Senate approves bill to allow transmission and limited green-energy uses on state reforestation lands

The New York State Senate on Feb. 25 approved a bill (Calendar 261, senate print 4408) sponsored by Senator May to amend the Environmental Conservation Law to permit certain green-energy projects and transmission uses across state reforestation areas.

Senator May, the bill’s sponsor, told colleagues the measure is primarily intended to facilitate transmission corridors. "Most of the projects that we imagine will be built under this law would be transmission lines running across state reforestation lands," she said, and described agency negotiations and mitigation as central to the approach. "For any project that might involve cutting down trees, there would be a mitigation plan that will involve planting more trees than the number of trees that were cut down," May said, describing DEC oversight and negotiated terms rather than a fixed monetary formula.

Opponents pressed technical and policy limits. Senator Walsack cited existing Public Lands Law provisions and asked whether historic fees and mining royalties — including a statutory $1-per-tree reference found in older law and a minimum 2% royalty — would apply to solar or wind developers on state lands. Walsack asked whether counties could tax or negotiate PILOTs for facilities sited on those lands; May said production facilities are "likely" to be sited off reforestation parcels and that tax and pilot questions are separate matters for county authorities and project negotiations.

Several senators framed the bill as a tradeoff between climate goals and conservation. Senator Wozzeck urged rejection of the bill in an emotional floor speech, saying, "You are destroying the air to make clean air" and calling for trees to be left intact. Senator Lanza cited an example on Staten Island where forested land was cleared for panels and described that outcome as an "environmental disaster." Others complained that developers pursue the cheapest option and that taxpayer subsidies can drive poor siting choices.

Senator May defended the legislation as necessary to meet the state’s climate objectives, criticized fossil-fuel industry opposition and cited short-term utility savings from behind-the-meter community solar. "This bill could bring our energy costs down while also pushing back against" disinformation, she said.

The Senate restored the measure to the noncontroversial calendar on consent and then voted for passage. The clerk announced the roll-call result as Ayes 54, Nays 13, and the presiding officer declared the bill passed. The bill text, as discussed on the floor, relies on DEC and other agency review for site compatibility and mitigation; the floor exchange left several implementation questions (royalties, county taxation/PILOTs, and exact on-site siting criteria) to future negotiations and agency rulemaking.

What’s next: Passage on the floor moves the measure forward to the usual next steps for enactment and implementation; the floor record shows the Legislature intends DEC and related agencies to play a central role in setting terms for any projects affecting reforestation lands.