strengthen insurace requirements for the bomb trains
• Electric Vehicle Charging Tariff — allows customers to purchase renewable electricity solely for the purpose of recharging an EV
Over recent years, a number of “super” environmental bills that legislators and environmental organizations once supported are no longer advanced, as their purpose and substance has in some way been incorporated into the governor’s executive orders and into regulatory actions by key state agencies and authorities. This approach can overcome legislative gridlock and provide more flexibility and creativity for action but could, in some instances, be less impactful than enacting laws.
It is critical to elect NYS legislators and a governor who understand and truly work year after year to provide for adequate funding through appropriation, bonding authority or other means for essential operations of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and other state agencies and authorities involved in environmental and energy work. For about a decade, the operating budget of the DEC has been gutted well below the level needed to maintain, much less improve, top-priority functions, such as reducing pollution and slowing climate change.
Critical to electing pro-environment legislators and to getting pro-environment legislation passed, is enacting ethics reform and voter protection legislation, and especially a constitutional amendment to overturn the 2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission. As Roger Downs said in his recent Albany Times Union op-ed, “Money in politics may be the biggest environmental issue facing New York. Solve the problem of campaign finance, and passing common-sense legislation becomes easier.” But it’s also necessary for environmentalists to focus our efforts on critical elections this year to get the good guys elected and the bad guys out of office, regardless of the status of ethics and voter protection reform.
To learn about Sierra Club endorsements for candidates for Congress representing New York State and for members of the New York State Legislature, go to: /content/2016-endorsements.
To help with Club efforts to elect our endorsees, please contact Steve Redler and Ed Berry, our Atlantic Chapter Political Committee Co-Chairs, or contact leaders in your SC group, or use the Club’s new on-line “Volunteer Connection” at http://www.clubvolunteer.org.
Susan Lawrence is Legislative Chair of the SC Atlantic Chapter