 New York affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation
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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.
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.
Fiscal Trends & Policy Implementation
Environmental Advocates is analyzing budget
trends at the State's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). We are
looking at the impact of budget decisions on program implementation
and exposing areas where the agency has failed to meet its
responsibilities.
Maintaining staff at the DEC, especially in light of the Governor’s
budget cuts and previous agency-wide hiring freeze, is among our
priorities for 2010.
Environmentally Harmful & Wasteful State
Spending
In addition, Environmental Advocates
continues 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.
The
Environmental Protection Fund
Environmental Advocates is
conducting an analysis of 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 are examining 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.
REPORTS & RESOURCES
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