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Last weekend, the New York State Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo finalized a progressive state budget for Fiscal Year 2020, establishing several important environmental policies including congestion pricing in Manhattan, a ban on carry-out plastic bags, and legislation to reduce food waste in New York.

Our NYC Program Director, Adriana Espinoza, testified at a City Council Committee on Environmental Protection oversight hearing on wastewater treatment plants and discussed how the City can improve these plants. Investing in the long term sustainability and resiliency of these plants is critical.

At a City Council Sanitation Committee preliminary budget hearing, we proposed investing $10 million in a public education program around the organic waste and recycling programs available to residents.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced that it will make $85 million available in grants through the Low or No (Low-no) Emission Vehicle Program.

As part of our efforts to advocate for congestion pricing to be included in this year’s state budget, we released new digital tools for state legislators to show their support for fixing our region’s public transportation system while fighting climate change and improving air quality.

To the outrage of groups across the country, the Trump Administration recently released its Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal which slashes funding for important environmental programs and agencies. So what does this mean for New Yorkers?

Earlier this year, State Senator Todd Kaminsky and Assembly Member Englebright proposed legislation to expand the state's bottle deposit refund program to several types of bottles and cans that are not currently included in the program like wine, liquor, and hard cider bottles.