12 November 2020

The latest issue of High Road Policy draws on the work of prominent racial equity scholars and activists to outline a framework for transforming New York State (NYS) government into an engine of racial equity and social justice. The three essential pillars of that framework include: (1) establishing a statewide office of racial equity and social justice; (2) empowering that office to oversee deeply inclusive, participatory processes that lead to a statewide vision and strategic action plan for racial equity and social justice; and (3) adopting equity tools, such as requirements for equity impact analyses (EIA), that facilitate the implementation of that vision. Two proposals that were introduced to the NYS Assembly in the 2019-20 legislative session contain many of the blueprints for building this infrastructure. High Road Policy Vol. 1 Memo No. 3 introduces readers to those proposals, unpacks their essential provisions and how they connect to one another, identifies opportunities to modify the bills so they better reinforce one another, and illustrates how existing NYS environmental laws and regulations offer a clear precedent and model for moving both bills forward and radically transforming NYS government for racial equity and social justice. Click here to access the new issue (opens as a PDF).