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

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


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          25--A
            Cal. No. 307
                               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  --  reported  favorably  from said committee, ordered to
          first and second report, ordered  to  a  third  reading,  amended  and
          ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
        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-
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04078-02-9

        S. 25--A                            2
     1  omy, and birds naturally provide  billions  of  dollars  worth  of  pest
     2  control, benefitting farmers, forestry owners and consumers alike;
     3    (f)   bird-safe   design   features   can  be  incorporated  into  new
     4  construction and major renovation projects at no to minimal extra  cost;
     5  and  existing buildings may be made bird-safe through the use of simple,
     6  relatively low-cost adaptations;
     7    (g) these design features have already been implemented  in  buildings
     8  constructed  and  renovated  both  in  New York state and throughout the
     9  country;
    10    (h) numerous municipalities and political subdivisions throughout  the
    11  country  have developed guidelines and standards promoting bird-friendly
    12  building design; and
    13    (i) under the aegis of the department  of  environmental  conservation
    14  there  is merit and value to the establishment of a bird-friendly build-
    15  ing council whose mission is to undertake a comprehensive  analysis  and
    16  develop  a  set  of  recommended  responses to this significant wildlife
    17  issue.
    18    § 3. The environmental conservation law is amended  by  adding  a  new
    19  section 3-0121 to read as follows:
    20  § 3-0121. Bird-friendly building council.
    21    1.  There  is  hereby  established  in  the department a bird-friendly
    22  building council. Such council shall be  composed  of  fifteen  members,
    23  which  shall  include  the  commissioner,  who shall be the chair of the
    24  council, and fourteen members to be appointed as follows: twelve members
    25  appointed by the commissioner; one member  appointed  by  the  temporary
    26  president  of the senate; and one member appointed by the speaker of the
    27  assembly. The members of the council shall include persons  representing
    28  the  following interests: wildlife conservation organizations, state and
    29  federal wildlife  agencies,  architects,  landscape  architects,  window
    30  manufacturers and distributors, commercial building managers, and acade-
    31  mia.  The wildlife conservation organizations represented on the council
    32  shall  include the American Bird Conservancy, New York City Audubon, New
    33  York State Audubon and the Long  Island  Audubon  Council.  The  federal
    34  wildlife  agency  representation shall include the Division of Migratory
    35  Bird Management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.   The  membership
    36  of  the  council shall be broadly representative of the geographic areas
    37  of the state. Furthermore, the members of the council shall  receive  no
    38  compensation  for  their  services but shall be allowed their actual and
    39  necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties  pursuant
    40  to  this  section.    In  addition, the commissioner of general services
    41  shall serve as an ex-officio member of the council.
    42    2. The bird-friendly building council shall:
    43    a. develop such rules, regulations and procedures as necessary for  it
    44  to effectively administer its responsibilities;
    45    b.  attempt  to  assess  and  quantify the extent and magnitude of the
    46  problem statewide caused by diurnal and nocturnal birds  colliding  with
    47  buildings. This effort shall identify those species most commonly killed
    48  during  daytime  collisions,  those  species more commonly killed during
    49  nighttime collisions and shall include an assessment on species at  risk
    50  due to rarity and endangerment;
    51    c.  develop  criteria  and guidelines for identifying and prioritizing
    52  existing buildings which pose a danger to bird species due to the threat
    53  of collisions;
    54    d. identify existing and emerging products,  technologies,  strategies
    55  and  concepts which can reduce or eliminate bird mortality from building
    56  collisions;

        S. 25--A                            3
     1    e. identify potential funding sources, to fund the retrofitting and/or
     2  replacement of windows of existing problematic buildings  which  pose  a
     3  threat to birds and the implementation of other mitigative strategies;
     4    f.  promote  public  awareness  of  this issue and what members of the
     5  public can do to mitigate impacts;
     6    g. support and fund additional research to better  understand  partic-
     7  ular aspects of the building-bird collision issue;
     8    h. consult with other sustainable building design organizations; and
     9    i.  in  cooperation  with  the  department  and  the office of general
    10  services, develop a set of proposed  standards  governing  bird-friendly
    11  building designs which include features, materials, technologies, strat-
    12  egies, and concepts to reduce, minimize, and/or eliminate bird mortality
    13  involving  building collisions. The council shall develop these proposed
    14  standards within eighteen months of its establishment and make a copy of
    15  them available to the governor, senate majority leader, and  speaker  of
    16  the assembly for their consideration of being codified in state law.
    17    §  4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
    18  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
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