A01771 Summary:

BILL NOA01771
 
SAME ASSAME AS S02386
 
SPONSORPeoples-Stokes (MS)
 
COSPNSRJaffee, Cahill, Cook, Griffin
 
MLTSPNSRLupardo
 
Add Art 74 §§74-1001 - 74-1003, En Con L
 
Establishes the "environmental justice act" to establish governmental procedures to safeguard residents' health and welfare, and achieve environmental justice; includes definitions; creates the environmental justice task force; makes related provisions.
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A01771 Actions:

BILL NOA01771
 
01/17/2019referred to environmental conservation
01/08/2020referred to environmental conservation
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A01771 Committee Votes:

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A01771 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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A01771 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          1771
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 17, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of A. PEOPLES-STOKES, JAFFEE, CAHILL, COOK -- Multi-
          Sponsored by -- M. of A. LUPARDO -- read  once  and  referred  to  the
          Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  environmental  conservation law, in relation to
          establishing the "New York state environmental justice act"

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known as the "New York state
     2  environmental justice act".
     3    §  2.  Legislative  findings and purpose. The legislature hereby finds
     4  and declares that:
     5    1. Racial and ethnic minority populations and  low-income  communities
     6  bear a disproportionate share of the health risks caused by polluted air
     7  and  contaminated  water,  and by solid waste landfills, hazardous waste
     8  facilities, waste water treatment plants, waste incinerators, and  other
     9  similar projects.
    10    2.  This  disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on minority
    11  and low-income communities is largely the result  of  past  governmental
    12  decisions.
    13    3.  The federal government underscored the importance of environmental
    14  justice in executive order 12898 and created the national  environmental
    15  justice  advisory  council to promote environmental justice in the envi-
    16  ronmental protection agency's policies, programs, initiatives and activ-
    17  ities.
    18    4. The state is committed to ensuring that  communities  are  afforded
    19  fair  treatment and meaningful involvement in decision-making regardless
    20  of race, color, ethnicity, religion, income or education level.
    21    The purpose of this act is to  establish  governmental  procedures  in
    22  order  to  safeguard residents' health and welfare, and achieve environ-
    23  mental justice.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04721-01-9

        A. 1771                             2
 
     1    § 3. The environmental conservation law is amended  by  adding  a  new
     2  article 74 to read as follows:
     3                                  ARTICLE 74
     4                  NEW YORK STATE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACT
     5  Section 74-1001. Definitions.
     6          74-1002. Implementation of environmental justice policies.
     7          74-1003. Environmental justice task force.
     8  § 74-1001. Definitions.
     9    For  purposes  of  this article "environmental justice" means the fair
    10  treatment of people of all races, cultures and incomes in  the  develop-
    11  ment, adoption, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws and
    12  policies.
    13  § 74-1002. Implementation of environmental justice policies.
    14    1.  All  state agencies, boards, commissions and other bodies involved
    15  in decisions that may  affect  environmental  quality  shall  adopt  and
    16  implement  environmental  justice policies providing meaningful opportu-
    17  nities for involvement to all people, regardless of race, color, ethnic-
    18  ity, religion, income or education level.
    19    2. All state programs and policies designed to protect the environment
    20  shall be reviewed periodically to ensure that program implementation and
    21  dissemination of information meet the needs of low-income  and  minority
    22  communities,  and  seek to address disproportionate exposure to environ-
    23  mental hazards.
    24    3. The department will use available environmental and  public  health
    25  data to identify existing and proposed industrial and commercial facili-
    26  ties  and  areas  in communities of color and low-income communities for
    27  which compliance, enforcement, remediation, siting and permitting strat-
    28  egies will be targeted to address impacts from these facilities.
    29    4. The department shall create an environmental justice advisory coun-
    30  cil to advise the department and the environmental justice task force on
    31  environmental justice issues. The council shall consist of fifteen indi-
    32  viduals and will meet at least quarterly.  The  council  shall  annually
    33  select a chairperson from its membership and shall have a composition of
    34  one-third  membership from grassroots or faith-based community organiza-
    35  tions, with additional membership to include  representatives  from  the
    36  following  communities: academic public health, statewide environmental,
    37  civil rights and public health organizations, large and  small  business
    38  and industry, municipal and county officials, and organized labor.
    39  § 74-1003. Environmental justice task force.
    40    1.  The commissioner and the commissioner of the department of health,
    41  or their appointed designees, shall convene a multi-agency  task  force,
    42  to  be  named the environmental justice task force. This task force will
    43  include senior management designees from the governor counsel's  office,
    44  the  attorney  general's  office, the departments of health, agriculture
    45  and markets, transportation, and education. The task force shall  be  an
    46  advisory  body, the purpose of which is to make recommendations to state
    47  agency heads regarding actions to  be  taken  to  address  environmental
    48  justice  issues  consistent  with  each  agency's existing statutory and
    49  regulatory authority. The task force is authorized to consult with,  and
    50  expand  its  membership  to,  other  state agencies as needed to address
    51  concerns raised in affected communities.
    52    2.  Any community may file a petition with the task force that asserts
    53  that residents and workers in the community are  subject  to  dispropor-
    54  tionate  adverse  exposure  to environmental health risks, or dispropor-
    55  tionate adverse  effects  resulting  from  the  implementation  of  laws
    56  affecting public health or the environment.

        A. 1771                             3
 
     1    3.    The  task  force  shall  identify  a set of communities from the
     2  petitions filed, based on  selection  criteria  developed  by  the  task
     3  force, including consideration of state agency resource constraints. The
     4  task  force  shall meet directly with the selected communities to under-
     5  stand their concerns.
     6    4.  The  task  force  shall  develop  an  action  plan for each of the
     7  selected communities after consultation with the citizens,  as  well  as
     8  local and county government as relevant, that will address environmental
     9  factors  that  affect  community  health.  The action plan shall clearly
    10  delineate the steps that will be taken in each of the selected  communi-
    11  ties  to  reduce  existing environmental burdens and avoid or reduce the
    12  imposition of additional environmental burdens  through  allocations  of
    13  resources,  exercise  of  regulatory  discretion, and development of new
    14  standards and protections. The action plan, which shall be developed  in
    15  consultation with the environmental justice advisory council, will spec-
    16  ify  community  deliverables,  a  timeframe  for implementation, and the
    17  justification and availability  of  financial  and  other  resources  to
    18  implement  the plan. The task force shall present the action plan to the
    19  relevant departments, recommending its implementation.
    20    5. The task force shall monitor the implementation of each action plan
    21  in the selected  communities, and shall make  recommendations  to  state
    22  agencies  as necessary to facilitate implementation of the action plans.
    23  Agencies shall implement the strategy to the fullest extent  practicable
    24  in light of statutory and resource constraints.
    25    §  4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2020; provided however, that
    26  the environmental justice task force and the environmental justice advi-
    27  sory council shall be established and operating by October 1, 2020.
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