S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         4949
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   February 9, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. O'DONNELL, ENGLEBRIGHT, PAULIN, LIFTON, SCHIMEL,
         COLTON, GOTTFRIED, ABINANTI, PEOPLES-STOKES, TITONE, SKOUFIS, STECK --
         Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN, CLARK, COOK, DINOWITZ,  GALEF,
         GLICK,  HOOPER, PERRY, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Commit-
         tee on Environmental Conservation
       AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
         enacting the environmental access to justice act
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as  the  "environ-
    2  mental access to justice act".
    3    S  2.  The  environmental  conservation law is amended by adding a new
    4  section 8-0119 to read as follows:
    5  S 8-0119. STANDING.
    6    IF A PERSON INSTITUTES A PROCEEDING UNDER ARTICLE SEVENTY-EIGHT OF THE
    7  CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES ALLEGING VIOLATIONS OF THIS  ARTICLE,  SUCH
    8  PERSON SHALL NOT BE DENIED STANDING SOLELY ON THE GROUNDS THAT THE INJU-
    9  RY  ALLEGED  BY  SUCH  PERSON DOES NOT DIFFER IN KIND OR DEGREE FROM THE
   10  INJURY THAT WOULD BE SUFFERED BY THE PUBLIC AT LARGE.
   11    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD00456-01-5