Each year, Environmental Advocates of New York scores state legislators on their environmental voting records and yesterday, the group
released this year's rankings. The marks are based on legislators' votes on a selection of environmental bills, including fracking moratorium measures, brownfield tax credit reform bills, climate change legislation, and a measure to corral wild boars.
In a press release, the organization said that the Senate had a generally lousy record of dealing with environmental bills, while the Assembly did a much better job. It gave its annual Oil Slick Award to Senate Independent Democratic Conference leader Jeff Klein, saying that "he prevented common-sense legislation from making its way through the legislative process; he refused to stop the rollback of hard-fought protections from coming to the floor; and he voted in support of bad bills." A spokesperson for Klein in turn called EANY and its supporters the
"tea party of the left."
Scores for Rochester-area legislators spanned a broad range, though as a general trend the Democratic representatives scored higher than the Republicans. Scores in the Senate were generally lower in the Assembly — most likely a reflection of the legislation taken up by the chambers' leaders. And Assembly member Bill Nojay, a Republican, appears to have scored lower than any other member of his chamber — he received 25 points out of a possible 100.
Other local scores:
- Democratic Assembly member Harry Bronson scored 100;
- Democratic Assembly member David Gantt scored 100;
- Republican Assembly member Stephen Hawley scored 37;
- Republican Assembly member Mark Johns scored 80 (it's worth noting that he bucked other Republicans to back a solar bill and a fracking moratorium);
- Democratic Assembly majority leader Joe Morelle scored 100;
- Republican Assembly member Bill Reilich scored 44;
- Republican Senator Patrick Gallivan scored 42;
- Democratic Senator Ted O'Brien scored 59;
- Republican Senator George Maziarz scored 42;
- Republican Senator Michael Nozzolio scored 39;
- Republican Senator Michael Ranzenhofer's score couldn't be calculated;
- Republican Senator Joe Robach scored 47.