The New York State Assembly passed the Environmental Community Right to Know Act of 2005 (A. 1952) on June 4. The bill would create a single location online for the public to access and search all environmental information collected by the state on hazardous substances released into the environment. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation already collects enormous amounts of data on the release of hazardous materials through permits, pollution monitors, and facility reporting. The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Ryan Scott Karben along with over 30 cosponsors, would require the agency to compile that information and make it searchable online. This new resource would give citizens more complete pollution profiles of companies, industries, and geographic areas. Currently New York, like most states, has several laws and regulations addressing environmental protection, resulting in many different databases containing information collected in different formats and at different times. Therefore, a state resident would find it nearly impossible to track all types and amounts of pollution produced by a factory in his or her community. The Environmental Community Right to Know Act of 2005 seeks to overcome this problem by pulling data from different locations and formats into an easily searchable public database. While the bill will not require the collection of any new information, it would provide the public with a new level of access to the environmental information already being collected. State Senator Charles Fuschillo (8th Senate District) has introduced the bill (S. 1773) to the New York Senate, and lawmakers are hopeful that it will pass before the end of the legislative session.