Creates a legislative task force on outdoor environmental education and recreation that will benefit residents of New York state by fostering stewardship and conservation of the environment, and an appreciation of the importance of the wise use of natural resources as well as acknowledgment of the health benefits of time spent in nature.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1377
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. SERRANO, COONEY, HINCHEY, JACKSON, MAY, ROLISON,
WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be commit-
ted to the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recre-
ation
AN ACT creating a legislative task force on outdoor environmental educa-
tion and recreation that will benefit residents of New York state by
stewardship and conservation of the environment, an appreciation of
the importance of the wise use of natural resources as well as
acknowledgment of the health benefits of time spent in nature
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. (a) The legislature hereby finds that
2 in the last two decades, childhood has moved indoors. The average Ameri-
3 can child spends just four to seven minutes each day in unstructured
4 outdoor play, and more than seven hours each day in front of an elec-
5 tronic screen. The decline in the appreciation and prevalence of outdoor
6 recreation opportunities profoundly impacts the wellness of our state's
7 youth. The correlation between increasing childhood obesity rates and
8 the decline in outdoor recreation is undeniable.
9 (b) The legislature further finds that visual and physical access to
10 basic types of open space is vital for everyone, and particularly valu-
11 able to children growing up in "urban hardscapes", or areas where access
12 to nature is limited.
13 (c) The legislature further finds that the development of policies
14 that foster stewardship of the environment, the importance of the wise
15 use of natural resources and recognition of the health benefits of time
16 spent in nature are essential to the residents of New York state. The
17 legislature concludes that this can best be accomplished by the creation
18 of a task force on outdoor environmental education and recreation.
19 § 2. Objectives. A legislative task force on outdoor environmental
20 education and recreation is hereby established to:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03041-01-5
S. 1377 2
1 (a) Promote the development of a framework that will ensure that New
2 York state has an aggressive outdoor environmental education and recre-
3 ation plan for children that focuses on creating, developing and retain-
4 ing opportunities for outdoor play and learning;
5 (b) Identify and support programs which offer safe access to open
6 spaces and summer camp to children from urban areas;
7 (c) Promote the development of policy recommendations to ensure that
8 New York's public and private sectors focus on creating opportunities
9 for underserved and at-risk children to participate in outdoor play and
10 educational experiences;
11 (d) Promote the development of strategies to ensure that K-12 educa-
12 tional institutions develop policies and programs that promote environ-
13 mental education to encourage outdoor play thereby improving public
14 health and take advantage of the physical, mental and spiritual benefits
15 of moving outdoors in nature;
16 (e) Promote the development of strategies to assist community based,
17 nonprofit organizations in furthering programs that provide for summer
18 camp and out of school time opportunities for outdoor recreation or
19 education;
20 (f) Evaluate laws, rules, and procedures to ensure that they facili-
21 tate, or at least do not hinder, the growth of outdoor play or environ-
22 mental education.
23 § 3. a. Composition. The task force shall consist of twelve members.
24 The task force members will have experience and expertise in outdoor
25 recreation and environmental education. The task force shall consist of:
26 the commissioner of education or such commissioner's designee, the
27 commissioner of health or such commissioner's designee, the commissioner
28 of environmental conservation or such commissioner's designee, the
29 commissioner of the office of parks, recreation and historic preserva-
30 tion or such commissioner's designee. One member shall be a represen-
31 tative from a nonprofit health and wellness organization. One member
32 shall be a representative from a nonprofit environmental conservation
33 organization. Two members shall be appointed by the governor; one
34 member to be appointed by the temporary president of the senate; one
35 member to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate; one member
36 to be appointed by the speaker of the assembly; and one member to be
37 appointed by the minority leader of the assembly. The task force shall
38 be appointed for a term of two years.
39 b. The commissioner of the office of parks, recreation and historic
40 preservation or such commissioner's designee shall serve as chair of the
41 task force.
42 c. The members of the task force shall receive no compensation for
43 their services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses
44 incurred in the performance of their duties pursuant to this act.
45 § 4. Report. The task force shall report its findings, conclusions and
46 recommendations to the governor, majority leader of the senate and the
47 speaker of the assembly by January 1, 2028. The task force may develop
48 and publish other documents throughout the year as it deems necessary
49 and/or appropriate.
50 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
