ALBANY — A coalition seeking to pass a pro-environment constitutional amendment in November is launching a seven-figure ad campaign on Wednesday focused on how its passage would benefit New York’s drinking water infrastructure.
The group, called the “Vote Yes for Clean Water & Jobs Coalition,” is pushing the Environmental Bond Act which if passed would allow the state to bond up to $4.2 billion dollars for a multi-year investment in capital projects targeting clean water, air, wildlife and the environment.
The debt from the bond act would fund not less than $1.1 billion for restoration and flood risk reduction; up to $650 million for open space land conservation and recreation; not less than $650 million for water quality improvement and infrastructure; and up to $1.5 billion for climate change mitigation. In addition, the state would be required to use 35 percent of the bond act funds for the benefit of”“environmental justice communities.”
The measure is backed by environmental groups seeking to combat climate change, but also building trades unions that are seeking good-paying jobs for their members. The amendment includes a prevailing wage mandate for construction jobs created by the funds. Proponents say the measure would create 84,000 jobs.
Campaign finance records show the nonprofit backing the constitutional amendment has raised $1.7 million so far this year. Its biggest donors this year have been The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental organization that has given $564,000. and Scenic Hudson, Inc., which has given $311,000.
The coalition consists of over 200 organizations, including business groups the Association for a Better New York and the General Contractors Association; and labor groups including the umbrella labor organization New York State AFL-CIO and the Construction Trades Council.
The first advertisements funded by the group can be viewed below:
