Bill Text: NY S00025 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Enacts the "bird-friendly building council act" to establish a council to promote the use of bird-friendly building materials and design features in buildings; research the magnitude of problems facing birds colliding with buildings; identify existing and emerging products, technologies and concepts to reduce or eliminate bird mortality from building collisions; and develop public awareness.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2019-11-20 - VETOED MEMO.144 [S00025 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S00025-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           25
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sens. HOYLMAN, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to  the  Committee  on  Environmental
          Conservation
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  environmental  conservation law, in relation to
          enacting the "bird-friendly building council act"
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "bird-friendly building council act".
     3    § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that:
     4    (a) a federal multi-agency report issued in 2009, entitled "The  State
     5  of the Birds, United States of America", provides the most comprehensive
     6  assessment to date on the status of bird populations;
     7    (b)  the  multi-agency  report concludes that nearly one-third of this
     8  nation's 800 bird species are endangered, threatened or  in  significant
     9  decline;
    10    (c)  daytime  and nighttime collisions with man-made structures is the
    11  most significant quantifiable cause of avian mortality and is increasing
    12  with adverse effects being seen at a  population  level  with  estimates
    13  ranging  from  several  hundred  million to one billion birds dying from
    14  collisions annually in the United States;
    15    (d) not only are birds beautiful, interesting  and  fascinating  crea-
    16  tures  that  are  eagerly  welcomed  by millions of Americans into their
    17  backyards every year, but birds also have significant  positive  impacts
    18  on the economies of the United States and New York state;
    19    (e)  the  United  States  Fish  and Wildlife Service has reported that
    20  birdwatchers contribute thirty-six billion dollars annually to the econ-
    21  omy, and birds naturally provide  billions  of  dollars  worth  of  pest
    22  control, benefitting farmers, forestry owners and consumers alike;
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04078-01-9
        S. 25                               2
     1    (f)   bird-safe   design   features   can  be  incorporated  into  new
     2  construction and major renovation projects at no to minimal extra  cost;
     3  and  existing buildings may be made bird-safe through the use of simple,
     4  relatively low-cost adaptations;
     5    (g)  these  design features have already been implemented in buildings
     6  constructed and renovated both in New  York  state  and  throughout  the
     7  country;
     8    (h)  numerous municipalities and political subdivisions throughout the
     9  country have developed guidelines and standards promoting  bird-friendly
    10  building design; and
    11    (i)  under  the  aegis of the department of environmental conservation
    12  there is merit and value to the establishment of a bird-friendly  build-
    13  ing  council  whose mission is to undertake a comprehensive analysis and
    14  develop a set of recommended  responses  to  this  significant  wildlife
    15  issue.
    16    §  3.  The  environmental  conservation law is amended by adding a new
    17  section 3-0121 to read as follows:
    18  § 3-0121. Bird-friendly building council.
    19    1. There is hereby  established  in  the  department  a  bird-friendly
    20  building council. Such council shall be composed of not less than eleven
    21  members  and  no  more  than  fifteen  members,  which shall include the
    22  commissioner, who shall be the chair of the council and a minimum of ten
    23  members and a maximum of fourteen members appointed by the commissioner.
    24  The members appointed by the commissioner shall include persons  repres-
    25  enting  the  following  interests:  wildlife conservation organizations,
    26  state and federal wildlife agencies, architects,  landscape  architects,
    27  window manufacturers and distributors, commercial building managers, and
    28  academia.    The  wildlife conservation organizations represented on the
    29  council shall include the American Bird Conservancy, New York City Audu-
    30  bon, New York State Audubon and the Long  Island  Audubon  Council.  The
    31  federal  wildlife  agency  representation  shall include the Division of
    32  Migratory Bird Management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife  Service.    The
    33  membership  of  the  council  shall  be  broadly  representative  of the
    34  geographic areas of the state. Furthermore, the members of  the  council
    35  shall  receive  no  compensation for their services but shall be allowed
    36  their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
    37  duties pursuant to this section.    In  addition,  the  commissioner  of
    38  general services shall serve as an ex-officio member of the council.
    39    2. The bird-friendly building council shall:
    40    a.  develop such rules, regulations and procedures as necessary for it
    41  to effectively administer its responsibilities;
    42    b. attempt to assess and quantify the  extent  and  magnitude  of  the
    43  problem  statewide  caused by diurnal and nocturnal birds colliding with
    44  buildings. This effort shall identify those species most commonly killed
    45  during daytime collisions, those species  more  commonly  killed  during
    46  nighttime  collisions and shall include an assessment on species at risk
    47  due to rarity and endangerment;
    48    c. develop criteria and guidelines for  identifying  and  prioritizing
    49  existing buildings which pose a danger to bird species due to the threat
    50  of collisions;
    51    d.  identify  existing and emerging products, technologies, strategies
    52  and concepts which can reduce or eliminate bird mortality from  building
    53  collisions;
    54    e. identify potential funding sources, to fund the retrofitting and/or
    55  replacement  of  windows  of existing problematic buildings which pose a
    56  threat to birds and the implementation of other mitigative strategies;
        S. 25                               3
     1    f. promote public awareness of this issue  and  what  members  of  the
     2  public can do to mitigate impacts;
     3    g.  support  and fund additional research to better understand partic-
     4  ular aspects of the building-bird collision issue;
     5    h. consult with other sustainable building design organizations; and
     6    i. in cooperation with  the  department  and  the  office  of  general
     7  services,  develop  a  set of proposed standards governing bird-friendly
     8  building designs which include features, materials, technologies, strat-
     9  egies, and concepts to reduce, minimize, and/or eliminate bird mortality
    10  involving building collisions. The council shall develop these  proposed
    11  standards within eighteen months of its establishment and make a copy of
    12  them  available  to the governor, senate majority leader, and speaker of
    13  the assembly for their consideration of being codified in state law.
    14    § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    15  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.