S.4265 (Bonacic, et al.)

Summary
Section 1 of this bill provides that state agencies are prohibited from fining municipalities notified they are in violation of specific laws or regulations if the municipality makes a good faith effort to work with the regulating state agency to remediate the violation, or alternatively, obtains a waiver or variance for the violation.

Section 2 of the bill provides that it shall take effect 180 days after it becomes law, but that any repeal or amendment of rules or regulations necessary to implement the law must be made immediately upon enactment and no later than the effective date of the statute.

Explanation
The rationale for imposing fines for the violation of laws or regulations is two-fold:

1) The punitive aspect of having to pay for acting in a manner inconsistent with duly   established laws or regulations; and

2) The deterrent effect that fines have on parties who may, absent the threat of financial penalties, choose to act in violation of laws or regulations.

This bill flies in the face of both of these principles. By providing this free pass for municipalities it is more likely that some may choose to act in a manner that is inconsistent with state laws or regulations, hoping that they won’t be caught, but knowing that if their illegal activities are discovered, the regulating state agency will be precluded from imposing any fine for the violation.

This bill also would increase the workload on already overburdened state agencies by requiring them to not only enforce the existing laws and regulations, but also requiring them to work with municipalities that have violated state laws or regulations to remediate any harm that has been caused.

Environmental Advocates of New York opposes this bill.