Download Hudson Valley - EPL/Environmental Advocates

For Immediate Release: August 25, 2016
Travis Proulx: 518-462-5526 x238
Amedore, Serino Fail Environmental Scorecard for Second Time in a Row
Freshman Senators Among Lowest in NY; 11 Area Lawmakers Earn High Scores
Hudson Valley – EPL/Environmental Advocates released the 2016 Environmental Scorecard today, the
only report card that tracks all 213 state legislators’ voting records on environmental legislation. The
data shows that despite enormous challenges – particularly due to climate change – many of the Hudson
Valley’s senators earned some of the lowest scores in the state.
Legislator of the Year was awarded to Assemblymember Steve Englebright (D-East Setauket), who
helped usher Assembly passage of groundbreaking climate action legislation now supported by a
bipartisan majority of all state senators. The dubious Oil Slick Award was bestowed upon Senator
Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), who sought passage of legislation that would have prevented communities
statewide from taking action to reduce plastic bag waste.
Senate
Freshman senators George Amedore (R-Kingston) and Sue Serino (R-Poughkeepsie) failed the
Scorecard yet again in 2016, earning just 57 points, while longtime senators Bill Larkin (R-New
Windsor) and John Bonacic (R-Middletown) continued their trends of having some of the worst
environmental records in the state Senate, both failing for their 7th year in a row, also earning just 57
points each.
By comparison, three area senators earned some of the highest scores (92) among all of their colleagues
– they include David Carlucci (D-Nanuet), George Latimer (D-Port Chester), and Andrea StewartCousins (D-Yonkers). Freshman senator Terrence Murphy (R-Brewster) increased his score from a
failing 53 last year to 69 points in 2016.
Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of EPL/Environmental Advocates said, “The Hudson Valley has
some incredible leaders for our environment and public health. But the region is also represented by
some of the most extreme anti-environment senators in the state who, quite frankly, rival Donald Trump
in their hostility for climate science. We see consistently poor voting records from longtime incumbents
like Bill Larkin and John Bonacic. And the silence on issue after issue affecting the Hudson River that
we hear from Senators Amedore and Serino, coupled with failing environmental grades, should sound
alarm bells for residents within their districts.”
Assembly
Eight Assemblymembers from the region earned high scores of 95 points, including:
• Thomas Abinanti (D-Tarrytown)
• David Buchwald (D-Mount Kisco)
• Sandra Galef (D-Ossining)
• Ellen Jaffee (D-Pearl River)
• Steve Otis (D-Port Chester)
• Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale)
• James Skoufis (D-Chester)
• Kenneth Zebrowski (D-New City)
Iwanowicz added, “We have often seen Hudson Valley assemblymembers leading the way on protecting
our environment, but the number of high scores from the region this year is particularly impressive. We
need to start seeing their colleagues in the Senate get serious about working together on issues like
climate change because New Yorkers cannot afford this continued inaction.”
The EPL/Environmental Advocates 2016 Environmental Scorecard is the first and only record of New
York State lawmakers’ votes on legislation that will affect the environment. The guide has been
produced and distributed statewide for more than 40 years. For the complete Scorecard, visit
www.eplscorecard.org.
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