Senator Thompson’s Green Roofs And BPA Bills Reported Out From The Senate Environmental Conservation Committee

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Contact: Heather Zeisz | zeisz@senate.state.ny.us | 716.854.8705
Rashied McDuffie | rashied_mcduffie@yahoo.com | 518.455.3371

Albany, NY- On February 2, 2010, two bills sponsored by New York State Senator Antoine M. Thompson (D-Parts of Erie & Niagara Counties), were reported out of the Senate Standing Committee on  Environmental Conservation.  Senate bill S2763-A encourages the development and installation of green roofs and S3296F bans the toxic chemical BPA in baby bottles, sippy cups and pacifiers.  These bills have been duel referenced to the Finance & Codes committees for consideration. Senator Thompson intends to aggressively move these bills and include them in our Earth Day Celebration in April.

The Green Roofs Act (S2763-A) establishes a green roof installation credit in the amount of fifty-five percent of qualified expenditures up to a maximum of five thousand dollars.  Green roofs can reduce the costs of heating and cooling a building and reduce water runoff.  Senator Thompson noted that” Green roofs are an important tool in decreasing water runoff.  Urban areas face enormous expenses from mandates to stop combined sewer overflows which contaminate our rivers, streams and lakes.  We must capitalize and take advantage of all opportunities that promote green infrastructure, such as green roofs, and provide a cost effective way of resolving a water contamination issues.”

The "Bisphenol A-Free Children and Babies Act" (3296-F) prohibits the manufacture, distribution and sale of unfilled beverage containers containing bisphenol A (BPA) in products designed for use by children, such as baby bottles, sippy cups and pacifiers.  BPA has been linked to a number of common ailments, including heart disease, immune system disruption, brain deterioration, type-2 diabetes, cancer and obesity. Research studies have found that because of greater exposure and reduced capacity to metabolize BPA babies have up to eleven times higher levels of BPA in their bodies than do adults.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken the position that recent studies provide reason for some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children. 

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