New York S 4403: Authorizes the attorney general to approve certain state land acquisitions made for the purposes of land conservation

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
S04403 Summary:

BILL NOS04403 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS A06076

&nbsp

SPONSORMAY

&nbsp

COSPNSRFAHY

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd §3-0305, En Con L; amd §3.17, Pks & Rec L; amd §63, Exec L

&nbsp

Authorizes the attorney general to approve certain state land acquisitions made for the purposes of land conservation, and to accept a title policy from a commercial insurer to cover any title defects that would otherwise render the title unmarketable.

Go to top S04403 Actions:

BILL NOS04403 

&nbsp

02/04/2025REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

06/10/2025COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES

06/10/2025ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1739

06/10/2025PASSED SENATE

06/10/2025DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY

06/10/2025referred to environmental conservation

01/07/2026died in assembly

01/07/2026returned to senate

01/07/2026REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

03/02/2026RECOMMIT, ENACTING CLAUSE STRICKEN

Go to topS04403 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS04403 Floor&nbspVotes:

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

Go to topS04403 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 4403

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 February 4, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation

 AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, the parks, recre-
 ation and historic preservation law and the executive law, in relation
 to authorizing the attorney general to approve certain state land
 acquisitions made for the purposes of land conservation

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

 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and
 2 declares that in order to achieve our state's land protection goals as
 3 promoted in the Climate Action Plan, the "30 by 30" land conservation
 4 law (chapter 747 of the laws of 2022), and the financial commitment
 5 within the 2022 Bond Act, additional measures are needed to accelerate
 6 the process whereby the state acquires land. Specifically, the review
 7 process by the attorney general's office can be streamlined by enabling
 8 the use of title insurance. This will also relieve land trusts of the
 9 financial burden of holding onto land, in trust, for years at a time.
 10 Further, it will reduce the backlog of pending acquisitions that is
 11 unnecessarily jeopardizing the solvency of many of these organizations.
 12 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 3-0305 of the environmental conservation
 13 law, as added by chapter 727 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as
 14 follows:
 15 1. The commissioner when moneys therefor have been appropriated by the
 16 legislature or are otherwise available, may acquire any real property
 17 which [he] such commissioner deems necessary for any of the purposes or
 18 functions of the department, by purchase or as provided in the eminent
 19 domain procedure law. Title to such real property shall be taken in the
 20 name of and be vested in the people of the state of New York. No real
 21 property shall be so acquired by purchase unless the title thereto is
 22 approved by the attorney general. The attorney general may approve any
 23 title where it has determined that the current owner can convey marketa-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD08474-01-5

 S. 4403 2

 1 ble title to the real property. The attorney general may accept from any
 2 reputable commercial insurer, a title policy naming the people of the
 3 state of New York as insured, with such policy to cover any title
 4 defects which would otherwise render the title unmarketable. The terms
 5 "property" or "real property" as used in this section shall mean "real
 6 property" as defined by section one hundred three of the eminent domain
 7 procedure law.
 8 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 3.17 of the parks, recreation and
 9 historic preservation law, as amended by chapter 727 of the laws of
 10 1978, is amended to read as follows:
 11 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commissioner may
 12 acquire such property as may be necessary for the purposes and functions
 13 of the o