Press Releases > Other

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April 20, 2006

EPL/ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES
NEW YORK PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP
SIERRA CLUB – ATLANTIC CHAPTER
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY

Environmental Leaders Submit Earth Day Agenda to NYS Legislators   
First-Ever Mid-Term Score Card Shows Leadership in Assembly,
Room to Improve in the Senate

 

ALBANY, NY—Highlighting the fate of the environmental community’s four

Super Bills, environmental leaders from across New York State submitted their

Earth Day agenda today and called on lawmakers to take action on the bills

before the end of the legislative session. The Super Bills include the

Community Preservation Act, Clean Water Protection / Flood Prevention Act,

Bigger Better Bottle Bill, and the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF)

Enhancement Act. 

 

By acting on the Super Bills, lawmakers can improve on their mid-term scores, which EPL/ Environmental Advocates will send to their offices later this week. As the status of the Super Bills change, so too will scores published in the Voters’ Guide, which will be distributed in the fall. Composite scores illustrate that the Assembly has moved faster to pass environmental legislation than the Senate this year. Overall, the Assembly scores a 79% on environmental issues, whereas the Senate’s overall composite score is 32%. Broken down by party, the Assembly’s majority party composite score is 84%; the Senate’s majority party score is 15%.

 

“The Super Bills enjoy widespread bipartisan support in both houses, and

deserve a fair vote on the floor of both houses. By releasing our first-ever

mid-term scorecard in advance of Earth Day, we are showing New York

legislators how they can improve their voting records before the end of the

session, as well as which issues are most important to their constituents,”

said Robert Moore, Executive Director, EPL/Environmental Advocates. “For

instance, one of the Super Bills, the Community Preservation Act, which gives

cities and towns local control to protect local heritage, easily passed in the

Assembly. In the Senate, the bill has more willing co-sponsors than it needs

to pass. It’s time for this bill to make it to the floor.”

 

"Instead of planting a tree for Earth Day, we’re asking state law-makers to vote yes for a clean and healthy environment by passing these four Super Bills," said Laura Haight, senior environmental associate with NYPIRG. "We're hoping the Assembly will lead the way by passing the Bigger Better Bottle Bill next week. This common sense proposal would increase recycling, reduce litter, and generate new funding for recycling and other environmental programs. Each year that state lawmakers fail to update the bottle bill, nearly two billion bottles and cans end up in the trash or polluting our state’s rivers, streams and neighborhoods because they don't have a deposit."

 

In the Assembly, thanks to Thomas DiNapoli’s leadership, two of the four bills

(the Community Preservation Act and the Clean Water Protection / Flood

Prevention Act), passed early in the session by wide margins.

 

The remaining two Super Bills are poised for a vote in the Assembly as early

as next week.  So far the Senate has yet to act on the four Super Bills.    

 

“We are calling on the Senate to follow the lead of the Assembly and pass the Clean Water Protection/Flood Prevention Act this session,” said Theresa Cassiack, Legislative Associate, Sierra Club – Atlantic Chapter. “New York has a long tradition of leadership on environmental issues. On wetlands, New York is far from the leader—we are just asking that the state catch up. The longer we wait, the more wetlands are in jeopardy of being developed and wildlife habitats destroyed.”

 

“We project a $10 billion demand to support natural preservation over the next decade. Raising the Environmental Protection Fund is essential to meeting that need," said Kathy Moser, senior advisor for The Nature Conservancy - Northeast New York Chapter. “The EPF Enhancement Act would go a long way to address New York's most pressing concerns.”

 

In both houses, policy matters are often not taken up until after the budget is completed.  The Senate’s overall low scores simply reflect the lack of attention the Super Bills and environmental issues in general have received so far this session. Legislators still have plenty of time to improve their environmental voting records before adjourning for the year.

 

“The New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) is counting on the Legislature to continue its strong environmental tradition by voting to preserve open space, protect drinking water, and increase environmental spending,” said Marcia Bystryn, Executive Director of NYLCV. “We urge the Assembly and Senate to work to resolve their issues and deliver two-way agreements on these important issues because voters are looking for good environmental news not just on Earth Day, but every day.”

 

About the Super Bills
The four environmental Super Bills were selected by the Green Panel early in the year and include four pieces of common sense legislation that will protect New York State’s natural heritage.

• The Community Preservation Act would give all New York cities and towns a new tool to preserve natural and historic heritage;

• The Clean Water Protection / Flood Prevention Act would fix a gaping loophole in the state’s wetlands protection law;

• The Bigger, Better Bottle Bill would expand New York’s bottle law and generate new funding for environmental protection. 

• The Environmental Protection Fund Enhancement Act would increase the dedicated fund. 

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About the EPL/Environmental Advocates’ Voters’ Guide
The Voters’ Guide is an annual scorecard of New York State legislators voting records on environmental issues prepared by EPL/Environmental Advocates. On the scorecard, the Super Bills are scored even if a vote is not taken on the floor. If Super Bills are not voted upon, legislators can still earn points by sponsoring or co-sponsoring a bill or voting in favor of a motion to discharge. Extra points are awarded if a Super Bill is signed into law. For example, members of the minority party led two motions to discharge on bills similar to two of the Super Bills, the Community Preservation Act and the Clean Water Protection / Flood Prevention Act. Votes on these motions will be scored if these Super Bills are not voted upon in the Senate before the end of the legislative session.

 

The Super Bills are selected by the Green Panel, which includes environmental organizations from across the state. The Voters’ Guide and its scoring system are solely publications of EPL/Environmental Advocates.