New York Alliance for Environmental Concerns
2012 NYS Legislative Session Wrap-Up
Historically the end of the legislative session comes with a bang, but this year’s session fizzled
out with little fanfare. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo continued his winning streak this year by
pushing through legislation that created a new Tier VI pension plan for new state hires and a
constitutional amendment for casino gaming. He was able to do this before enacting a $132.6
billion on time budget that was $135 million less than last year’s appropriation. This year’s
budget included no increased fees as well as an appropriation of $500,000 for the Cornell
Integrated Pest Management program and $1.21 million for the Farm Viability Institute, both of
which were advocated for at the Turfgrass Advocacy Day held in March.
The state Assembly continues to introduce legislation that is harmful to the green industry. At
last count there were five bills seeking to poorly re-write long standing definitions of IPM and
twelve bills attempting to ban the use of pesticides in various settings. The New York Alliance
for Environmental Concerns (NYAFEC) continues to push back against bad legislation which is
based upon unsupported claims and poor or manipulated viewpoints that claim to be science
based. Our closest ally in this fight has been state Senator Mark Grisanti (R–Buffalo), Chair of
the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee. While enjoying a good working
relationship with the environmental groups, Senator Grisanti has worked with us to stop onerous
pieces of legislation that are damaging and to promote those which we support. One piece of
legislation that Senator Grisanti sponsored on behalf of NYAFEC would have simplified the
reporting requirements that certified applicators must fulfill (S.6022). This legislation has served
as a starting point for our discussions with the Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) on this issue, discussions that we continue to have in an attempt to bring relief to
overburdened applicators who share the brunt of this mandate.
Other new legislation that we saw this year related to invasive species (A.9422a/S.6826a).
NYAFEC worked with Senator Betty Little’s office on this legislation and was able to get the
bill amended to include the Department of Ag & Markets as an equal partner in regulating
nurseries and growers relating to invasives, whereas in the first draft DEC was solely
responsible. Now they will jointly work to create lists of non-native invasives and develop
permits for prohibited species disposal and control. We were also able to get legislation moving
for the second year in a row allowing commercial applicators to apply pesticides at less than
label rates (S.2887a/A.450a), which passed the full Senate this year, as well as a definition of
IPM that NYAFEC supported and championed (S.2775/A.7129). In addition, we were
successful in moving legislation that would preempt confusing local fertilizer laws that can vary
amongst localities and allow for the regulation of fertilizer on the state level, as pesticides
currently are (S.848/A.6908). This legislation moved unanimously out of the Senate Agriculture
Committee this year, but stalled on the floor due to concerns expressed by counsel’s office. We
continue to work with Senator Catherine Young’s office on this issue in hopes of finding a
suitable compromise.
NYAFEC was very active this year on the legislative front, providing input to legislators on over
150 bills that have a positive or negative effect on the green industry. Some of the more
egregious pieces of legislation that we were able to stop included:
A.3862 (Englebright)/S.4798 (Flanagan) would have required applicators in their annual report
to DEC to have listed substances by active ingredient and would have also required that reports
be submitted electronically. Many applicators contacted us to express opposition to the use of
scannable forms. This would have made it very difficult for some small applicators who are not
“online” to comply with new regulations. This bill passed the Assembly, but by working with
the Senate sponsor we were able to successfully defeat this measure in the Senate.
A.2392a (Markey)/S.6159a (Golden) would require golf courses to have available cardiac
defibrillators. NYAFEC opposed these bills because of language that required trained staff in
the use of these units to be on-site the entire time the golf course was open. This would be a
staffing burden on many smaller golf courses around the state. This bill passed the Assembly
but was defeated in the Senate.
A.5174 (Rivera)/S.42 (Squadron) would phase out over the next four years pesticide usage on
state owned property. This bill is one of numerous pieces of legislation where questions about
the effective maintenance of state parks and golf courses have surfaced in the municipalities that
have enacted similar pieces of legislation. Many municipalities have reported unfavorable
results, necessitating numerous “waivers” for parks trying to deal with poison ivy and large scale
turf decline. Both bills remain in their original committees.
A.5670a (Thiele)/S.3554a (LaValle) would prohibit the application of fertilizer to any watershed
in Nassau or Suffolk County. This legislation is duplicative of an already enacted law (Chapter
205 of the Laws of 2010) and would have put additional burdens on small business lawn care
professionals. Counties already have the ability to enact more stringent fertilizer laws, which
Long Island already has done. Both bills remain in their original committees.
A.6293 (Sweeney) would have created a product stewardship program and granted DEC the
authority to create lists of products applicable to this program. Perhaps one of the most
egregious bills brought forth this session, this bill would have granted DEC the authority to
create a list of products that “pose [a] risk” and then apply these products to a stewardship
program, essentially requiring the manufacturers to take them back. Legislation such as this
would put a massive new mandate on manufacturers and wholesalers of identified products, as
well as the applicator community who use them. This bill was stopped on the Assembly floor.
A.7988a (Sweeney)/S.4287b (Johnson) was originally very broad in its scope, and made
assumptions regarding threats to Seagrass that were not consistent with available science. This
bill initially passed the Assembly, but by working with the Senate sponsor, NYAFEC was able
to successfully negotiate an amended version of the bill with the Senate, Assembly and DEC,
which was a major win for stakeholders in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Both bills have now
passed both houses.
In addition to legislation, NYAFEC was aggressive this year on the regulatory front. The town
of Queensbury last fall enacted local legislation limiting the application of fertilizer while also
attempting to apply the state’s neighbor notification law to the town. NYAFEC brought this
language to DEC which resulted in the Department ruling that this section of the town’s new law
was unenforceable. Also last fall it was brought to our attention that drivers transporting
restricted use pesticides were being targeted by DEC and told they needed to be certified
applicators. NYAFEC worked closely with the Department and New York Farm Bureau for
months on this issue and earlier this month DEC confirmed that because they were being
possessed for the purpose of re-sale, delivery drivers and handlers of restricted use pesticides did
not need to be certified applicators.
NYAFEC representatives were also engaged with DEC on regulations pertaining to last year’s
water withdrawal legislation and have been working with the Department regarding changes in
the pesticide reporting law and the pesticide registration process. DEC is currently in the process
of revising the Part 325 regulations this year. The revision of these regulations has enormous
potential consequences for the thousands of small business operators and applicator companies
doing business in the state. We have been in contact with them as they begin their work and will
continue to push for less burdensome oversight.
Because the balance of power dictates state policy, next year’s election of all 213 state legislators
is very important. The Senate is closely split and could possibly switch back to being led by
Senate Democrats next year if they pick up only a handful of seats, which could have a
significant impact on the green industry if the legislation passed in 2009-2010 is any indication.
No matter which party runs the Senate or Assembly, NYAFEC must educate all legislators of
both parties about the importance of legislation that would impact small businesses and the green
industry itself. For this reason, NYAFEC was instrumental in forming GREENPAC to further
NYAFEC’s goal of being a more effective agent of the green industry across New York State.
GREENPAC accomplishes this goal by supporting state and local elected officials, candidates
for public office, state party organizations, and legislative campaign committees who support a
strong, thriving green industry.
Personal contributions (up to $150,000) or corporate contributions (up to $5,000) can be made to
GREENPAC and sent to:
GREENPAC
Attn: Mike Maffei – Treasurer
P.O. Box 90
Brewster, NY 10509
For additional inquiries about NYAFEC, its mission and goals, contact NYAFEC President
Larry Wilson at nyafec@optonline.net.
Please be assured that NYAFEC will remain intensely vigilant throughout the remainder of 2012
and beyond, as we work closely with elected officials and regulators to ensure that the green
industry is not harmed, but enhanced by their actions in Albany.
New York State Turfgrass Association
PO Box 612, Latham, NY 12110 | (518) 783-1229 | (518) 783-1258 Fax | www.nysta.org