Actor Leonardo DiCaprio took to Instagram urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill aimed at limiting the state's impact on climate change.
DiCaprio, who has long been outspoken about addressing climate change, tagged Gov. Hochul in the post to his 62.1 million followers.
"New York is poised to become the first state to use its purchasing power as one of the world’s largest economies to combat climate change and biodiversity loss," DiCaprio wrote on Instagram.
Known to supporters as the Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act, the legislation passed earlier this year would prohibit the state from contracting with companies using tropical hardwoods or products contributing to deforestation. It would also prevent certain products from being sourced at-risk forests and require contractors submit data to the state proving where products originate from.
The bill was delivered to the governor on Dec. 12, giving her until Saturday to sign it. Last-minute negotiations have been taking place on tweaks to the bill, but details on any proposed changes have not been shared publicly.
The state has raised operational concerns from the Office of General Services. Opponents to the bill are worried about impacts on small businesses and increased costs for the state. Others have called for the change to be made at the federal level in order to actually achieve the desired impact.
A similar bill was vetoed in 2021 by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, leaving New York to potentially be the first state to put such policy into law. The European Union recently adopted similar rules which will be fully implemented over the next few years.