Issue Position: Environment and Infrastructure

Issue Position

Preserving our Environment. Pat is consistently an outspoken advocate in the New York legislature for protecting the environment. She's proud to be the only Upstate Assemblymember to receive a 100% rating from both the New York League of Conservation Voters and Environmental Advocates of New York in 2017. Pat was a strong advocate for the inclusion of an additional $300 million for New York's Environmental Protection Fund in 2017, which supports the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, the NYS Preservation League, parks, land conservation, and numerous other local environmental programs. Pat is a founding member of the NYS Environmental Legislators Caucus.

Investing in Clean Water and Flood Mitigation. Language from Pat's proposed bill to encourage shared services by doubling the maximum grant funding available (to $10 million) for participating municipalities was included in the 2017 state budget, which lead to a record increase for water and sewer funding. The Capital Region benefited from this incentive with a record $10 million awarded to the Albany Pool Communities and $2.4 million to the Town of Guilderland. On a related matter, systemic flooding has been a repeated problem for decades for residents in Guilderland's McKownville neighborhood, and Pat successfully directed a $1.25 million capital grant to resolve the problem.

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