Dear Friends of New York’s Environment,
Before we share to the latest news on the EPF and this week’s ‘We Love New York’ campaign update, a reminder that TOMORROW is EPF Call-In Day.
EPF CALL IN DAY – MARCH 25TH 2010
Please encourage your supporters to make calls tomorrow to Senate Leader Sampson and Assembly Speaker Silver and ask them to restore the EPF to $222 million during budget negotiations. Here are the numbers and quick talking points:
Call Senate Leader John Sampson at (518) 455-2788
Call Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver at (518) 455-3791
Talking Points:
1. Hello, my name is (insert your name) and I live in (insert your town). I’m calling to tell Senator Sampson/Speaker Silver to show his love for New York by restoring the Environmental Protection Fund in the State Budget.
2. Our Environmental Protection Fund protects what I love most about New York.
3. The Senator/Speaker should restore the Fund to $222 million in the State Budget.
4. Thank you.
Additional details about the call-in day are available at the official campaign website: www.KeepProtectingNY.org.
EPF UPDATE
Both the NYS Senate and Assembly have introduced their respective budget resolutions. The Assembly has also introduced corresponding legislation, providing detail about their budget proposals. There is much work to be done before we have a final enacted budget. While these proposals inform us about the position / intent of both houses, negotiations between the Assembly, Senate and Governor’s office still need to happen. Once an agreement is reached, the Legislature will need to pass matching budget legislation and the Governor will need to sign it.
As you will see in the attached chart, the Assembly restored the EPF to $168M and rejects “offloads” that our organizations opposed. The Senate resolution called for the restoration of the EPF to $222M, however we do not have adequate detail to know how they would fund each EPF category. The Senate resolution also included language supporting the creation of a repayment plan for money that was swept from the EPF in past budget years and also states that they would reject the proposed offloads.
NEXT STEPS
We are currently uncertain about the exact timing of the budget. The budget is due April 1st. The last scheduled session day before the deadline is this Friday, March 26th. This short timeline means that budget negotiations could extend beyond the deadline, since the Legislature is scheduled to be on a holiday break the week of March 29th. As negotiations progress, we will keep you informed as we learn more.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Participate in EPF Call In Day Tomorrow (March 25th)
(See information above)
Meet with Lawmakers in Their District Offices
Legislators are currently scheduled to return home for a break the week of March 29th. It would be GREAT if during that week they hear from folks in their districts. While lawmakers are home, we strongly encourage you to set up in-person meetings in their district offices to thank them for the progress to date and discuss the need to restore the Environmental Protection Fund to $222M upon their return to Albany in April.
Please be sure to use the “We Love New York” materials and talking points when speaking with lawmakers so they understand that you are working on behalf of not just your community but also the statewide campaign. Please feel free to contact me if you need any additional materials for meetings.
Place Personal & Display Ads in Your Local Papers
While lawmakers are home, there’s no better time to place simple personal and / or small display advertisements in your local papers either thanking lawmakers for supporting the EPF or calling on them to do so. If you need help creating or placing an ad, feel free to contact Erica Ringewald at Environmental Advocates of New York (518.462.5526 ext 238 or eringewald@eany.org).
So far, we’ve placed personal and display ads in and around the Capital Region, Buffalo, New York City, Westchester and Long Island. But we need more! We also need your help in collecting copies of the ads and sending them directly to lawmakers. Please keep an eye out and send them along with a note!
And if your group would like logistical or financial support to set up meetings, make press calls, pay for bus trips, you name it, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or Erica for help.
The “We Love New York” Campaign has generated a lot of buzz in Albany among state leaders, lawmakers and agencies, but there’s much more we need to do. We need your help to reach our goal to restore the EPF to $222 million and keep hundreds of critical projects on track!
Thank you for all of your continued partnership and hard work on this campaign!