New York voters are trying to decide whether the state should borrow billions of dollars to pay for environmental projects.
“I am convinced that New York voters, regardless of their political background, want clean water, clean air and good jobs,” said Julie Tige, president of the New York Conservation Voters’ League.
This is the first question on the poll. It’s his $4.2 billion debt to fund environmental and resilience projects, nature conservation, and green energy over the next few years.
What you need to know
- The state will borrow $4.2 billion to fund environmental projects.
- New York State’s last environmental law was passed in 1996 under former Governor George Pataki.
- This bond law was originally proposed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo but was shelved because of the pandemic
- Governor Kathy Hochul is in favor, but Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin has not taken a public stand.
Governor Kathy Hochul is in favor, but her challenger, Rep. Lee Zeldin, has not taken a public stand.
“It’s a fairly popular measure, so I don’t think it’s a matter of winning that he speaks out against it,” said James Hanley, senior policy analyst at the Empire Center.
Polls show that a majority of New Yorkers want clean water, clean air and green jobs to be passed, no matter how tense the gubernatorial race is.
“I don’t think this bond, the environmental bond, is threatened by our top priorities,” said political analyst Eli Valentin.
Only the Conservative Party is campaigning against it.
New York State’s last environmental law was passed in 1996 under former Governor George Pataki. Pataki now endorses fellow Republican Zeldin.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was the first to propose a new bond initiative in 2020 before pulling it back amid the pandemic.
Hochul revived the initiative last year, setting the final amount at $4.2 billion.
State agencies are already planning to secure the funding this law provides, but proponents will have to start over if the bill is defeated.
