Affordability argument, lobbying kill major environment bill in closing hours of session

ALBANY — A last-minute push by top lobbyists derailed an expansive measure in the State Legislature last week that would have required companies to reduce excessive packaging, stop using known toxins and harmful plastics in packing and help taxpayers fund recycling.

After sailing through the Senate and Assembly committees, all headed by Democrats, the bill never reached the Assembly floor late Tuesday night on the final day of the legislative session.

"Almost every lobbying firm in Albany had somebody working this," said Assemb. Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan), chairwoman of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee and the bill’s sponsor. "And we’ve never seen the number of people working from outside the state to lobby."

Their argument was that the bill would cost companies money by forcing changes in single-use packaging, which could cost jobs as well as increase prices for New Yorkers. Although supporters of the bill contest that contention, Albany’s political mantra this year has been about "affordability."

"The discussions went up to the last minute, which is not helpful because you always lose people," said Glick, who has been in the Assembly since 1990.

She blamed in part the state budget, which was adopted by Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders more than a month late in May. That shortened the legislative session and compressed the time for discussion in closed-door conferences of Democrats.

"The army of special interest lobbyists overwhelmed the process on the last day," said Judith Enck, president of the Beyond Plastics environmental coalition and former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator. "I counted 20 industry lobbyists lobbying nonstop."

"There is no doubt, this was the most money spent killing a bill all session," Enck said in an interview.

The Commission on Lobbying and Ethics in Government said the packaging bill was already the most lobbied legislative bill of the 2024 session by April.

"It was a wall of lobbyists in blue suits at the end of the session," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group. He has been a watchdog in Albany since 1979.

"This is a clear victory of big money over the public interest," Horner said in an interview. "You get extra packaging the public doesn’t want and has to pay for its disposal. It's a crazy system."

"This is a cautionary tale," Horner said. "Big money won."

Business opposition

The Business Council of New York State, which advocates for companies, "strongly opposed" the bill, according to its memo to legislators. The council called the bill "overly aggressive" and "unworkable" because the deadlines to reduce packaging are unreasonable.

The group also said companies would pass along the costs to consumers. Even some of the state’s most influential unions that usually support Democrats opposed the measure, citing the argument that union jobs could be lost.

But there were other, even bigger players behind the scenes.

State lobbying records show that more than 30 lobbying groups were hired this year to persuade lawmakers on the bill, and almost all of them represented clients opposed to the measure.

The clients included Kraft Heinz Foods, based in Chicago; Shell USA, based in Delaware; Heineken USA of White Plains with its parent company in Holland; the Georgia-Pacific paper products company in Wisconsin; and the Plastics Industry Association in Washington, D.C., according to state lobbying records.

Their effort was backed up by a lot of money and resources, as the bill was opposed by powerful lobbyists in coalitions with uncommon resources for lobbying in Albany.

One of them, the Washington, D.C.-based American Chemistry Council, has contributed $293,500 to state political campaigns since January 2024, when the bill was first introduced, according to state Board of Elections records. The group's IRS tax filing states that it promotes "companies that either produce or sell products of chemistry."

The chemistry group also provided $250,000 to the Jobs New York political action committee, which produces mailings and political ads. Jobs New York also employed the Hamilton Campaign Network, a New York City campaign adviser whose clients include Democrats and Latino candidates in the city, where the top leadership of the Assembly is based.

The American Chemistry Council noted it was joined in opposition to the bill by several labor and business groups that urged greater compromise.

"We look forward to continuing to work with legislators across the state toward a solution that reduces plastic waste without overburdening working families and small businesses,” said Freeman Klopott, spokesman for the council.

Most of the other companies opposing the bill were also significant contributors to state legislative campaigns.

The lobbyists drumming up opposition among Democratic Assembly members involved many former Democratic colleagues, state lobbying records show. They included former Sen. Todd Kaminsky of Long Beach, who was once chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee; former Democratic Sen. Craig Johnson of Port Washington; and Morgan Hook and Peter Kauffmann, longtime top Democratic aides in Albany.

Focus on affordability

The lobbyists’ claims were supported in a May 28 Senate debate.

"I have never received so many letters in opposition in my nine years on this floor," said Sen. Pamela Helming (R-Canandaigua) of the response by businesses.

"What I’m thinking about is every working parent, every family on a tight budget, every single poll that shows over and over again that New Yorkers want us to address affordability," she said. "And they rely on the convenience and affordability of so many of these products that these businesses produce and are going to be banned under this bill."

In the Assembly, Michael Whyland, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, denied that lobbying overran the chamber. He blamed "lazy advocacy" that depended on Heastie, who Whyland said would have voted for the bill, to get it passed.

"Advocates should put in the work to gain the necessary support for their bills," Whyland told Newsday.

Glick has already started.

"We’ll be back next year," she said, planning to build support earlier in that election year. "People can explain to their constituents as they run for reelection whether they are tied to corporate misinformation or concerned about the local government costs of waste disposal and ultimately the cost to public health by not getting rid of some of the toxins and plastic."

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.