2022 Legislative Victories
Last Friday, New York State saw the conclusion of an intense legislative session. We were thrilled to see the following 5 (FIVE!) of NYSBC’s priority bills pass–a couple on the final day and one in the final hour!
Read the blurbs below and learn more by clicking on the State Assembly and Senate links in orange.
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- The “Clearing the Toxic Air” bill is critical for setting and enforcing limits on toxic air pollutants that damage our health, further wealth inequality, and create more drag on our social services and overall economy. (S.4371b / A.6150b)
- The “Cumulative Impacts” bill ensures that cumulative impacts are taken into consideration in the State’s Environmental Quality Review process when considering new permits for potentially polluting facilities and siting new environmental facilities in economically distressed communities. (S.8830 / A.2103D)
- The “Carpet EPR” (extended producer responsibility) bill helps us transition from an extractive, linear economy to a circular economy by engaging carpet producers in creating a system for carpet collection and recycling. (S.5027C / A.9279)
- The “PFAS in Apparel” bill prohibits the production, distribution, or sale of common apparel with intentionally added PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)—a persistent chemical that is harmful to our health, our environment, our food system, and our overall economy. (S.6291A / A.7063A)
- The “Moratorium on Cryptocurrency Mining” requires an environmental impact review before permitting future proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining operations that are extremely energy consuming—threatening local ecosystems and our local businesses and related economies. (S.6486D / A.7389C)
With thousands of bills under consideration, it is reassuring to see such political will behind these 5 bills that are essential to building a just and sustainable economy, but the work does not stop here. In order to become law, these bills must be signed by Governor Hochul this year or they will simply expire—a process known as a “pocket veto.”
Look for future updates from NYSBC on how you can leverage your business voice to help each of these bills get delivered to the Governor’s desk and signed into law.