Directs state agencies to adopt a waste diversion plan.
Summary
This bill would add a new section to the Environmental Conservation Law requiring state entities under the governor’s executive authority, including SUNY, CUNY, and certain public authorities, to develop and file waste diversion plans. The plans must describe how each entity will reduce waste disposal by 10 percent every five years from a 2018-2019 baseline, with the long-term goal of a 75 percent reduction overall. The bill directs the GreenNY Council to oversee the effort, and it requires plans to include waste audits, organics diversion strategies, and steps to identify and eliminate single-use plastics where doing so would not compromise health or safety.
Impact
The bill would create a new statutory mandate for covered state agencies and authorities to measure, plan for, and publicly report waste reduction efforts. It would require waste data to be broken out by recycled materials, organics, landfill waste, and special waste, including hazardous waste, and would require plans to be posted on the Department of Environmental Conservation website. The measure also authorizes periodic reassessment of the diversion goals every five years, which could lead to updated plans and more stringent requirements over time.
Sentiment
The available voting record shows strong and unanimous support in committee and on the Assembly floor, with no recorded opposition in the votes provided. The bill moved through the Assembly Governmental Operations Committee, the Rules Committee, and final passage without any nays, suggesting broad agreement with its environmental and administrative goals. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate dissenting views.
Contention
There is little visible contention in the available record, but the bill’s requirements could raise practical concerns for affected agencies and authorities about implementation costs, operational changes, and the feasibility of meeting diversion targets. The most likely points of discussion are the elimination of single-use plastics, the shift to dual-stream recycling where practicable, and the burden of conducting routine waste audits and reporting. Any tension would likely center on balancing environmental goals with health, safety, cost-effectiveness, and facility-specific constraints.
Directs state agencies to adopt an embodied carbon decarbonization program; requires the office of general services to issue operational directives and guidance for common construction materials to reduce the amount of embodied carbon in such materials.
Directs state agencies to adopt an embodied carbon decarbonization program; requires the office of general services to continue to issue operational directives and guidance for common construction materials to reduce the amount of embodied carbon in such materials.
Directs the department of health, in conjunction with other state agencies, to establish and maintain a directory webpage locating publicly accessible lactation accommodations in state-owned and state-leased buildings.
Permits land bank officers and employees to participate in the New York state and local retirement system if a resolution is adopted by its board of directors.
Directs the president of the state civil service commission to conduct a study on job vacancies across state agencies and determine which, if any, state agencies are understaffed.
Permits land bank officers and employees to participate in the New York state and local retirement system if a resolution is adopted by its board of directors.
Enacts the "New York open water data act"; directs certain agencies, under the leadership of conveners, to identify and integrate key water data sets; provides duties and an annual plan for data to be researched and reported.
Enacts the "New York open water data act"; directs certain agencies, under the leadership of conveners, to identify and integrate key water data sets; provides duties and an annual plan for data to be researched and reported.