S 5983: Prohibits the application of pesticides to certain local freshwater wetlands for local governments that have implemented a freshwater wetlands protection law; provides that any local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall take effect on the first day of January after it shall have been adopted.

New York · Senate · 2025–2026 Legislative Session · last verified December 6, 2025

What S 5983 does, verified December 6, 2025

The bill aims to prohibit the application of pesticides to certain local freshwater wetlands in New York. A local government can adopt a law or ordinance to restrict pesticide use in wetlands it regulates, except for controlling invasive species, pests of public health importance, noxious weeds, or protecting native plant species. The provisions apply only to wetlands connected to public water sources, and farm operations are exempt from the restrictions. The local law or ordinance must take effect on January 1 after adoption, and the entire bill takes effect 90 days after it becomes a law.

Bill journey

✓IntroducedComplete

✓In CommitteeComplete

✓First Chamber FloorComplete

✓Second ChamberComplete

5GovernorCurrent

6ChapteredPending

Last action: VETOED MEMO.92 (2025-12-05)Alert me

Quick answers about S 5983

What is the current status of S 5983?: As of December 6, 2025, S 5983 is recorded as "Vetoed": it passed both houses but was vetoed by the Governor. The last recorded action, on December 5, 2025, was "VETOED MEMO.92".
Did S 5983 pass?: S 5983 passed both houses, but the Governor vetoed it. A veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in each house, which is rare.
Who wrote S 5983, and where is it now?: S 5983 was authored by Sen. Peter Harckham with 1 coauthor.

Author and sponsors

Sen. Peter HarckhamAuthor · New York State Senate

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Coauthors

Rachel May

Recent actions14 total · showing 5

Dec. 05, 2025	VETOED MEMO.92
Dec. 01, 2025	DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR
Jun. 09, 2025	returned to senate
Jun. 09, 2025	passed assembly
May. 29, 2025	ordered to third reading rules cal.333

Full action history, 9 earlier actionsConnect Plus

Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 4, 2025 · 361 words

    STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5983 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 4, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to prohibiting the application of pesticides to certain local freshwater wetlands The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a 2 new section 24-0513 to read as follows: 3 § 24-0513. Local freshwater wetlands pesticide prohibition. 4 1. A local government that has implemented a freshwater wetlands 5 protection law or ordinance in accordance with section 24-0501 of this 6 title may adopt a local law or ordinance to prohibit the application of 7 pesticides to wetlands it regulates; provided, however, that any such 8 law or ordinance shall not prohibit pesticide applications for the 9 control of invasive species identified pursuant to title 17 of article 9 10 of this chapter, pests of significant public health importance, noxious 11 weeds designated by the department as injurious to ecosystem health, or 12 for the protection of critical native plant species. 13 2. (a) The provisions of this section shall apply only to those 14 wetlands which are hydrologically connected to any reservoir, reservoir 15 stem, class A waterway or other source of public water supply. 16 (b) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prohibit 17 or limit the use or application of pesticides in connection with commer- 18 cial agricultural activities nor to contradict any other provisions of 19 this chapter relating to such use. 20 3. Any local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall 21 take effect on the first day of January after it shall have been 22 adopted. 23 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 24 have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10703-01-5

Text of S 5983 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions