Requires that companies contracting with the state do not contribute to tropical forest degradation or deforestation directly or through their supply chains.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9598
IN ASSEMBLY
January 21, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GLICK -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to prohibitions on
the use of certain tropical hardwoods for state contracts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs b, c, d and e of subdivision 1 of section 165 of
2 the state finance law, as added by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, are
3 amended to read as follows:
4 b. (i) "Tropical hardwood" shall mean any and all hardwood, scientif-
5 ically classified as angiosperm, that grows in any tropical [moist]
6 forest. Tropical hardwoods shall [be] include but not be limited to the
7 following species:
8 Scientific Name Examples of Common [Name]
9 Names
10 Prunus africanaAfrican cherry, Red stinkwood
11 Caryocar costaricenseAjo, Aji
12 Calophyllum spp.Bintangor
13 Cedrela spp.Cedar
14 Neobalanocarpus heimii,Chengal
15 Balanocarpus heimii
16 Octomeles sumatrana Miq.Erima, benuang
17 Myroxylon balsamumEstoraque
18 Apuleia leiocarpaGarapa
19 Parastemon urophyllus, ParastemonMalas
20 spicatus Ridley
21 Hopea spp.Merawan
22 Araucaria araucanaMonkey Puzzle, Chilean pine
23 Pterocarpus tinctoriusMukula
24 Senna siameaSiamese senna
25 Pometia pinataTaun
26 Milletia leucantha KurzThinwin
27 Bulnesia arborea, BulnesiaVerawood, Argentine lignum
28 sarmientoivitae
29 Tristaniopsis laurinaWater gum
30 Terminalia spp.
31 Homalium foetidumMalas
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14124-03-5
A. 9598 5
1 J. Olanchana, etc.)
2 Sterculia rhinopetalaSterculia
3 Bagassa guianensisTatajuba, Bagasse
4 Tectona grandis Teak
5 Lovoa trichilloides Tigerwood
6 Entandrophragma utileUtile, Sipo
7 Virola spp.Virola, Cumala, Banak, Tapsava
8 Milletia laurentii Wenge
9 Pentacme contortaWhite Lauan
10 Microberlinia [brazzavillensis] Zebrawood,
11 spp.Zebrano, Zingana
12 (ii) No later than January first, two thousand thirty, and at least
13 every three years thereafter, the department of environmental conserva-
14 tion, in consultation with the office of general services, shall through
15 regulations update the list of tropical hardwood species in subparagraph
16 (i) of this paragraph to ensure that such list includes all such species
17 that are currently commonly available for commercial use in the United
18 States, reflecting the most current data on production, trade, and
19 marketing, and to account for any changes in taxonomy, marketing or
20 trade names, market preference, usage, or other factors. Species shall
21 not be removed from the list of examples except for purposes of correct-
22 ing errors.
23 c. "Tropical [rain] forests" shall mean [any and all forests classi-
24 fied by the scientific term "Tropical moist forests", the classification
25 determined by the equatorial region of the forest and average rainfall]
26 a natural ecosystem within the tropical regions, approximately bounded
27 geographically by the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly
28 affected by other factors such as prevailing winds, containing native
29 species composition, structure, and ecological function, with a tree
30 canopy cover of more than ten percent over an area of at least 0.5
31 hectares. "Tropical forests" shall include all of the following: (i)
32 human-managed tropical forests or partially degraded tropical forests
33 that are regenerating; and (ii) tropical forests identified by multi-ob-
34 jective conservation based assessment methodologies, such as High
35 Conservation Value (HCV) areas, as defined by the HCV Resource Network,
36 or High Carbon Stock forests, as defined by the High Carbon Stock
37 Approach, or by another methodology with equivalent or higher standards
38 that includes primary forests and tropical peatlands of any depth.
39 d. "Tropical hardwood products" shall mean any wood products, whole-
40 sale or retail, in any form, including but not limited to plywood,
41 veneer, furniture, cabinets, paneling, siding, moldings, doors, doors-
42 kins, joinery, flooring or sawnwood, which are composed, in whole or in
43 part, of tropical hardwood [except plywood].
44 e. "Peat" means a soil that is rich in organic matter composed of
45 partially decomposed plant materials equal to or greater than 40 centi-
46 meters of the top 100 centimeters of the soil.
47 f. "Tropical peatlands" means wetlands within the tropical regions
48 with a layer of peat made up of dead and decaying plant material. Trop-
49 ical peatlands includes moors, bogs, mires, and peat swamp forests.
50 g. "Secondary materials" means any material recovered from or other-
51 wise destined for the waste stream, including, but not limited to, post-
52 consumer material, industrial scrap material and [overstock or] obsolete
53 inventories from distributors, wholesalers and other companies but such
54 term does not include those materials and by-products generated from,
55 and commonly reused within, an original manufacturing process.
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1 § 2. Paragraphs a, b, c and d of subdivision 2 of section 165 of the
2 state finance law, as added by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, are
3 amended and four new paragraphs e, f, g and h are added to read as
4 follows:
5 a. Except as hereinafter provided, the state and any governmental
6 agency or political subdivision or public benefit corporation of the
7 state shall not purchase or obtain for any purpose any tropical hard-
8 woods or tropical hardwood products, wholesale or retail, in any form,
9 unless such tropical hardwoods or tropical hardwood products are second-
10 ary materials.
11 b. The provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision shall not apply
12 to:
13 (i) [Any hardwoods purchased from a sustained, managed forest; or
14 (ii)] Any binding contractual obligations for purchase of commodities
15 entered into prior to August twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred ninety-one;
16 or
17 [(iii) The purchase of any tropical hardwood or tropical hardwood
18 product for which there is no acceptable non-tropical hardwood species;
19 or
20 (iv) Where the contracting officer finds that no person or entity
21 doing business in the state is capable of providing acceptable non-trop-
22 ical hardwood species sufficient to meet the particular contract
23 requirements; or
24 (v)] (ii) Where the inclusion or application of such provisions will
25 violate or be inconsistent with the terms or conditions of a grant,
26 subvention or contract in an agency of the United States or the
27 instructions of an authorized representative of any such agency with
28 respect to any such grant, subvention or contract[; or
29 (vi) Where inclusion or application of such provisions results in a
30 substantial cost increase to the state, government agency, political
31 subdivision, public corporation or public benefit corporation].
32 c. (i) In the case of any bid proposal or solicitation, request for
33 bid or proposal or contract for the construction of any public work,
34 building maintenance or improvement for or on behalf of the state and
35 any governmental agency or political subdivision or public benefit
36 corporation of the state, it shall not require or permit the use of any
37 tropical hardwood or [wood] tropical hardwood product, unless such trop-
38 ical hardwood or tropical hardwood product is a secondary material.
39 (ii) Every bid proposal, solicitation, request for bid or proposal and
40 contract for the construction of any public work, building maintenance
41 or improvement shall contain a statement that any bid, proposal or other
42 response to a solicitation for bid or proposal which proposes or calls
43 for the use of any tropical hardwood or [wood] tropical hardwood product
44 in performance of the contract shall be deemed non-responsive, unless
45 such tropical hardwood or tropical hardwood product is a secondary mate-
46 rial.
47 d. The provisions of paragraph c of this subdivision shall not apply:
48 (i) To bid packages advertised and made available to the public or any
49 competitive and sealed bids received or entered into prior to August
50 twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred ninety-one; or
51 (ii) To any amendment, modification or renewal of a contract, which
52 contract was entered into prior to August twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred
53 ninety-one, where such application would delay timely completion of a
54 project or involve an increase in the total monies to be paid under that
55 contract; or
56 (iii) Where the contracting officer finds that[:
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1 (A) No person or entity doing business in the state is capable of
2 performing the contract using acceptable non-tropical hardwood species;
3 or
4 (B) The] the inclusion or application of such provisions will violate
5 or be inconsistent with the terms or conditions of a grant, subvention
6 or contract with an agency of the United States or the instructions of
7 an authorized representative of any such agency with respect to any such
8 grant, subvention or contract[; or
9 (C) The use of tropical woods is deemed necessary for purposes of
10 historical restoration and there exists no available acceptable non-
11 tropical wood species].
12 e. The use of any tropical hardwood or tropical hardwood product as
13 part of the construction, renovation, maintenance, or installation of
14 any public work, building or other structure, or improvement on lands
15 owned or managed by the state or any governmental agency or political
16 subdivision or public benefit corporation of the state shall be prohib-
17 ited, except where such prohibition would violate or be inconsistent
18 with the terms and conditions of a grant, subvention or contract with an
19 agency of the United States or the instructions of an authorized repre-
20 sentative of any such agency with respect to any such grant, subvention,
21 or contract, unless such tropical hardwood or tropical hardwood product
22 is a secondary material. The governmental agency, political subdivi-
23 sion, or public benefit corporation that owns or manages such land shall
24 ensure that all contractors and subcontractors are informed of the
25 requirements of this paragraph.
26 f. (i) Until January first, two thousand thirty-two, the provisions of
27 paragraphs a, c, and e of this subdivision shall not apply to the use of
28 ekki wood by the metropolitan transportation authority for the purpose
29 of railroad ties in the New York city transit system, provided that the
30 metropolitan transportation authority shall, no later than October
31 first, two thousand twenty-seven, after providing notice and an opportu-
32 nity for public comment, develop and issue an ekki transition plan
33 outlining the steps the authority will take to minimize to the greatest
34 extent possible, and eventually phase out, the use of ekki wood, and
35 provided further that until such phase out has been completed, such
36 agency shall use, to the greatest extent possible, only secondary mate-
37 rials when the use of ekki wood is specified and unavoidable. Such plan
38 shall be made publicly available on the authority's website. No later
39 than October first, two thousand twenty-eight, and annually thereafter
40 until the expiration of this paragraph, the authority shall issue a
41 public report outlining its progress toward achieving such plan.
42 (ii) If, on or after April first, two thousand thirty-one, the direc-
43 tor of the budget issues a determination, after providing notice and an
44 opportunity for public comment, that the authority has made significant
45 progress in phasing out the use of ekki wood, but that a full phase out
46 has been delayed due to technical or safety considerations, the
47 provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may be extended until
48 December thirty-first of the subsequent calendar year. Such determi-
49 nation may be made annually thereafter, on or after April first of
50 subsequent years, provided that under no circumstances shall the
51 provisions of this paragraph extend beyond January first, two thousand
52 thirty-seven.
53 g. (i) Until January first, two thousand thirty-five, the provisions
54 of paragraphs a, c, and e of this subdivision shall not apply to the use
55 of greenheart wood by a ferry service directly owned and operated by an
56 agency of a city of one million or more, provided that such agency
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1 shall, no later than October first, two thousand twenty-seven, after
2 providing notice and an opportunity for public comment, develop and
3 issue a greenheart transition plan outlining the steps such agency will
4 take to minimize to the greatest extent possible, and eventually phase
5 out, the use of greenheart wood, and provided further that until such
6 phase out has been completed, such agency shall use, to the greatest
7 extent possible, only secondary materials when the use of greenheart
8 wood is specified and unavoidable. Such plan shall be made publicly
9 available on the agency's website. No later than October first, two
10 thousand twenty-eight, and annually thereafter until the expiration of
11 this paragraph, the agency shall issue a public report outlining its
12 progress toward achieving such plan.
13 (ii) If, on or after April first, two thousand thirty-four, the direc-
14 tor of the budget issues a determination, after providing notice and an
15 opportunity for public comment, that such agency has made significant
16 progress in phasing out the use of greenheart wood, but that a full
17 phase out has been delayed due to technical or safety considerations,
18 the provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may be extended
19 until December thirty-first of the subsequent calendar year. Such
20 determination may be made annually thereafter, on or after April first
21 of subsequent years, provided that under no circumstances shall the
22 provisions of this paragraph extend beyond January first, two thousand
23 forty.
24 h. (i) Until January first, two thousand thirty-five, the provisions
25 of paragraphs a, c, and e of this subdivision shall not apply to the use
26 of greenheart wood on bridges managed by the department of transporta-
27 tion of a city of one million or more, provided that such department
28 shall, no later than October first, two thousand twenty-seven, after
29 providing notice and an opportunity for public comment, develop and
30 issue a greenheart transition plan outlining the steps such department
31 will take to minimize to the greatest extent possible, and eventually
32 phase out, the use of greenheart wood, and provided further that until
33 such phase out has been completed, such department shall use, to the
34 greatest extent possible, only secondary materials when the use of
35 greenheart wood is specified and unavoidable. Such plan shall be made
36 publicly available on the department's website. No later than October
37 first, two thousand twenty-eight, and annually thereafter until the
38 expiration of this paragraph, the department shall issue a public report
39 outlining its progress toward achieving such plan.
40 (ii) If, on or after April first, two thousand thirty-four, the direc-
41 tor of the budget issues a determination, after providing notice and an
42 opportunity for public comment, that such department has made signif-
43 icant progress in phasing out the use of greenheart wood, but that a
44 full phase out has been delayed due to technical or safety consider-
45 ations, the provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may be
46 extended until December thirty-first of the subsequent calendar year.
47 Such determination may be made annually thereafter, on or after April
48 first of subsequent years, provided that under no circumstances shall
49 the provisions of this paragraph extend beyond January first, two thou-
50 sand forty.
51 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
52 have become a law and shall apply to all contracts and binding contrac-
53 tual obligations entered into on and after such effective date.
