Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ecb Amnesty topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Finance committee reviews proposal for 90‑day ECB amnesty to boost compliance
Summary
The City Council Finance Committee heard Department of Finance testimony on a pre‑considered bill to authorize a 90‑day FY2027 Environmental Control Board amnesty program (extendable 90 days) that would reduce certain penalties and waive interest to encourage resolution of outstanding violations.
Majority Leader Sean Abreu, chairing the finance committee, opened a public hearing on a pre‑considered bill that would authorize a temporary Environmental Control Board amnesty and compliance program for fiscal year 2027.
Richard Lee, commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance, testified that the program’s aim is to “encourage the resolution of ECB violations, to increase compliance and collect fines in an area that is difficult for the city to enforce.” He said the program would let eligible judgments resulting from default decisions be resolved by paying the underlying base penalty without default penalties or accrued interest, while eligible adjudicated judgments could be resolved by paying 75% of the imposed penalties. The proposal in the adopted budget includes a $25,000,000 allocation for the program.
DOF officials told the committee the amnesty would run for 90 days in FY2027 with the commissioner able to extend the period for an additional 90 days. Deputy Commissioner Annette Hill gave an approximate implementation target of “beginning of October.” DOF also said certain categories of judgments would be ineligible, including idling violations and matters subject to criminal investigation or sheriff/marshal execution. Commissioner Lee said the program is modeled on prior DOF amnesty efforts and is intended to convert unresolved judgments into compliance.
Committee members asked how the program will be verified and administered; DOF said the issuing agency must certify that required corrections have been made before financial relief is granted. The panel was excused after the administration’s testimony, and the hearing moved to public testimony.
