The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
     S. 5308                                                  A. 5902
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                       S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 2, 2021
                                ___________
 
 IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered print-
   ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental
   Conservation
 
 IN  ASSEMBLY  -- Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred
   to the Committee on Environmental Conservation

 AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
   prohibiting the release of balloons
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  Legislative findings. When balloons are released into  our
 airspace,  balloon  debris  is  introduced  into our environment and our
 ecosystem.  Like other plastics, balloon debris takes hundreds of  years
 to degrade, resulting in the lasting and harmful pollution of our water-
 ways,  beaches,  and  environment.  Balloon  debris is also particularly
 harmful   to marine and wildlife,  commonly  causing  injury  and  death
 through  ingestion  and  entanglement.  In addition, balloons can pose a
 significant economic risk to boaters and the fishing industry by causing
 potentially severe damage to boats, while mylar balloons  in  particular
 can  also  threaten  utility  supply. It is necessary to curb the inten-
 tional release of balloons in order to prevent the  wasting  of  natural
 resources, the littering and pollution of our communities and waterways,
 and the unnecessary harming of marine and wildlife.
   §  2.    The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new
 section 11-0331 to read as follows:
 § 11-0331. RELEASE OF CERTAIN BALLOONS PROHIBITED.
   1. NO PERSON SHALL KNOWINGLY RELEASE  OR  INTENTIONALLY  CAUSE  TO  BE
 RELEASED  OUTDOORS  A BALLOON.   FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "BALLOON"
 SHALL REFER TO A FLEXIBLE, NONPOROUS  BAG  MADE  OF  MATERIALS  SUCH  AS
 RUBBER,  LATEX,  POLYCHLOROPRENE  OR  NYLON FABRIC THAT CONTAINS HELIUM,
 HYDROGEN, NITROUS OXIDE, OXYGEN, AIR OR WATER.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD05809-01-1

 S. 5308                             2                            A. 5902
 
   2. THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO:
   (A)  BALLOONS  WHICH  ARE  USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF CARRYING SCIENTIFIC
 INSTRUMENTATION DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF AN EXPERIMENT OR TEST OR BY  A
 PERSON  ON BEHALF OF A GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY OR PURSUANT TO A GOVERNMENTAL
 CONTRACT FOR SCIENTIFIC OR METEOROLOGICAL PURPOSES;
   (B) MANNED HOT AIR BALLOONS; OR
   (C) BALLOONS RELEASED INDOORS.
   § 3. Section 71-0923 of the environmental conservation law is  amended
 by adding a new subdivision 13 to read as follows:
   13.  A VIOLATION OF SECTION 11-0331 OF THIS CHAPTER IS PUNISHABLE BY A
 FINE NOT TO EXCEED ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS,  OR  IMPRISONMENT  FOR  FIFTEEN
 DAYS, OR BY BOTH SUCH FINE AND IMPRISONMENT.
   §  4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.