Environment

Enacts the low impact landscaping rights act, preventing homeowners' associations from adopting or enforcing any rules or regulations that would effectively prohibit, or impose unreasonable limitations on, the installation or maintenance of low impact landscaping.

Prohibits the use of drilling fluids, brine and flowback water from gas or oil wells, pools, or fields on any highway for any purpose including but not limited to de-icing or dust suppression.

S 4815 establishes a stakeholder group to coordinate water releases in the Oswego river basin. The bill requires the state corporation to form this group within six months, including entities controlling flood discharges, community groups, environmental experts, and the Department of Environmental Conservation. The group must review flood storage and watershed release strategies, then recommend a regulatory structure to the governor and legislative leaders within six months. This bill directly affects water management entities and communities in the Oswego basin by creating a process for coordinated flood response, without immediately changing existing water management rules.

This bill requires state and local transportation agencies to design all new or majorly reconstructed public roads - including those funded by federal and state money - to safely accommodate all users. Specifically, it mandates considering pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and public transit riders during planning, construction, and major rehabilitation (but not routine maintenance or resurfacing under 10 years). Agencies must incorporate "complete street" features like bike lanes and wider sidewalks where projects meet certain thresholds, such as a 10-year service life for resurfacing. The law applies to all projects overseen by the Department of Transportation and takes effect 180 days after enactment.

Enacts the "home utility weatherization jobs act"; requires each gas corporation, electric corporation, or combination gas or electric corporation to submit to the public service commission for review and approval at least one and up to ten neighborhood scale weatherization and electrification-ready projects.

Prohibits the sale of certain products that contain regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances; requires manufacturers of products containing PFAS to provide notice of such fact to persons that offer the products for sale or distribution; provides penalties for violations.

Enacts into law major components of legislation necessary to implement the state transportation, economic development and environmental conservation budget for the 2025-2026 state fiscal year; relates to the waterfront commission act; makes amendments to change "applicant" to "licensee or registrant" (Part A); provides for mass transportation payments to the Central New York Regional Transportation District; adds Cortland county to such district (Part B); relates to extending the authorization for a pre-licensing course internet program (Part C); increases the value of a motor vehicle considered abandoned which can become property of the local authority the vehicle is abandoned in (Part D); extends provisions of law relating to certain tax increment financing provisions (Part I); relates to certain provisions regarding labor disputes involving the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Part J); relates to the acquisitions or transfers of property for certain transit projects; extends the effectiveness of certain provisions of law relating thereto (Part K); relates to funding for net paratransit operating expenses for the city of New York and the metropolitan transportation authority and makes permanent certain provisions of law relating thereto (Part L); provides funding for the metropolitan transportation authority 2025-2029 capital program (Part M); establishes a demonstration program on certain covered locations to enforce vehicle weight restriction on such interstate by means of mobile or stationary weigh in motion systems (Part N); authorizes a photo monitoring program for the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority and New York state bridge authority; extends provisions relating to certain notices of liability (Part Q); relates to the effectiveness of the New York state health insurance continuation assistance demonstration project (Part S); authorizes the Olympic regional development authority to enter into agreements for membership of one or more of its ski venues in reciprocal ski pass programs where such members are required to guarantee contractual indemnity up to a capped amount (Part T); regulates artificial intelligence companion models; establishes a suicide prevention fund (Part U); relates to refund policies for online retailers (Part V); enhances disclosure requirements for automatic renewals (Part W); requires disclosure of algorithmically set prices for goods and services (Part X); relates to the regulation of buy-now-pay-later lenders; requires such lenders to be licensed or authorized; establishes prohibited acts, limitations on loans, and consumer protections (Part Y); establishes reporting requirements for pharmacy benefit managers about the rebate contracts between pharmacy benefit managers and drug manufacturers (Part Z); provides for rate increases for hire motor vehicle insurance (Part CC); extends the authority of the New York state urban development to administer the empire state economic development fund (Part EE); extends the power of the New York state urban development corporation to make loans to 07/01/2026 (Part FF); extends the authority of the dormitory authority to enter into certain design and construction management agreements (Part GG); expands certain provisions of the state finance law and the New York state infrastructure trust fund; directs a policy study analyzing ways to improve the effectiveness of the minority and women-owned business enterprise program (Part KK); increases the cap on the amount of money authorized to be on deposit pursuant to the excelsior linked deposit program at any given time (Part LL); relates to purchasing thresholds for minority- or women-owned businesses or service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (Part MM); authorizes the New York convention center operating corporation to establish a subsidiary for the purposes of forming a pure captive insurance company (Part NN); extends the waste tire management fee until December 31, 2027; requires notice of the waste tire management and recycling program to be provided to customers; removes the exclusion for mail order sales (Part PP); extends provisions of the deer hunting program to 2028 (Part QQ); relates to financial responsibility, recovery of response costs and natural resource damages, and abatement actions relating to disposal of inactive hazardous waste (Part RR); relates to the recall of a class B firefighting foam; prohibits the sale or distribution of firefighting personal protective equipment that contains intentionally added PFAS; directs the department of environmental conservation to make a recommendation to the legislature on whether to postpone the effectiveness of such provisions (Part SS); exempts conveyances of real property for open space, parks, or historic preservation purposes to any not-for-profit corporation operated for conservation, environmental, parks or historic preservation purposes (Part TT); authorizes the New York state energy research and development authority to finance a portion of its research, development and demonstration, policy and planning, Fuel NY program, climate change related expenses of the department of environmental conservation from an assessment on gas and electric corporations (Part VV); relates to utility and cable television assessments that provide funds to the department of health from cable television assessment revenues and to the department of agriculture and markets, department of state, the office of parks, recreation and historic preservation, and the department of environmental conservation from utility assessment revenues; requires accountings be submitted of such funds (Part XX); increases and redirects civil penalties for failing to comply with the department of public service's prescribed rules and regulations established for the protection of underground facilities; amends the effectiveness of certain provisions relating to establishing the underground facilities safety training account (Part YY); authorizes the department of taxation and finance to disclose certain information to the department of environmental conservation or the New York state energy research and development authority for the purpose of implementing the New York state climate leadership and community protection act (Part ZZ); establishes a commission to replace the statue of Robert R. Livingston in the National Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol with a statue of Harriet Tubman; provides that such commission shall consist of the governor or a designee, the temporary president of the senate or a designee, the speaker of the assembly or a designee, the executive director of the council on the arts or a designee, and the commissioner of the office of general services or a designee (Part BBB); extends certain rebates to municipalities for clean vehicle projects (Part CCC); relates to appointments to the cannabis board, removes provisions of law deeming a person acting as chairperson of the cannabis control board as a state officer; relates to agreements of such board with the New York state Indian nations and tribes (Part DDD); relates to a special license fee for a licensee allowed to engage in the cultivation, processing, distribution and retail of both medical cannabis and adult use cannabis; makes a conforming technical change; and provides for the repeal of certain provisions of the cannabis law (Part EEE).

Prohibits the disabling, removal or interference with emission control devices and the use of emission tampering devices; provides remedies for the violation of such provisions.

Directs the state energy conservation construction code to set standards for electric vehicle charging stations and electric vehicle ready parking spaces in certain new buildings.

Relates to the climate change adaptation cost recovery program and requirements for climate change adaptive infrastructure projects; relates to the use of funds from the climate change adaptation fund for certain projects; relates to the disclosure of certain data from returns of petroleum or fossil fuel businesses; relates to expenditure of funds from the climate change adaptation fund; repeals certain provisions; relates to severability and legislative findings.