The following article is from the June 2007 issue of
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As the 2007 New York State Legislative session comes to a close, the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) has issued a list of priorities that will set the framework for a healthy future for New York State's economy and environment.
NYLCV is urging the New York State Legislature to pass these following bills, each of which falls within one, or more of four broad issue areas. They are: Smart Growth, Energy Planning, Transportation and Environmental Justice.
The first set of bills fall in the area of better energy planning. Since the "Article X" power plant legislation expired in 2002, New York State has been without an expeditious and equitable procedure to site new and renewable energy sources. We believe that any new siting process must provide incentives that lead to clean repowering and new technologies, negative emission facilities and renewable energy sources, while incorporating important environmental justice controls. Therefore, NYLCV urges the passing of the Article X Reform (Governor's Program Bill), which insists that the new Article X legislation include protections for over-burdened communities, a requirement for cumulative impact reductions, and a streamlined and effective public participation process.
An additional priority involved with energy planning is the State Green Building Construction Act. This legislation will amend the NYS Energy Law to require all new construction and "substantial" renovation projects undertaken by any state agency to comply with the United States Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
The next set of bills the NYLCV is pushing the State Legislature to pass is in the area of smart growth. In this area there are three main priorities. The first is the Industrial Developing Agency Reform (IDA). The IDA wields a tremendous amount of economic power throughout the state. The proposed oversight legislation will increase the transparency of the IDA's operations. In addition, it will set achievable standards for IDA grantees that include smart growth and energy efficiency principles. The proposed legislation that NYLCV is supporting will increase the accountability requirements to ensure that businesses that benefit from IDA funds meet the required standards.
Another priority within smart growth is the Community Preservation Act. This bill would give New York towns across the state authority to levy a real estate transfer fee of two percent or less to create Community Preservation Funds. In turn, these local funds are used to preserve open land, working farms or historic properties. Related to this is the New York State Historic Preservation Tax Credit, which was issued in 2006 to encourage the rehabilitation of historic commercial and residential properties. Although the 2006 credit was a good first step, there is more that needs to be done. NYLCV urges that among the needed changes is an expansion that would increase the percentage of rehabilitation costs that can be claimed for the credit and removes the credit-value cap on renovations.
Additionally, within the topic of smart growth, NYLCV has issued support for the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) and Brownfield Opportunity Area Program (BOA). The BCP was established in 2003. In the same year, New York State urged the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to institute use-base cleanup standards that would streamline the remediation process and encourage redevelopment of brownfields around the state. The DEC, however, set eligibility guidelines that serve as disincentives toward program participation. NYLCV demands the tax credit program to be restructured to preserve appropriate incentives for development without providing unnecessary windfalls to developers. Similarly in the BOA, a planning grant that municipalities and community based organizations could apply for in order to fund community-based planning around brownfield remediation and reuse, incentives need to be made available to landowners and developers who work with communities and municipalities in pursuing a shared vision.
In the area of transportation, NYLCV is pushing forward a sales tax exemption for hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles. This legislation will make the purchase of hybrid cars easier and more cost-effective and will go a long way toward making these vehicles the norm, rather than the exception. Another effort NYLCV is making within the area of transportation is the idle-free school zone act. This bill prohibits school districts and childcare facilities from permitting school buses to remain idling while parked or standing in front of a school or child care facility.
In the area of Environmental Justice, NYCLV has been involved with promoting the Bigger Better Bottle Bill (BBBB). The bill amends the Environmental Conservation Law 27-1003(1) and the Finance Law to expand the definition of "beverage" in the state returnable container act (the original bottle bill) to include non-carbonated drinks other than milk and liquor, and to direct the unclaimed deposit money derived from that program to the Environmental Protection Fund. This bill is particularly noteworthy because all of the current and future funding increases to the Environmental Preservation Fund have been linked to the passage of the BBBB. This relates to NYLCV's larger commitment to working with legislature and the administration to increase the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) to $500 million a year by 2010.
The members of the New York State Legislature have the opportunity to enact key legislation during the 2007 Legislative Session that will be imperative to the future health of New York's economy and environment. It is our hope that the members of the legislature, the Senate and Assembly Leadership and Governor Spitzer include the above issues and bills in their list of priorities.
Special to Ecopolitics Monthly by Sabrina Gusmorino