Albany, NY—New York’s state legislative session begins today and runs through June 8. This is the first session to be held fully in person with buildings open to the public since before the pandemic, offering a much-anticipated opportunity to reconnect with elected officials in person and advocate deeply for the environmental issues that matter most. It’s also Governor Kathy Hochul’s first full session as New York State’s chief executive.
“We have a broad agenda this session that covers our most urgent environmental concerns, including resilient coastlines and communities, safe drinking water, modernized infrastructure, environmental justice, protected wildlife habitats, upgraded parks, clean energy, and, of course, the defense of existing environmental laws and protections,” said David Ansel, Regional Director of Water Protection for Save the Sound. “We’re eager to work with state leaders on legislation that moves us closer to a cleaner, safer, more resilient New York and Long Island Sound for everyone.”
Save the Sound’s priorities for this session are as follows:
Resilient Communities
- Protect and restore ecosystems that provide critical flood protection and coastal resiliency through nature-based solutions, such as living shorelines
- Improve transparency to reduce flood impacts and increase community resilience by requiring flood disclosure to protect both buyers and renters
- Support efforts to cut emissions, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and build a clean energy economy
Healthy Waters and Lands
- Strengthen protections for Class C streams that are currently left vulnerable to habitat and water quality degradation, but that have the potential to mitigate localized flooding and protect drinking water sources
- Safeguard lands that provide wildlife habitat, water filtration, and recreation
Defending Laws and Lives
- Defend environmental laws against rollbacks
- Advance environmental justice and public health
Environmental Budget
- Implement the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act
- Protect water and lands, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and support organizations fighting for those facing environmental injustice by continuing the current appropriation level for the Environmental Protection Fund
- Expedite efforts to modernize infrastructure to provide safe drinking water and clean waterways, while leveraging federal funding for water projects, by providing new appropriations for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act
- Create and upgrade the parks and natural spaces New York residents rely on by supporting Capital Funding for New York State Parks and the Department of Environmental Conservation
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