September 8, 2009

Welcome to Environmental Advocates of New York’s online newsletter from the State Capital, your source for environmental news. We update you every other week with tidbits and observations carefully gleaned from the halls of the Capitol.

NEW YORK STATE SENATE PRIMED TO MOVE ON GREEN BILLS    
Late last Friday, the New York State Senate released a list of bills (“session draft proposed calendar agenda subject to revision”)  that the house may or may not take up on their return to Albany this Thursday, September 10^th. This is a step in the right direction.

The list includes three bills that Environmental Advocates of New York wants to see passed, including: the Global Warming Pollution Control Act, which would reduce New York’s climate pollution 80 percent by the year 2050; Green Jobs-Green NY, which would establish a statewide building efficiency retrofit program by financing energy efficiency audits and installations; and a bill that would reduce the sulfur content of heating oil for residential, commercial or industrial use, which would improve air quality for millions of New Yorkers.

The State Senate is right on time, too. Because earlier today, EPL/Environmental Advocates released a preliminary version of their scorecard that grades New York State lawmakers according to votes on bills that could harm or benefit the state’s air, land and water. And in the scorecard, EPL revealed a significant drop in lawmakers’ scores this year.

According to EPL, many of the Senate’s long-time green leaders received failing grades in the first-round scorecard, a result of the Senate’s June coup and the few bills acted upon in that house. Preliminary scores are listed below.

But if the State Senate takes up the bills on their “draft proposed calendar agenda,” everything could change.

Currently, only six bills advancing environmental protection (State Environmental Planning Board S. 2501-B; MTA Refinancing - S.5451; Transmission Line Intervenor Funds - S.1599A; Forest Preserve Land Exchange - S.2802; NYPA Clean Energy Projects - S.6050/S.53302; and the Bottle Bill Budget Deal) have passed the Senate, compared to twice that number or more in previous years. EPL will release the complete scorecard, including Assembly scores and awards for green legislators, in October.

The Senate’s June coup impacted every senator negatively and the disparity in scores includes state legislators from both parties, but overall, Republican senators scored worse than their Democratic Party colleagues on average (25 to 70). The Senate’s overall average dropped by 32 points, from 80 in 2008, to 48 this year. 

Among the leadership, Senate President Malcolm Smith (D-St.Albans) has a failing score of 55, while Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. (D-Bronx) has a 61, and Senate Conference Leader John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) has a 75. Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) received a 23 this year, 53 points shy of his 2008 score.

While more than half of the Senate will receive failing grades if they don’t act soon, several members earned solid B’s, including the Senate’s Environmental Conservation Committee chair Antoine Thompson (D-Buffalo), as well as senators Breslin (D-Albany), Adams (D-Brooklyn), Liz Krueger (D-NYC), Oppenheimer (D-Port Chester), Perkins (D-NYC), Schneiderman (D-NYC) and Serrano (D-NYC).

EPL/Environmental Advocates calculates lawmakers’ scores using the ratings of its sister organization, Environmental Advocates of New York. Legislators earn between one and three points respectively for votes in support of bills that received one, two or three “trees.” Tree-rated bills are those deemed beneficial to the environment. Likewise, legislators earn between one and three points for voting against bills that were give a rating of one, two or three “smokestacks.” Smokestack-rated bills are those deemed detrimental to the environment. Votes on priority “Super Bills” receive extra points.

The environmental community’s Super Bills are legislative priorities and are selected annually by the Green Panel, which includes representatives of groups from across New York State. The 2009 Super Bills include:

• The Global Warming Pollution Control Act (described above) has 30 sponsors from both parties; 
   

• Electronic Waste (E-waste) Recycling would remove tons of toxic e-waste from landfills by requiring manufacturers to collect and recycle their products;
   
• The Environmental Access to Justice Act would restore New Yorkers’ right to enforce environmental review laws;
   
• Wetlands Protection would close a loophole in New York law and give the state authority to protect wetlands less than 12.4 acres in size; and
   
• An expansion of the state’s bottle deposit law to include bottled waters was passed in this year’s budget agreement.

 The Voters’ Guide is the first and only record of New York State lawmakers’ votes on legislation that will impact the environment and has been produced and distributed statewide for more almost 40 years. The complete 2009 Voters’ Guide will be available in October.

Visit www.eplvotersguide.org for more information about EPL/Environmental Advocates.

NEW YORK STATE SENATE PRELIMINARY VOTERS' GUIDE SCORES FOR 2009

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
Join your host, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli at the International Investor Forum on Climate Change. Learn about public policies and investment strategies for a low-carbon Economy on September 16, 2009, at the Grand Hyatt New York in New York City. Scholarships may be available for certain not-for-profit and government employees.

Registration Required. For more information and to register, please visit:
www.ceres.org/investorforum/250. For more information, contact Kylee McGee at mcgee@ceres.org or 617-247-0700, extension 150.

SAVE THE DATE   
Join us on Tuesday, November 10^th at our annual Advocate Awards gala to celebrate our 40th anniversary. Our 2009 honorees are climate change pioneer Carter Bales, sustainable cities hero Andrew Darrell and Lieutenant Governor and mass transit advocate Richard Ravitch. Please contact Peggy Fandrich at mfandrich@eany.org or (518) 462-5526 ext. 236 if you’d like more information.

ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES OF NEW YORK IS A MEMBER OF EARTH SHARE OF NEW YORK  

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