S341-2011 - NY Senate Open Legislation - Requires open space conservation projects to be undertaken with willing sellers

Requires open space conservation projects to be undertaken with willing sellers; provides that the use of eminent domain for such projects shall be limited to lands where the owner thereof has consented thereto or where the eminent domain is required to quiet title.

Sponsor: LITTLE
Law Section: State Finance Law / Law: Amd S92-s, St Fin L; amd SS54-0301 & 54-0303, En Con L

S341-2011 Actions

Apr 17, 2012: referred to environmental conservation
Apr 17, 2012: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
Apr 17, 2012: PASSED SENATE
Mar 22, 2012: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
Mar 21, 2012: 2ND REPORT CAL.
Mar 20, 2012: 1ST REPORT CAL.381
Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO FINANCE
Jan 4, 2012: returned to senate
Jan 4, 2012: died in assembly
Jun 20, 2011: referred to environmental conservation
Jun 20, 2011: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
Jun 20, 2011: PASSED SENATE
May 16, 2011: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
May 11, 2011: 2ND REPORT CAL.
May 10, 2011: 1ST REPORT CAL.570
Jan 5, 2011: REFERRED TO FINANCE

S341-2011 Meetings

Finance: Mar 19, 2012, Finance: Mar 20, 2012, Finance: May 10, 2011

S341-2011 Calendars

Active List: Apr 17, 2012 , Active List: Jun 20, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 22, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 26, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 27, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 30, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 17, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 11, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 17, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 23, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 24, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 25, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 1, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 2, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 6, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 7, 2011

S341-2011 Votes

VOTE: COMMITTEE VOTE: - Finance - May 10, 2011

Ayes (26): DeFrancisco, Johnson, Alesi, Bonacic, Farley, Flanagan, Fuschillo, Golden, Griffo, Lanza, Larkin, Little, Marcellino, Nozzolio, Robach, Saland, Seward, Young, Breslin, Diaz, Dilan, Gianaris, Montgomery, Perkins, Stavisky, Stewart-Cousins
Ayes W/R (6): Hannon, Krueger, Duane, Kruger, Peralta, Rivera
Nays (2): LaValle, Parker
Excused (1): Oppenheimer

VOTE: COMMITTEE VOTE: - Finance - Mar 20, 2012

Ayes (29): DeFrancisco, Johnson, Alesi, Bonacic, Farley, Flanagan, Fuschillo, Golden, Griffo, Lanza, Larkin, Little, Marcellino, Nozzolio, Robach, Saland, Seward, Young, Krueger, Breslin, Diaz, Dilan, Gianaris, Montgomery, Peralta, Rivera, Stavisky, Stewart-Cousins, Squadron
Ayes W/R (4): Hannon, LaValle, Duane, Perkins
Nays (1): Parker
Excused (1): Oppenheimer

VOTE: FLOOR VOTE: - Apr 17, 2012

Ayes (56): Adams, Addabbo, Alesi, Avella, Ball, Bonacic, Carlucci, DeFrancisco, Diaz, Dilan, Duane, Espaillat, Farley, Flanagan, Fuschillo, Gallivan, Gianaris, Golden, Griffo, Grisanti, Hassell-Thompson, Johnson, Kennedy, Klein, Krueger, Lanza, Larkin, LaValle, Libous, Little, Marcellino, Martins, Maziarz, McDonald, Montgomery, Nozzolio, O'Mara, Parker, Peralta, Perkins, Ranzenhofer, Ritchie, Rivera, Robach, Saland, Sampson, Savino, Seward, Skelos, Smith, Squadron, Stavisky, Stewart-Cousins, Valesky, Young, Zeldin
Excused (5): Breslin, Hannon, Huntley, Oppenheimer, Serrano

S341-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S341

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the state finance law and the environmental conservation law,
in relation to requiring open space land conservation projects to be
undertaken with willing sellers

PURPOSE:
Requires that open space conservation projects be undertaken with
willing sellers.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
The bill amends Section 92-s of the State Finance Law to provide that
moneys from the Environmental Protection Fund shall be available,
pursuant to appropriation, for open space land conservation projects
undertaken with a willing seller. It amends section 54-0301 of the
Environmental Conservation Law to redefine "open space conservation
projects" as acquisition projects undertaken with willing sellers. It
amends section 54-0303 to limit the use of eminent domain in
connection with open space conservation projects to situations where
the landowner has consented to its use or where its use is required
to quiet title.

JUSTIFICATION:
New York State is a national leader in the effort to conserve open
space. The State's Open Space Conservation Plan expressly recognizes
that in pursuing conservation goals, the State must deal fairly and
openly with property owners on a willing seller/willing buyer basis.
The Plan expressly limits the use of eminent domain for open space
conservation purposes.

These provisions in the State's Open Space Conservation Plan have the
unanimous support of the broadly representative membership of the
Region 5 citizen's advisory committee. This committee, which contains
representatives of local and county governments, landowners, and
environmental advocacy organizations within the Adirondack Park,
adopted the principles that became the basis of these State policies
in a series of resolutions in 1992. Those resolutions helped to
reduce the fears of residents and landowners regarding the State's
use of compulsory land acquisition. They represented an historic
public consensus that helped set the stage for the unprecedented
achievements in the area of open space conservation that have ensued.

The record conclusively establishes that the State can achieve the
objectives of its Open Space Conservation Plan working with willing
sellers on a consensual basis. Title 3 of Article 54 of the
Environmental Conservation Law, which authorizes the State's open
space conservation program, and Section 92-s of the State Finance
Law, which creates the Environmental Protection Fund, the largest
source of State funding for that program, should reflect this
commitment to consensual land acquisition. Enacting this legislation
will further the public interest and promote public support for the
State's Open Space Conservation program by requiring that open space
conservation projects be undertaken with willing sellers.


LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2009/10: S.358 Finance; A.587 Environmental Conservation
2007/08: S.1121 Passed Senate
2006:    S.7028 Finance

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S341-2011 Text

 S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 
 S. 341                                                    A. 147
 2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 SENATE - ASSEMBLY
 (PREFILED)
 January 5, 2011
 
 IN  SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. LITTLE -- read twice and ordered print
 ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. SAYWARD -- read once and  referred
 to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 

AN ACT to amend the state finance law and the environmental conservation
 law, in relation to requiring open space land conservation projects to
 be undertaken with willing sellers
 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 6 of section 92-s of the state
 finance law, as amended by section 13 of part E of  chapter  61  of  the
 laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:

 (d) Moneys from the open space account shall be available, pursuant to
 appropriation,  for  any open space land conservation project UNDERTAKEN
 WITH A WILLING SELLER, bio-diversity stewardship and  research  pursuant
 to chapter five hundred fifty-four of the laws of nineteen hundred nine
 ty-three,  for  the  purposes  of  agricultural  and farmland protection
 activities as authorized by article twenty-five-AAA of  the  agriculture
 and  markets law, non-point source abatement and control projects pursu
 ant to section 17-1409 of the environmental conservation law and section
 eleven-b of the soil and water  conservation  districts  law,  for  Long
 Island  Central  Pine  Barrens  area planning or Long Island south shore
 estuary reserve planning pursuant to title thirteen  of  article  fifty
 four  of  the  environmental  conservation  law,  and  for operation and
 management of the Albany  Pine  Bush  preserve  commission  pursuant  to
 subdivision  two  of  section  54-0303 of the environmental conservation
 law.
 

S 2.

Section 54-0301 of the environmental conservation law,  as  added
 by chapter 610 of the laws of 1993, is amended to read as follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD01286-01-1
        S. 341                              2                             A. 147
 

S 54-0301. [Definitions] DEFINITION.
 For  purposes  of  this title, "open space land conservation projects"
 shall mean acquisition projects UNDERTAKEN WITH WILLING SELLERS  includ
 ing the purchase of conservation easements undertaken by the commission
 er  and/or  the  commissioner  of  the  office  of parks, recreation and
 historic preservation listed in the state open  space  land  acquisition
 plan prepared pursuant to title 2 of article 49 of this chapter.
 

S  3.  Subdivision 6 of section 54-0303 of the environmental conserva
 tion law, as added by chapter 610 of the laws of  1993,  is  amended  to
 read as follows:

 6.  [No  monies shall be expended for acquisition by eminent domain of
 any open space land conservation project except in accordance  with  the
 state land acquisition policy set forth in section 49-0203 of this chap-
 ter] THE USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN IN CONNECTION WITH ANY OPEN SPACE CONSER
 VATION PROJECT SHALL BE LIMITED TO LANDS WITH RESPECT TO WHICH THE OWNER
 HAS  CONSENTED  TO THE USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN OR WHERE THE USE OF EMINENT
 DOMAIN IS REQUIRED TO QUIET TITLE.
 

S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

S341-2011: Requires open space conservation projects to be undertaken with willing sellers