May 29, 2018
So Much Left to Accomplish in 2018 Legislative Session
As the 2018 legislative session enters its final weeks there is a palpable tension between the optimism that is riding the anticipated blue wave that will wash over New York State voting booths this fall and the red dam in the State Senate attempting to block any progressive legislation before that wave crashes. With the impending retirement of at least five Republican senators and the dissolution of the Independent Democratic Conference, the slim, one vote majority of Sen. John Flanagan’s conference is likely to sing its swan song in June. And out of political spite they may run out the clock on meaningful reform for New Yorkers until a new Senate convenes in 2019. But with so much urgency to act now – there will be great dissatisfaction if the legislative session ends with so much unfinished business. If we learned anything from the 2016 election, nothing is a given and we should never lose sight of what we can accomplish now.
From an environmental standpoint, here is a small portion of what is left on the table that can get done:
Climate and Community Protection Act: S.7971-A (Hoylman)/A.8720-B (Englebright)
This bill will put New York State on the path to 100% renewable energy by 2050 and set benchmarks and reporting requirements to ensure we are meeting our goals along the way. In addition to systematically reducing greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors, the bill promotes healthy communities and will guarantee good jobs and environmental protections for those hardest hit by climate change.
Currently: PASSED Assembly (4/24/18); Awaiting Senate action and negotiation with the Governor.
Single-Use Plastic Bags Ban: S.7760 (Krueger)/A.9953 (Englebright)
Single-use plastic bags are an environmental menace – littering our parks, despoiling our communities and clogging our waterways; all with the potential to strangle and poison wildlife. This bill will prohibit the distribution of thin film plastic, single-use, carryout bags to consumers while imposing a 10-cent fee on all reusable paper bags distributed in NY.
Currently: The Governor has prioritized a plastic bag ban and there is pressure for the Assembly and Senate to come to an agreement by the end of session. One of the most discouraging events of the 2017 legislative session was the legislative override of NYC’s fee based solution to plastic bag pollution. It is time for the Legislature and the Governor to set things straight with a state wide policy.
Nitrogen Fertilizer: A.10276 (Englebright)/S.8170 (Hannon)
This bill would limit the excess nitrogen found in many non-agricultural fertilizers entering the waterways of Long Island. The bill would require that starting on December 31, 2019, all non-agricultural fertilizer sold and used in Suffolk and Nassau Counties contain no more than 12% nitrogen by weight. Scientists at Stony Brook University have completed their assessment of water quality in Long Island’s estuaries in 2017 and the news is not good – during the months of May through August, every major bay and estuary across Long Island was afflicted by a toxic algae blooms or oxygen starved waters or both. Action to reverse this trend is urgent.
Currently: PASSED Assembly; Awaiting Senate Action
Banning Purse Seines for Menhaden: A.10506 (Englebright)/S.8570 (LaValle)
Menhaden (also known as “bunker”) are a small schooling fish that have been traditionally harvested for fertilizer, bait, fish oil and pet food, but deserve special attention and protection because so many other species, like bluefish, dolphins, eagles, humpback whales, osprey, sharks, striped bass and weakfish, depend on them for food. Current New York fisheries permits allow for the harvest of menhaden using large nets called “purse seines” that have the capacity to catch hundreds of thousands of menhaden and the marine animals that pursue them in a single cast. A.10506 will ban the use of this technique so as not to set back the recovery of this keystone species and repeat the same overfishing mistakes of the past. If action isn’t taken in the next few weeks- this summer could be a bloodbath for the menhaden.
Currently: Currently: PASSED Assembly; Awaiting Senate action
Rx Take Back: S.7354* (Hannon)/A.9576-A* (Gunther) - Not Same As
This legislation would put in place a statewide safe drug disposal system, putting the onus of safe collection on the drug manufacturers, rather than the pharmacies and consumers. Every minute this legislation isn’t law, pounds of harmful pharmaceuticals enter our waterways and disrupt our aquatic ecosystems.
Currently: PASSED Senate/Recalled from the Assembly for amendments
Protecting Solar: S.8273 (Griffo)/A.10474 (Englebright)
This bill places a three-year moratorium on the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) complicated and unworkable solar compensation policy, which is hurting community solar development across New York. While VDER may be an essential financial and energy management tool in the future when a significant proportion of solar is supporting our electrical grid – to impose such a complicated algorithm for a nascent industry in NY will suppress financial investment and customer participation because of the uncertainty of revenue for project development. The Solar industry will simply invest in other states where their long-term bottom line is more certain.
Currently: Urgently awaits action in both houses
To take action on any of these bills please call:
- Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan: (518) 455-2071
- Governor Andrew Cuomo: (518) 474-8390
- Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (for bills not passed by Assembly): (518) 455-3791
Ask that they bring these bills to the floor for a vote.
The 2018 legislative session began with the promise that the Governor and Legislature would work to be an alternative to Trump’s America. Our decision makers invested tremendous rhetoric in protecting rights of women, minorities, immigrants, workers, our health care system and our environment, from the cruel roll backs at the federal level that have been dictated to the President by big polluters, oligarchs and bigots. But all that rhetoric amounts to nothing without action and coordination from our state leadership. Every foundational protection to clean air and water is being eroded by the reckless actions of the Trump administration. In just his first 18 months alone, President Trump has attempted to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency, open 98% of America’s coastal waters to oil and gas development, back out of international climate agreements, approve once blocked oil pipelines, and weaken regulations that once protected clean water, air quality, endangered species, national monuments, and the scientists that inform good policy. If we can’t come together as a state to solve problems in New York through legislation, a lot of damage can happen while we wait for change in 2019. The time to act is now.