A 8617 New York Assembly · 2025 Regular Session

Enacts the Mohawk River Basin management act

Summary

Establishes a Mohawk River Basin district and Mohawk River Basin management program for management of such district to preserve, protect, restore and enhance the environmental quality of the Mohawk River.

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

May 2025

Committee Review

May 2026

Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Jun 2026

Governor

Introduced May 22, 2025 Last action Jun 3, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

A8617 → A8617A · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add four new sponsors and update its procedural status after committee review. The substantive policy changes include expanding the advisory committee's membership requirements to a minimum of eleven members, adjusting the deadline for the first management strategy update from 2027 to 2028, and requiring that key plans and reports be posted on the department's website for public access.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the geographic area and the core management program remains unchanged, but the composition of the oversight committee and the timeline for reporting have been modified.

REQUIREMENT

The Mohawk River Basin management advisory committee must now consist of at least eleven members representing specific interests, whereas the original version did not specify a minimum number.

New requirements mandate that the aquatic invasive species prevention plan and annual progress reports be posted on the department's website.

The annual report from the advisory committee was updated to explicitly cover the 'Mohawk River Basin district' instead of just the 'Mohawk River watershed'.

TIMELINE

The deadline for the first update to the management action agenda was moved from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2028.

Floor votes · Senate Jun 3, 2026 · Assembly May 11, 2026