Delays the zero-emission school bus mandate for a period of five years; requires school districts to only purchase or lease zero-emission school buses by 2032 and requires school districts to only operate and maintain zero-emission school buses by 2040.
S 4408 allows New York's state environmental department to create leases or easements for renewable energy projects (like solar and wind farms) on state-owned lands designated for reforestation. These agreements must not interfere with the reforestation purposes of the land, as defined by New York's constitution. The bill requires all such agreements to be publicly recorded and posted online. It directly affects the state department, renewable energy developers, and the management of reforestation areas.
Establishes the New York road salt reduction council and the New York road salt reduction advisory committee to provide a mechanism for interagency cooperation and coordination to implement the recommendations of the report of the Adirondack road salt reduction task force.
Enacts the "packaging reduction and recycling infrastructure act" to require companies selling, offering for sale, or distributing packaging materials and products to register with a packaging reduction organization to develop a packaging reduction and recycling plan; makes related provisions.
S 98 requires electric corporations to cover the costs of "make-ready" infrastructure needed to charge electric vehicles for public fleets, such as government-owned buses, police cars, and school district vehicles. It mandates that corporations include 100% of their own infrastructure costs (like transformers and wiring) and at least 50% of customer infrastructure costs (like site wiring) in their rates - increasing to 90% in disadvantaged communities - so these expenses are shared across all utility customers instead of paid directly by fleet operators. This reduces upfront financial barriers for public entities transitioning to electric fleets while ensuring infrastructure costs are recovered through standard rate structures. The bill applies specifically to state, municipal, school district, and public authority fleets, not private businesses.
This bill creates a new program requiring mattress manufacturers and importers to manage the disposal of used mattresses sold in the state. To comply, producers must submit a plan to the Department of Environmental Conservation that outlines how they will collect discarded mattresses, transport them to designated sites, and recycle or reuse the materials. The legislation sets specific goals for making collection sites accessible to most residents within a few years and defines recycling as separating materials for new products, while excluding burning or landfilling. Retailers are also assigned responsibilities under the law, and the bill establishes an advisory board to oversee the program's implementation.
Requires the consideration of complete street design for certain transportation projects which receive federal or state funding; authorizes the department to compile and make publicly available guidance and reference material related to consideration of complete street design.
Prohibits the use of drilling fluids, brine and flowback water from gas or oil wells, pools, or fields on any highway for any purpose including but not limited to de-icing or dust suppression.
Enacts the low impact landscaping rights act, preventing homeowners' associations from adopting or enforcing any rules or regulations that would effectively prohibit, or impose unreasonable limitations on, the installation or maintenance of low impact landscaping.
Requires that companies contracting with the state do not contribute to tropical forest degradation or deforestation directly or through their supply chains.
