One of NYLCV's top priorities [0] for the year -- conservation funding -- is making headway in the halls of Albany.

Assembly Member Bob Sweeney sponsored this important legislation.This week, the Assembly's Ways and Means Committee approved the Environmental Protection Fund Enhancement Act [1]. 

Sponsored by Assembly Member Bob Sweeney and Sen. Mark Grisanti, this legislation would gradually increase the amount of money in the Environmental Protection Fund [2] (or EPF for short) by adding in unclaimed bottle deposits that would otherwise go into the state's general fund.

Gov. Cuomo and the Legislature approved [2] a budget this year that maintained the EPF at last year's level of $134 million -- but that figure is around half of what it was just a few years ago.

The EPF is a centerpiece of New York's conservation efforts. It helps protect drinking water and open space, funds recycling programs, and supports zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums. 

NYLCV will continue to lobby for passage by the full Assembly and Senate in the current legislative session. Lawmakers' votes on this bill will factor heavily into NYLCV's environmental endorsements, which we will make later this year.