NYS 2022 Budget Memo

On January 18th, Governor Hochul released her first  State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2022-2023 Executive Budget Proposal: A New Era for New York. The proposal includes many long needed investments in New York State’s environmental protections, green jobs training and climate resiliency. New York has long been a leader in the global fight against climate change, and we are hopeful that under Governor Hochul’s leadership we can continue to pave the way for a just transition for all of our communities. 

While we are largely pleased with the Governor’s budget proposal, we are very concerned about her administration’s lack of community voice in her proposal to extend the New York State Brownfield Remediation Tax Credit program. While we support the Governor for proposing to add environmental justice, job growth and climate resilience into the goals of this program, the proposed language needs to go further. Without including real mechanisms to obtain these goals, the program will continue to miss the mark.

Governor Hochul’s budget proposal does not go far enough to protect environmental justice communities and our brothers, sisters and siblings in organized labor in the proposed extension of the Brownfield Cleanup Program. Investments that assure a fair and equitable transition need to be baked into our state budget. If done right, the Brownfields Cleanup Program is an incredible opportunity to do this.  Despite previous reforms of the program, sites often still sit in limbo for years, while community health is put at risk. The program currently also allows an escape for polluters to avoid clean up liability.  Furthermore, though this program is funded by the public, it does not require developers to pay family sustaining wages because it is currently not considered under the definition of “public work”. 

We also join the call shared with other organizations statewide for the inclusion of $15 billion for the implementation of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, or the CLCPA, including a requirement that 40% of funds be directly invested in disadvantaged communities – the CLCPA puts NY as the leader of the nation in climate legislation, but we have failed to fund this just transition, which utterly undermines any legislative actions.

In order for our communities to bear the oncoming storms of climate change, more must be done to support communities of color and poor and working class communities across the state who have already had to endure decades of abuse, neglect and indifference by New York State’s prime polluters, big and small. If we are to weather this storm together, we have to do all that is necessary to invest in the health, wellness and wealth of our communities by cleaning up the hazardous waste left behind by industries in our backyards. 

Clean Air members, supporters, allies and friends, we urge you to help us in reminding Governor Hochul where she comes from. Clean Air will be honored to support New York’s commitment to environmental justice and climate resiliency, but unless and until the reality of our communities is honored, we will remain opposed to the current budget proposal.