As the post-budget legislative session continues in Albany, lawmakers in both the State Senate and Assembly passed three NYLCV Scorecard Bills touching on water quality, food waste, and wildlife crossings. Meanwhile in Washington D.C., the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a consumer product safety standard for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in micro-mobility devices, such as electric bicycles and scooters, to protect against the risk of fires.
Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act
Passed by the State Senate and Assembly, the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act (Martinez/Thiele) is essential to safeguarding water quality in Suffolk County. The law would establish a countywide Water Quality Management District and Water Quality Restoration Fund to finance projects for the protection, preservation, and rehabilitation of groundwater and surface waters. pursuant to a county wide referendum. “We know a bipartisan majority of voters support this change,” said NYLCV’s Deputy Director of Politics Casey Petrashek. “We also know that Suffolk County residents are entitled to clean drinking water for generations to come. This change is essential to meeting that goal.”
DEC Wildlife Crossing Study:
Another NYLCV Scorecard Bill that passed last week was the DEC Wildlife Crossing Study (Carroll/Comrie), which directs the department of transportation to identify sites along all highways, thruways, and parkways in the state where wildlife crossings are most needed to increase public safety and improve habitat connectivity; and to create a priority list of wildlife crossing opportunity areas where federal grant monies may be available to implement the top five projects identified.
By constructing pathways for wildlife to safely travel between major thoroughfares we will help to reduce the number of collisions while
simultaneously helping to connect wildlife to their habitat.
Expansion of the Food Donation & Scraps Program:
To combat food waste, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed legislation to expand the state’s food donation and food scraps recycling program (Harckham/Shimsky). The measure will lower the threshold of the annual average amount of food scrap generation needed to join the program while also expanding the program to food scrap generators within 50-miles of a food waste recycling center. According to Earthjustice, “this legislation will ensure that 99% of large food scrap generators outside of New York City will manage their waste in a sustainable and sensible way, increasing the amount of food waste recycled by 42%.”
U.S. House of Representatives Passes E-Bike Safety Standards:
You may have heard about the dangers from faulty and improperly manufactured lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives took a step to set higher standards and reduce the chance of these fires. HR 1797, sponsored by Rep. Ritchie Torres, will require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a consumer product safety standard for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in micro-mobility devices, such as electric bicycles and scooters, to protect against the risk of fires.
This bill would make batteries safer so that more New Yorkers can use e-bikes and e-scooters to reduce their reliance on cars without having to worry about the battery fires that affect some batteries from unscrupulous manufacturers.
Safer e-bikes and e-scooters means more mobility options, and research shows that people who own one drive a lot less and bike more, which means better public health and lower greenhouse gas emissions.