Bill Text: NY A10374 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to cost recovery by municipalities and other recipients from responsible parties; ensures that responsible parties do not benefit from state assistance payments/grants made by the environmental facilities corporation to municipalities and recipients and unnecessarily burden taxpayers.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-05-04 - referred to health [A10374 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A10374-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10374

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       May 4, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Health

        AN  ACT  to amend the public health law, in relation to cost recovery by
          municipalities and  other  recipients  from  responsible  parties  and
          ensures  that responsible parties do not benefit from state assistance
          payments or grants made by the environmental facilities corporation to
          municipalities and recipients

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
     2  1167-a to read as follows:
     3    § 1167-a. Reimbursement of state assistance payments or grants made to
     4  municipality or recipient; admissibility of state assistance payments or
     5  grants as collateral source.  1. A municipality or recipient  that:  (a)
     6  receives  a  state  assistance payment/grant from the corporation for an
     7  eligible project to remove contaminants from  drinking  water  or  water
     8  supplies under this title, including but not limited to state assistance
     9  payments/grants  for  removing  emerging  contaminants;  (b) takes legal
    10  action against a responsible party to recover the costs of such eligible
    11  project; and (c) receives payment by judgment, settlement  or  otherwise
    12  from  such  responsible  party  for the costs for such eligible project,
    13  shall reimburse the corporation the portion of such payment that  is  in
    14  excess  of (1) the total cost of the project (including, but not limited
    15  to, the capital costs and operating  and  maintenance  costs  associated
    16  therewith  for  the period during which the contamination is expected to
    17  persist and require treatment); and (2) the expenses (including, but not
    18  limited to, attorneys' fees and litigation costs and expenses)  incurred
    19  by  the  municipality  or recipient pursuing recovery of such costs from
    20  responsible parties, provided, however, that the municipality or recipi-
    21  ent shall not reimburse more than the amount of  such  state  assistance
    22  payment/grant for the eligible project.
    23    2.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law, including section
    24  forty-five hundred forty-five of  the  civil  practice  law  and  rules,
    25  evidence  of  any state assistance payment/grant from the corporation to

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16252-01-0
        A. 10374                            2

     1  any municipality or recipient shall not  be  admissible  in  any  action
     2  brought by such municipality or recipient against a responsible party to
     3  recover the costs for an eligible project and/or the operating and main-
     4  tenance  costs  associated therewith, and the court shall not reduce the
     5  amount of any award against a responsible party  in  whole  or  in  part
     6  because of such state assistance payment or grant.
     7    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.