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Assembly minority warns on CLCPA implementation, renewables siting and electric school bus costs
Summary
Assembly minority representatives criticized aspects of the majority's energy and climate agenda, warned about community impacts from wind and solar projects and called the electric school bus mandate fiscally unrealistic given the majority's proposed funding level.
The Assembly minority used the budget kickoff to press concerns about energy policy, the costs of certain climate mandates and overall state spending.
"The farm labor wage board's decision to lower overtime thresholds to 40 hours threatens the survival of Upstate New York farms... New York State contributes just 3% of the U.S. CO2 emissions and 0.4% of global emissions," said Assembly Member Chris Hague, who urged more scrutiny of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act's costs and benefits. He said residents face "lost farmland, ruined views, and potential environmental hazards from wind and solar projects," language he used to describe constituent concerns about siting.
Hague also criticized the majority's electric school bus mandate as underfunded. He cited an estimate of up to $15 billion for full implementation and said the majority's proposal of $200,000,000 falls short; he called for rescinding the mandate or reallocating resources.
The minority speaker also called for fiscal restraint and said the current legislative proposals have substantially increased the state budget over recent years; those are advocacy positions the minority urged lawmakers to consider during negotiations.
