Legislative Gazette, May 3, 2018

Green Party gubernatorial candidate, Howie Hawkins, called Cuomo’s efforts a “publicity stunt,” noting the legislation was introduced the same day climate change activists held a protest at the Capitol urging Cuomo to “Walk the Talk on Climate.”

“While he likes to proclaim himself as a national leader on climate change, he is flooding the state with imported fracked gas, giving billions of dollars to old nukes, and is getting only 3 to 4 percent of the state’s electricity from renewables,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins supports statewide plastic bag ban legislation that couples with a fee on paper bags, similar to legislation in California. He says that the fee is vital to ensure that consumers do not simply turn to paper bags.

“We should be not be harming our environment, spending our tax dollars and littering our communities solely to protect the profits of the plastic industry,” Hawkins said.