Advocates Await Governor’s Signature on Critical Environmental Legislation Before Year’s End
by Roger Downs, Conservation Director
Governor Kathy Hochul frequently reminds New Yorkers that “we are the first generation to really feel the effects of climate change and the last one to be able to do anything meaningful about it.” With the climate crisis intensifying, day by day, the question remains whether this last generation will act fast enough to actually make a difference. In many ways the global solution to climate change hinges on the success of New York State’s climate law and the ability of the 10th largest economy in the world to lead the clean energy revolution and environmental innovation. As we approach the end of 2023 we can reflect upon some successes, some issues that still hang in the balance, and where we came up short of critical goals.
Background on Process: The New York Legislative session begins in January and concludes too early in June. For many Sierra Club advocates who have pounded the halls of Albany to bring about change, the legislative session’s true window of effectiveness is more truncated to April 1st when the State Budget is due. For decades, it has been a tradition to cram almost any legislative policy of meaning into the State’s fiscal business, as an on time budget is the only thing the legislature is required to pass. It also helps that the budget is a process by which hundreds of bills are voted on as a conglomerate, and because no individual Senator or Assemblymember’s vote can be tied to a singular issue in the budget, there is less accountability for their support or opposition, which shields them from the public and corporate donors alike. Budget bills and “big uglies” were especially important when the two legislative houses were controlled by opposing parties. The crucible of the budget process became the most efficient place to forge three way agreements on critical policy.
With the advent of Democratic supermajorities in the Senate and Assembly, there have been less and less negotiations with the governor on policy during the legislative session. Rather, Senators and Assemblymembers who perceive the governor as “weak” are content to pass legislation on their own and put Hochul in the position to sign or veto. There have been a few exceptions, namely 2019’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, but exhaustive three-way negotiations over several consecutive years are rare and often emergency based.
This collaboration between the Senate and Assembly has led to a proliferation of bills on the Governor’s desk for signature and a whole new legislative season from June to late December for the governor to negotiate “chapter amendments.” These are essentially agreements between the Governor and the two houses that she will sign a bill as is - if they agree to changes to the legislation that suit the governor, which the legislature will pass in a separate bill the following legislative session. In 2023, the legislature passed a near record of almost 900 bills. Because the Governor has only 10 days to sign or veto a bill when it officially comes to her desk, she calls for them in “rafts” throughout the year in an attempt to process at least 100 a month, leaving the most controversial to the end of the year where hopefully political and substantive differences have been ironed out.
At the time of this writing there are at least a dozen environmental bills that await the Governor’s scrutiny and a trail of bills that she has either signed or vetoed. While there were a few significant advancements towards our climate goals in the 2023 budget, like eliminating fossil fuels inputs in new construction, and establishing the administrative framework for a cap and invest program for greenhouse gasses, none of the bills passed this year quite meet the monumental challenges of the day, (save the Birds and Bees Protection Act - more on that later).
Environmental/Energy Bills that Hochul has signed as of Nov 22nd:
Banning the Discharge of Radiological Waste A.7208 (Levenberg)/S.6893 (Harckham): This bill held off a plan from Holtec to discharge radiological waste water into the Hudson River in connection with the decommissioning of the Indian Point nuclear power plant. The emergency respite was critical, but the future is uncertain for what to do with the millions of gallons of radioactive water stored at the plant.
Expanding the Potential for Geothermal Energy A.6949 (Glick)/S.6604 (Harckham): This bill provides more appropriate oversight over geothermal drilling and mining by changing how certain wells drilled deeper than 500 feet below the Earth’s surface are regulated. Currently, geothermal bore holes are regulated under the same provisions that cover oil and gas wells, and come with costs and cumbersome requirements that don’t apply to how geothermal systems operate. This reform will be key as we expand thermal energy networks to cities and campuses.
Promoting Living Shorelines S.5186A (Mayer)/A.5221-A (Otis): This bill encourages the use of nature-based solutions as the preferred alternative for stabilizing tidal shorelines. The ravages of climate change will continue to pound New York’s coastlines and inland waterways with increasingly severe floods and storm surges. Attempts to harden our shores with expensive sea walls will only exacerbate the problem of erosion, as hardscaping intensifies the destabilization of surrounding property, beaches and embankments. New York will be most resilient to climate change if we protect and enhance the tapestry of ecosystems that protect us.
Pipeline Insurance S.3365 (Harckham)/A.3946 (Fahy): New York has an unfortunate history with pipeline construction and catastrophic violations of the Clean Water Act, and often, it is our communities that bear the costs of contaminated water, disaster response and cleanup. In some cases, pipeline corporations are underinsured and most liability information is shielded from public knowledge, which in turn perpetuates unsafe practices that put water resources and community safety at risk. This legislation requires pipeline developers to disclose insurance information when a project proposes to disturb wetlands or other water resources, recognizing that more ‘sunlight’ on any review process, including liability coverage, results in safer construction practices.
Requiring Flooding Disclosure When Buying Homes S.5400 (Holyman-Sigal)/A.1967 (Carroll): This bill amends a loophole exploited by the real estate industry, which allow the seller of a home to avoid revealing anything about how flood waters may have previously damaged the property, putting the assets of new families, retirees, and in fact, all New Yorkers at risk. This kind of disclosure and up front information will be critical to resiliency planning.
Savings for Community Gardens A.1909 (Zinerman)/S.1082 (Comrie): This bill exempts Community gardens from incurring financially debilitating charges for water use in NYC.
Bills that Hochul has Vetoed as of Nov 22nd:
Protecting Class C Streams S.1725-A (Harckham)/A.4601-A (Glick): This bill has now been vetoed three times, expressly because adding an additional 41,000 linear miles of New York streams to any riparian protection program would require dozen of new permitting staff in an already burdened DEC. With The Supreme Court’s regressive Sackett decision, Hochul must reconsider how to protect ephemeral and headwater streams, now that the federal government will no longer be there to protect them.
Utility Intervenor Reimbursement S.405 (Parker)/A.7165 (Solages): This bill would have given citizens greater access to the Public Service Commission by expanding intervenor funds to all manner of rate cases and proceedings, leveling the playing field where industry groups and utilities have been the dominant players in energy policy for decades.
Transmission line planning (offshore wind) S.6218-A (Parker)/A.7764 (Mitaynes): This bill would have facilitated a critical cable landing on Long Island and connected several proposed offshore wind farms to the electric grid. The veto of the bill came just a week after the Governor and the Public Service Commission rejected an inflation adjustment petition that would have supported existing offshore wind projects while protecting ratepayers from volatile and unpredictable fracked gas prices. The contracts for several major wind farms will default and the State will have to restart the bidding process, potentially setting the process back by years. These offshore wind projects are critical to meeting New York’s climate goals and these delays threaten the foundations of our climate law and the ability to meet our goals.
Protecting Community Gardens S.629-A (Comrie)/A.4139-A (Lupardo): This bill would have enabled community gardens to be considered “critical environmental areas'' when considering environmental impact under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, adding to their protection.
Banning Pesticide Applications in Wetlands S.5957 (Harckham)/A.5949 (Burdick): This bill would give municipalities the power to ban pesticide applications in wetlands. The same bill was vetoed last year on the grounds that it would create a jurisdictional crisis with DEC in terms of who regulates pesticide application on the local level.
Key bills still awaiting the Governor’s signature:
The Birds and Bees Protection Act S.1856-A (Hoylman-Segal)/A.7640 (Glick): This historic, nation-leading bill will end the unnecessary use of a class of toxic pesticides known as neonicotinoids (neonics). Neonics have caused an alarming crash in pollinator populations nationwide and the EPA has recently reported that the continued use of these toxic pesticides will likely drive hundreds of endangered species toward extinction. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation has largely constrained the use of these dangerous pesticides where it has jurisdiction but has conceded that the agency lacks regulatory control over treated corn, wheat and soy seeds, which comprises more than 85% of neonic use in New York. More than 100 field trials conducted by Cornell University and other peer reviewed research have confirmed that there is no economic benefit to farmers to treat their seeds with neonicotinoids. And the agricultural and ecological benefits of protecting pollinators are significant. The European Union, and the Canadian territories of Québec and Ontario have all banned neonic treated seeds and have not seen a drop in production. The chemical industry and their allies in the Farm Bureau are pumping millions of dollars into blocking the legislation despite the harm it does to the health of farmers, pollinators and the environment. The entire environmental advocacy community in New York is galvanized around the importance of this bill and what a ban on neonics could mean to the restoration of crashing populations of pollinators, birds and fish that are all affected by this potent neurotoxin. The bill also has the support of health experts, religious leaders, brewers, chefs, and many farmers across NYS. The Birds and Bees Protection Act is a line-in-the-sand piece of legislation and a veto will open a new and unpleasant chapter between Governor Hochul and the environmental movement should she choose to turn her back on nature. In its essence this is the agrochemical industry’s money vs sound public policy and the survival of species.
Banning Wildlife Killing Contests A.2917 (Glick)/S.4099 (Kennedy): This bill will end a legacy of tournaments aimed at indiscriminately killing certain species of animal not covered by DEC hunting or fishing permits.
Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act: S.4859-A (Krueger)/A.5682-A (Zebrowski): This bill uses the purchasing power of New York State to ensure that state contracts for building materials and operating resources are held to the highest ethical standards and do not contribute to the degradation of tropical forests.
Lead Pipe Right to Know Act A.6115 (Paulin)/S.5512 (Rivera): This bill will require that information about the location of lead pipes be made easily accessible to the public and decision-makers, so that state and federal resources can be secured and efficiently targeted to support local efforts to removing all lead pipes from New York's drinking water infrastructure.
Electric vehicle charging A.1122(Epstein)/S.0110(Krueger): This bill will require commercial garages to ensure the public has access to charging stations to facilitate electric vehicles.
Setting the Stage for 2024
The governor’s treatment of these bills in these remaining weeks of 2023 will set the tone for 2024. But aside from the nation-leading neonicotinoid ban, there are many critical proposals that never made it to the Governor’s desk after stalling in various legislative committees earlier in the year. 2024 will see the finalized regulations and full implementation of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and usher in a new era of carbon neutrality and energy equity. But we already know that the effectiveness of our climate law will be limited if we do not pass further enabling legislation that promotes energy affordability, accelerates renewable energy development and closes loopholes for the fossil fuel industry. The NY Home Energy Affordable Transition Act: S.2016-A (Krueger)/A.4592-A (Fahy) remains the centerpiece of activity next year, as our existing Public Service Law remains unsynchronized with the CLCPA and is rife with entitlements for the fossil fuel industry. The business council and other industry advocates have publicly pledged millions towards thwarting the implementation of the Climate Law, and their targets will be set upon stopping NY HEAT from another year of passage. If indeed we are the last generation to do anything of significance to stop catastrophic climate change, we can not let them win.
To follow the progress of Sierra Club’s legislative campaigns please visit: /content/legislation.