fiscal policy
ABOUT THE FISCAL POLICY PROGRAM
With declining fiscal conditions and a looming economic recession, state budget matters and the money dedicated to the agencies responsible for implementing environmental law have taken on new and critical importance. Environmental Advocates of New York’s Fiscal Policy Program looks for innovative ways to ensure the state’s primary environmental agency, the Department of Environmental Conservation, has the resources it needs to effectively implement existing law and protect the health of our air, land and water.
Click here for our analysis of Governor Cuomo's executive budget proposal for 2013-2014 
Click here for our analysis of Governor Cuomo's executive budget proposal for 2012-2013
Click here for testimony on Governor Cuomo's executive budget proposal for 2012-2013
Click here for our 2012-2013 NYS Budget Matrix
Our work includes analyzing the intersection of the state budget and environmental policy, identifying spending that is environmentally harmful, and finding ways to improve grant programs associated with New York’s Environmental Protection Fund.
Budget Analyses & Fiscal Policy Implementation
Environmental Advocates is analyzing budget trends at the State's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the state's other environmental agencies. We are looking at the impact of budget decisions on staff levels, resources and program implementation, and exposing areas where the agency has failed to meet its responsibilities.
Budget Reports & Resources
Environmentally Harmful & Wasteful State Spending
In addition, our staff continue to shed light on examples of environmentally harmful and wasteful state spending. By examining budget appropriations and forgone revenues that result from misaligned tax credits, we continue to find policies and projects, which if fixed or cut, would make significant headway toward closing the budget gap.
Wasteful State Spending Reports & Resources
The Environmental Protection Fund
Environmental Advocates recently analyzed the state’s Environmental Protection Fund, the trust fund created in 1993 that supports a wide array of environmental projects. In addition to tracking Fund spending, we examined ways to streamline grant program requirements to allow for resources to flow more quickly. Our report, Tied Up in Knots documents how red tape, executive meddling and a lack of staff capacity has stalled state grant-making practices. We've also produced a report that highlights the wide variety of benefits that have resulted from Fund projects, The Environmental Protection Fund: Preserving New York's Heritage & Quality of Life. This year, we are focused on ensuring that New York’s Environmental Protection Fund remains solvent and protected from sweeps to plug the State’s budget hole.
EPF Reports & Resources
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