New York A 1686: Enacts the healthy, safe and energy efficient outdoor lighting act to reduce harmful outdoor lighting

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A01686 Summary:

BILL NOA01686 

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORRosenthal (MS)

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COSPNSRPaulin, Lupardo, Otis, Levenberg

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MLTSPNSRDinowitz, Glick

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Add Art 20 §§20-0101 - 20-0113, En Con L; amd §44, Pub Serv L; amd §143, Pub Bldg L

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Enacts the healthy, safe and energy efficient outdoor lighting act to reduce harmful outdoor lighting; sets standards for outdoor lighting; provides for the designation of dark-sky preserves; provides for distribution to customers by electric corporations or municipalities providing electric service of an informational pamphlet relating to outdoor lighting.

Go to top A01686 Actions:

BILL NOA01686 

&nbsp

01/14/2025referred to environmental conservation

01/07/2026referred to environmental conservation

Go to topA01686 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA01686 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA01686 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 1686

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 January 14, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, PAULIN, LUPARDO, OTIS, LEVENBERG --
 Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. DINOWITZ, GLICK -- read once and
 referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation

 AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, the public service
 law and the public buildings law, in relation to enacting the healthy,
 safe and energy efficient outdoor lighting act

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a
 2 new article 20 to read as follows:
 3 ARTICLE 20
 4 HEALTHY, SAFE AND ENERGY EFFICIENT OUTDOOR LIGHTING ACT
 5 Section 20-0101. Legislative findings and policy.
 6 20-0103. Short title.
 7 20-0105. Definitions.
 8 20-0107. Dark-sky preserves.
 9 20-0109. Model comprehensive outdoor lighting ordinance.
 10 20-0111. Informational pamphlet.
 11 20-0113. Applicability.
 12 § 20-0101. Legislative findings and policy.
 13 The legislature finds that careful management of outdoor lighting is
 14 necessary to protect the health, safety, energy security, environment
 15 and general welfare of the people of the state.
 16 Until the end of the nineteenth century, waning daylight brought an
 17 end to many of mankind's activities. This began to change with the
 18 introduction of incandescent lamps, which dramatically increased the
 19 range of pursuits possible after dark. Civic, social, cultural, educa-
 20 tional, and commercial endeavors now go forward with an ease and freedom
 21 unimaginable in earlier times. As the science of lighting evolved,
 22 however, technical advancements gradually outstripped the basic require-
 23 ment of providing adequate illumination for the task at hand. At least

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD04214-01-5

 A. 1686 2

 1 in the case of outdoor lighting, there is now growing recognition that
 2 the consequences are not altogether benign.
 3 Increasing scientific and experiential evidence demonstrates that
 4 misdirected, unshielded, excessive or unnecessary outdoor night lighting
 5 has major detrimental effects. Energy is wasted when illumination is
 6 used excessively and inefficiently, causing unnecessary health-threaten-
 7 ing emissions from burning of fossil fuels. Such emissions also pollute
 8 the state's waters and contribute to global warming.
 9 Because the human eye automatically adjusts to the brightest light in
 10 view, the glare from unshielded or excessively bright outdoor lighting
 11 can actually interfere with the clear perception of other objects in
 12 one's field of vision.
 13 Inappropriate use of outdoor lighting can have a negative impact on
 14 the natural environment, interfering with normal patterns of activity,
 15 behavior and physiology of flora and fauna. Recent research has indi-
 16 cated that exposure to light at night can upset normal human circadian
 17 rhythms, thereby disrupting hormone secretions and weakening the body's
 18 immune system.
 19 In addition, sky glow from unshielded and unnecessary outdoor lighting
 20 thwarts the ages-old human yearning to gaze a