Albany, N.Y. – Today, the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) released its 2021 Environmental Scorecard, which scores State Legislators based on their support for environmental legislation.
Highlights from this year’s scorecard include:
- 32 State Senators and 51 Assemblymembers earned a perfect score of 100%
- An additional 10 State Senators and 39 Assemblymembers received an 80% or higher
- The average score for state senators was highest in Westchester and lowest in the North Country
- The average Assemblymember score was highest in Manhattan and lowest in the North Country
This year’s scorecard examined 15 bills in the Assembly and 16 bills in the Senate that addressed issues of environmental justice, public health, clean water, clean energy, and transportation emissions.
Both houses passed longstanding priorities for NYLCV, including updating the Safe Schools Drinking Water Act and the Family and Firefighter Protection Act. Both houses also passed bills focused on clean energy and transportation, including the Advance Clean Car and Truck Rule, legislation to make EV charging rates more affordable, and expanding the beneficiaries of community-distributed solar.
Although not included in this year’s scorecard, legislators passed a historic pro-environment budget that incorporated billion-dollar investments to fund environmental initiatives. These investments included a $3 billion Environmental Bond Act, a fully funded Environmental Protection Fund, and an additional $500 for clean water infrastructure. This year’s State budget exemplified how New York can be a model for other states to simultaneously fight the current climate and economic crises.
The scorecard is available here.
“This past year, New Yorkers experienced firsthand the connection between public health, climate change, and the environment. We applaud State legislators for advancing several bills that tackle these issues. Our elected officials passed several NYLCV longtime priorities, including reducing toxins found in public school drinking water and accelerating our transition to clean energy for all. NYLCV will continue to advocate for key priorities that did not pass last session, including a clean fuel standard, reducing packaging waste, protecting 30% of New York’s lands by 2030, and expanding wetlands protection. As the 2022 legislative session approaches, we look forward to another successful year working with our environmental champions and leading New York towards climate recovery,” said Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters.
Perfect Scores of 100
Senate:
- Alessandra Biaggi
- Neil D. Breslin
- Jabari Brisport
- John E. Brooks
- Samra G. Brouk
- Leroy Comrie
- James Gaughran
- Michael Gianaris
- Andrew Gounardes
- Pete Harckham
- Michelle Hinchey
- Brad Hoylman
- Robert Jackson
- Todd Kaminsky
- Anna M. Kaplan
- Brian Kavanagh
- Liz Krueger
- John C. Liu
- Rachel May
- Shelley B. Mayer
- Zellnor Myrie
- Kevin S. Parker
- Elijah Reichlin-Melnick
- Gustavo Rivera
- Julia Salazar
- James Sanders Jr.
- Diane J. Savino
- Luis R. Sepúlveda
- José M. Serrano
- James Skoufis
- Toby Ann Stavisky
- Kevin Thomas
Assembly:
- Thomas J. Abinanti
- Khaleel M. Anderson
- Brian Barnwell
- Rodneyse Bichottee Hermelyn
- Keith P. Brown
- Chris Burdick
- Kenny Burgos
- Robert C. Carroll
- William Colton
- Michael Cusick
- Steven Cymbrowitz
- Carmen N. De La Rosa
- Erik M. Dilan
- Jeffrey Dinowitz
- Harvey Epstein
- Charles D. Fall
- Nathalia Fernandez
- Sandy Galef
- Emily Gallagher
- Jessica González-Rojas
- Richard N. Gottfried
- Judy Griffin
- Jonathan G. Jacobson
- Kimberly Jean-Pierre
- Anna R. Kelles
- Charles D. Lavine
- Jennifer Lunsford
- Karen McMahon
- Catherine Nolan
- Daniel J. O’Donnell
- Steven Otis
- Amy Paulin
- Stacey Pheffer Amato
- Nick Perry
- Dan Quart
- Jenifer Rajkumar
- Phil Ramos
- Robert J. Rodriguez
- Daniel Rosenthal
- Linda B. Rosenthal
- Nily Rozic
- Angelo Santabarbara
- Rebecca A. Seawright
- Gina L. Sillitti
- Jo Anne Simon
- Phara Souffrant Forrest
- Steve Stern
- Al Stirpe
- Fred W. Thiele Jr.
- Latrice Walker
- Kenneth Zebrowski
Special Recognition
Rising Stars – Senator Samra Brouk and Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson: Both Senator Brouk and Assemblymember Anderson earned perfect scores during their first year in the State Legislature. They each took the lead on two primary causes of climate change – transportation and building emissions – as well as supported legislation to tackle waste and bolster environmental health and justice. Both Senator Brouk and Assemblymember Anderson fought for environmental funding in this year’s budget.
Environmental Champions – Senator Kevin Parker and Assemblymember Patricia Fahy: Parker and Assemblymember Fahy were important advocates for NYLCV’s legislative priorities this session. As the Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications, Senator Parker moved legislation on four bills featured in this scorecard. These bills included the clean fuel standard, energy efficiency improvements, and expansion of community solar and solar energy on home properties. Assemblymember Fahy championed New York’s 30×30 conservation legislation and fiercely advocated for policies to lift the cap on zero-emission vehicle direct sales and make electric school buses more affordable as a member of the Assembly Committees on Transportation and Environmental Protection. We look forward to their leadership on key environmental priorities in the upcoming session.
We would also like to commend Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assemblymember Richard Gottfried for their extraordinary support in passing legislation to improve lead protections in schools, which has been a longstanding priority for NYLCV.
For more than thirty years, NYLCV has worked to lobby state and local elected officials on the environment, provide objective information about environmental policy to the public, and hold elected officials accountable. The organization began issuing a State Legislative Environmental Scorecard to further these goals and has now issued the fourth annual scorecard. The scorecard is used when making decisions about which candidates NYLCV will support and endorse.
Bills that came to the floor were scored on whether or not a member voted for them. The bills that did not come to the floor were scored on whether or not a member is a co-sponsor.
The New York League of Conservation Voters is the only non-partisan, statewide environmental organization in New York that takes a pragmatic approach to fight for clean water, healthy air, renewable energy, and open space. For more information, visit www.nylcv.org.
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Contact: Katy Zielinski | Press@nylcv.org | (203) 819-2595