Bills moving in the legislature aim to protect ADK land and water

ALBANY | Protect the Adirondacks, Inc. (PROTECT) applauds progress by the State Senate and State Assembly on two bills that will help protect land and water in the Adirondacks. A bill passed June 5 by the State Senate will allow the New York State Attorney General's Office to approve certain state land acquisitions made for the purposes of land conservation, and to accept a title insurance policy from a title company to insure the State against possible defects in the chain of title for the property acquired. A bill passed June 6 by the State Senate and Assembly will require information to be provided to homebuyers about septic system maintenance at the time that a property is sold. The title insurance bill (S.6606A (May)/A.7372A(Thiele)) authorizes the Attorney General's Office to accept title insurance from a title insurance company that has already researched the chain of title for the property being acquired. "Having this authority will accelerate the state's process for conserving land. The acceleration of this process is particularly critical to meet the State's conservation goals as set forth in the 30 by 30 law passed in 2022, as well as to meet the State's goals in the Climate Action Plan and to expend the funds approved by the People in the Environmental Bond Act for the purpose of conserving significantly more lands," said Peter Bauer, Executive Director of Protect the Adirondacks. The septic information bill (S.8506A(Harckham)/A.9330A(Burdick)) requires sellers of property served by a septic system to provide the buyer with a copy of the New York State Department of Health (DOH) pamphlet that educates owners about septic system maintenance. That pamphlet is already required by law for transactions involving the construction of new homes served by septic systems. The bill also requires information about how to obtain the pamphlet online, on the DOH website, to be added to the property condition disclosure statement provided by a seller to a buyer. "This bill is an initial, commonsense approach to raise awareness and educate homeowners about the need to maintain their septic systems to protect public health and the environment," said Claudia Braymer, Deputy Director of Protect the Adirondacks. PROTECT urges the Governor to sign this bill into law.

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Bills moving in the legislature aim to protect ADK land and water

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