Latest State Wides: State Wide

The 2019 legislative session came to a close with historic gains for the environment. The State Senate and Assembly passed the most aggressive climate legislation in the country as well as other legislative measures, putting New York at the forefront of the fight for environmental protection.

Momentum is building to pass climate change legislation as the end of this legislative session approaches this week.

State Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic recently introduced a bill to remove caps on the number of allowed bus rapid transit programs and automated enforcement cameras for bus lanes. The bill would enhance our bus service, alleviate congestion, and encourage more New Yorkers to leave their cars at home.

State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic introduced legislation to legalize the use of electric bicycles and scooters across New York State. This legislation would create official classifications for e-bikes and e-scooters, while still allowing local authority over streets and sidewalks by letting municipalities decide whether or not they want to integrate these low-emission transit options into their transportation networks.

In December 2018, most of the Transportation and Climate Initiative states committed to developing a clean transportation policy by the end of 2019. But New York was not part of that commitment. NYLCV joined other advocacy groups in Our Transportation Future to press for New York to act and advocate for the best approach to address emissions from the transportation sector.

Last week, the State Senate and Assembly both overwhelmingly passed the Child Safe Products Act (A06296-A/S. 501-B) - also known as the Toxic Toys bill, a long overdue step forward in protecting our children’s health and our environment.

The new single-use bag law gives counties and cities the option to opt-in to a five-cent fee for paper bags, which would further reduce litter and solid waste pollution and substantially lower carbon emissions from producing paper bags. Some local governments in New York have already voted in favor of the fee, while others have either opposed it or are still deliberating.

We analyze some of the policy responses that could together help solve the recycling crisis.