Environment (Wildlife)

This bill prohibits government incentives for commercial renewable energy projects like solar farms in sensitive environmental areas and on active farmland, with specific exceptions for agrivoltaic systems that combine solar power with agriculture. It removes eligibility for financial assistance, zero emission credits, and tax exemptions for such projects located in critical environmental areas, bird conservation zones, grassland bird centers, and wildlife management areas. The legislation also formally defines agrivoltaics as solar systems that simultaneously produce energy and agricultural products without displacing farming activities, while excluding certain practices like sole reliance on pollinator habitats or sheep grazing. These changes directly affect developers proposing renewable energy projects and government agencies administering agricultural and environmental programs.

This bill amends New York's environmental conservation law to exclude bullfrogs from the definition of "small game" and update related regulations. It removes bullfrogs from lists of animals regulated under small game hunting rules (such as licensing requirements and permitted take methods) and clarifies that bullfrogs are no longer classified as "wild amphibians" under the law. The changes affect hunters, wildlife managers, and enforcement of fishing/hunting regulations by specifying that bullfrog harvesting follows separate department regulations rather than small game rules. The bill also repeals outdated references to other amphibians like native frogs and salamanders in the small game definition.

Limits the department of environmental conservation's ability to fix special open seasons for taking wild deer to ending no later than the 3rd Sunday of December of each year; allows the department to issue regulations for special seasons for particular counties or designated wildlife management units after consultation with local governments and stakeholders.