As mentioned by our friends at Parks & Trails New York, be sure to flip over your ballot today to vote Yes on Prop 1, which will approve the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act. The Bond Act will protect clean drinking water, modernize critical infrastructure, support tens of thousands of local jobs, and make our communities safer despite extreme weather.
What would the bond act fund?
The proposal breaks down into the following pots of money:
- $1.5 billion for climate change mitigation, including no less than $500 million to electrify school buses, and $400 million for green building projects;
- $1.1 billion to restoration and flood risk reduction, which includes spending no less than $100 million on coastal rehabilitation and shoreline restoration projects, along with addressing inland flooding;
- $650 million toward open space land conservation and recreation, with $300 million for open space land conservation and $150 million for farmland protection;
- $650 million for water quality improvement and resilient infrastructure, no less than $200 million of which goes toward wastewater infrastructure projects, and $250 million toward municipal stormwater projects.
The bond act requires the state to make sure at least 35% of funds, with a goal of 40%, go toward communities considered disadvantaged with the effects of pollution and climate change.
If passed, the state Comptroller’s Office would issue bonds to create state debt. That could start as early as March 2023, before the end of the fiscal year.
Learn more about the Bond Act here.