Oct 5, 2022
ALBANY — At a time when higher interest rates have pushed up the cost of borrowing, fiscal hawks are warning the state’s financial position could be negatively impacted by the proposed $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act.
The bond act will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot as a result of the $220.5 billion state budget passed last April, when interest rates were considerablly lower than they are this month.
The spending blueprint approved by Gov. Kathy Hochul and lawmakers increased debt on several fronts — including authorizing $850 million in public funding for a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills football team.
Other notable debt authorizations this year, according to the state comptroller’s office, included $1 billion for economic development purposes, $631 million for housing programs and $396 million for projects at state universities.
James Hanley, a researcher at the Empire Center for Public Policy, said he questions whether New Yorkers being forced to tighten their own household spending due to inflation will be in a mood to approve an additional $4.2 billion in state borrowing, even though the bond act would finance projects that would be beneficial.
“The bond act would do some good things, but it becomes a question of whether this is the right time to do it. both politically and financially,” he said, noting the state’s latest budget blueprint amounts to a “spending spree.”
If such borrowing is authorized, Hanley added, it might create more spending demands in the future.
“Its proponents will expect it to become permanent,” he said.
Among the champions of the bond act is Hochul, who predicts it promises to be “a game-changing investment in our infrastructure for our energy future.”
“I need to have everyone who cares about human life on this planet who lives in the state of New York to mobilize and make sure the vote gets out in support of this bond act,” she said.
The initiative, which will appear on the rear of the ballot, is the first of its kind in New York since a $1.75 billion environmental bond act was approved in 1996. It had the full support of then Gov. George Pataki, a Republican.
This year’s bond act is being promoted by a coalition of groups called the Vote Yes for Clean Water & Jobs Coalition, which has launched a million-dollar television ad blitz to urge voters to support it.
Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of Environmental Advocates, an Albany advocacy group, said there are plenty of reasons why the bond act makes good fiscal sense, since the projects it would fund would make the state more resilient in the face of violent storms and buffer infrastructure from climate change.
“For every dollar you spend on capital programs on environmental protection over the years, you get about $7 in return economic development, job creation and safer communities, in terms of climate change and resiliency,” Iwanowicz said in an interview.
Supporters of the measure say it will provide funding to help farmers purchase irrigation management systems, allowing for a reduction in the potential for groundwater contamination from runoff and helping to increase crop yields. The measure would also have hundreds of millions of dollars for water quality improvement and municipal stormwater projects in New York.
The state Conservative Party is urging a “no” vote, arguing the state should tap into unspent funds and federal money headed to New York via legislation approved in Washington.
“Currently New York’s debt obligations are in excess of $160 billion,” noted Gerard Kassar, the party’s chairman. “That amounts to almost $8,500 dollars in state debt for every single adult and child in New York state.”
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, a Democrat seeking re-election, supports the bond act, said his spokeswoman, Jennifer Freeman. The comptroller’s office itself takes no position on ballot initiatives, she said.
Some voters will weigh in on the ballot measure earlier than others. Early voting in New York begins Oct. 29.
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