STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1466--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 11, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL, RICHARDSON, COLTON, DINOWITZ, GOTTFRIED,
KIM, COOK, DICKENS, SIMON, STIRPE, BARNWELL, CRUZ, L. ROSENTHAL,
WEPRIN, ROZIC, MAMDANI -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. HEVESI, HYND-
MAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations,
Authorities and Commissions -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law and the public service law,
in relation to implementing the "New York State Build Public Renewa-
bles Act"; and to repeal certain provisions of the general business
law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "New York State Build Public Renewables Act".
3 § 2. Section 1005 of the public authorities law is amended by adding
4 nine new subdivisions 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36 to read as
5 follows:
6 28. (a) The authority is authorized and directed to purchase, acquire,
7 plan, design, engineer, finance, construct, operate, manage, improve
8 and/or maintain any renewable energy project. The authority is also
9 authorized and directed to provide energy efficiency, retrofits, high
10 performance/sustainable building, and energy management services.
11 (b) For the purposes of this subdivision and subdivisions twenty-nine,
12 thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five
13 and thirty-six of this section, the following terms shall have the
14 following meanings:
15 (i) "renewable energy" shall be defined as renewable electricity or
16 thermal energy that does not emit greenhouse gases or other pollutants
17 including, but not limited to, photovoltaics (solar), land-based and
18 offshore wind, run-of-the-river and existing New York state hydroelec-
19 tric, geothermal electric, tidal energy, wave energy, battery energy
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05455-09-1
A. 1466--A 2
1 storage systems, pumped hydroelectric energy storage systems, and renew-
2 able thermal energy technology such as solar thermal, air-source and
3 ground-source heat pumps, renewable co-generation, district heating
4 systems, systems designed to capture waste heat, or other heating or
5 cooling technologies using renewable sources of energy that do not emit
6 greenhouse gases or other pollutants, provided, however, that such term
7 shall not include any form of fossil fuels or combustion-based energy
8 which relies upon building new fossil fuel infrastructure or extending
9 the use of fossil fuel infrastructure including, but not limited to,
10 natural gas, green hydrogen fuel, biofuel, biogas, biomass, nuclear,
11 carbon sequestration and renewable natural gas.
12 (ii) "renewable energy project" shall be defined as all infrastructure
13 which generates, stores, distributes or transmits renewable energy or
14 thermal energy as defined in paragraph (i) of this subdivision, and
15 includes the construction, installation and/or operation of ancillary
16 facilities or equipment done in connection with any such renewable ener-
17 gy generating projects, including, but not limited to, electric vehicle
18 charging infrastructure and renewable offshore wind vessels.
19 29. (a) The authority shall have the right of first offer and first
20 refusal to and shall coordinate with the department of state's office of
21 renewable energy siting (ORES) to purchase, acquire, plan, design, engi-
22 neer, finance, construct, operate, manage, improve and/or maintain
23 renewable energy projects over twenty-five megawatts and to own and sell
24 any power or energy created by such renewable energy project. The
25 authority shall have sixty days to commit to a project. The authority
26 shall also have the right of first offer and first refusal to purchase
27 planned, future, and existing renewable energy projects.
28 (b) Where a renewable energy site appropriate for New York state falls
29 into federal jurisdiction, the authority shall participate in lease
30 auctions in an attempt to obtain ownership of that area.
31 30. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to, on or after Janu-
32 ary first, two thousand twenty-five, only generate and transmit renewa-
33 ble energy and the authority shall only purchase, acquire, plan, design,
34 engineer, finance, construct, operate, manage, improve and/or maintain
35 generation and transmission facilities for the purpose of generating,
36 storing, distributing and transmitting renewable energy. The authority
37 shall phase out its use of existing non-renewable generation as quickly
38 as possible but no later than December thirtieth, two thousand twenty-
39 five, as it scales up renewable energy generation to meet one hundred
40 percent of all state and municipal energy needs and the energy needs of
41 all public and private buildings and properties powered by the authority
42 with renewable energy by two thousand twenty-six, and it shall not
43 purchase, plan, finance, or construct any new generation project or
44 energy infrastructure which is not a renewable energy project or part of
45 a renewable energy project. Renewable energy sources which prioritize
46 projects that actively benefit environmental justice communities and
47 ecosystems, and which have the lowest financial costs, will be prior-
48 itized through a process to be determined by local community groups and
49 environmental experts. The authority will also convert all state and
50 municipal properties and authority powered privately owned buildings to
51 receive heating and cooling from renewable energy sources by two thou-
52 sand thirty.
53 31. (a) Within two years of the effective date of this subdivision,
54 the authority shall make public a ten-year climate and resiliency plan.
55 Such climate and resiliency plan shall be designed to minimize the costs
56 to ratepayers while balancing the interests of employees, grid reliabil-
A. 1466--A 3
1 ity and resiliency, environmental justice communities and the environ-
2 ment. Such plan shall be developed in consultation with the New York
3 state independent system operator, the New York state energy
4 research and development authority, and experts, environmental justice
5 communities, ratepayers and community organizations via the New York
6 state energy research and development authority's community energy
7 hubs. Such resiliency plan shall outline the renewable projects the
8 authority plans to build, how the authority plans to phase out non-re-
9 newable assets and how the authority plans to comply with the climate
10 leadership and community protection act and the renewable energy targets
11 outlined in this subdivision and subdivisions twenty-nine, thirty and
12 thirty-two of this section. The authority shall also outline a plan to
13 improve energy resiliency and if necessary to meet the authority's
14 renewable energy targets, shall coordinate with the New York state inde-
15 pendent system operator to re-adjust the locational capacity require-
16 ments for each region in the state. Additionally, within two years of
17 the effective date of this subdivision, the authority shall make public
18 a democratization plan. Such plan shall be fully funded, created in
19 partnership and codesigned with the NY Energy Democracy Alliance and
20 shall ensure the scale up of renewable build out across the state occurs
21 in line with the principles of energy democracy and transparency.
22 (b) (i) The authority shall hold at least one annual public hearing
23 related to such climate and resiliency plan and may update such plan
24 annually as needed. The hearing shall be publicized in various forms of
25 media, including but not limited to the authority's website, local news-
26 papers and social media platforms, and shall also be accessible via
27 livestream. In advance of such hearing, the authority shall conspicu-
28 ously post written notice of such hearing in all authority facilities
29 and New York state energy research and development authority community
30 energy hubs on a sign posted at each facility entrance and exit used by
31 employees, and shall provide at least two weeks advance notice of such
32 hearing to authority customers by directly communicating such notice to
33 customer phone, email and mailing lists. Public input shall be permit-
34 ted between the hours of 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM. Each speaker shall have at
35 least three minutes to speak, and a remote option shall be provided for
36 submitting comments via video conference, phone, including short message
37 services (SMS) text messages and/or written comment, which shall be read
38 aloud. Provisions for childcare, translation services, American sign
39 language interpretation, closed captioning, and access to accommodations
40 provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act shall be provided upon
41 request.
42 (ii) The authority shall maintain an online suggestion board where the
43 public may submit recommendations to be voted on by other members of the
44 public. The top five suggestions shall be discussed publicly and shall
45 be voted on by the authority's board at the annual public hearing. Other
46 suggestions may be taken into consideration at the board's discretion.
47 All data, meeting minutes, recordings and documents that do not include
48 personal customer information, including but not limited to depreciation
49 schedules, annual financial statements of itemized spending, environ-
50 mental impact statements, cost-benefit analyses, climate and resiliency
51 plans, renewable energy project plans, and annual reports on operations,
52 customer service, reliability, resiliency and sustainability, shall be
53 made available on the authority's website, or otherwise made accessible
54 by the authority upon request. All such records shall be maintained as
55 business records for a minimum of ten years. The state comptroller
56 shall audit the authority at least once every two years until two thou-
A. 1466--A 4
1 sand thirty to ascertain whether the authority is in compliance with the
2 renewable energy targets outlined in this subdivision and subdivisions
3 twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-two and thirty-three of this section and
4 whether the authority's spending and operations are efficient. The most
5 recent comptroller audits shall also be made available on the authori-
6 ty's website, or otherwise made accessible by the authority upon
7 request.
8 (c) (i) The authority shall conduct an energy efficiency and energy
9 audit program to identify public and private buildings most in need of
10 retrofits and efficiency measures. The authority shall hire authority
11 employees to perform energy audits, retrofits and other efficiency
12 programs, such as incentives for energy efficient appliances and
13 induction stoves, as needed, to meet the climate goals outlined in the
14 climate leadership and community protection act, the New York state
15 energy research and development authority, environmental and energy
16 experts, and communities via the New York state energy research and
17 development authority's community energy hubs. The authority shall
18 prioritize public buildings and low-income customers and tenants to
19 receive the benefits of these efficiency programs and retrofits.
20 (ii) The authority or the New York state energy research and develop-
21 ment authority shall annually post and maintain for at least one year on
22 their website, a report evaluating the energy efficiency program,
23 including, but not limited to, the number of customers served by the
24 efficiency program, the customer demographics, the number of retrofits
25 and energy audits performed, the number of jobs created and employee
26 demographics, and the amount of energy and dollars saved as a result of
27 the program.
28 The authority shall also submit an annual report to the governor and
29 to the legislature which shall be made available to the public and shall
30 be subject to open hearings in the legislature. Such report shall
31 include the:
32 (A) Ten year climate and resiliency plan described in paragraph (a) of
33 this subdivision;
34 (B) Amount of energy produced by each facility;
35 (C) Energy transferred between facilities within the authority;
36 (D) Energy transferred outside of the authority for sale;
37 (E) Kilowatt-hour sales by project and by customer;
38 (F) Revenues and costs for each project facility;
39 (G) Accumulated provision for depreciation of each project facility;
40 (H) Financial and operating information of the energy efficiency
41 program; and
42 (I) Enrollment in and effectiveness of renewable energy auto-enroll-
43 ment, retrofit, and energy efficient appliance programs.
44 32. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to be the sole provid-
45 er of electricity and power to all state and municipal owned, leased,
46 controlled, or operated properties that use electricity, including but
47 not limited to all buildings and transportation-related properties such
48 as trains, subways and subway stations, vessels, electrified buses and
49 vehicles, and public or private electric vehicle charging stations.
50 33. (a) To sell or provide renewable energy to end-use customers and
51 CCA communities using the transmission or distribution system of any
52 utility with consolidated billing.
53 (b) Any excess renewable energy produced by the authority and not used
54 or stored by state or municipal owned or leased properties shall be sold
55 directly to end-use customers or CCA's, wholesale, using the trans-
56 mission or distribution system of utilities. This excess energy shall be
A. 1466--A 5
1 sold on an opt-out basis, with automatic enrollment prioritizing low-in-
2 come customers and environmental justice communities.
3 (i) There shall be no electricity rate increase for the first three
4 years following the effective date of this subdivision. After the first
5 three years following the effective date of this subdivision, a progres-
6 sive rate structure based on income and level of energy shall be devel-
7 oped in consultation with the authority and communities via the New York
8 state energy research and development authority's community energy hubs.
9 (ii) The authority shall discourage the shut off of any residential
10 customer's energy for non-payment and shall discourage the charge of
11 punitive late fees by collaborating with distribution companies. The
12 authority shall work with the low income home energy assistance program
13 to assist low-income customers with payment plans and to develop an
14 emergency fund to cover instances of non-payment. Notwithstanding any
15 other provision to the contrary, the authority may impose penalties for
16 large energy users and may incentivize energy conservation with rebates
17 and discounts on energy efficient products, to be determined by the
18 authority's board in consultation with the New York state energy
19 research and development authority.
20 34. (a) There shall be ten "New York state energy research and devel-
21 opment authority community energy hubs", hereinafter community energy
22 hubs, developed and distributed evenly throughout the state. The
23 location and staffing level of the community energy hubs shall be deter-
24 mined by the New York state energy research and development authority in
25 consultation with local communities and environmental and energy
26 experts. The efforts of such community energy hubs shall be centrally
27 coordinated by the authority and the New York state energy research and
28 development authority.
29 (b) The purpose of the community energy hubs shall include, but not be
30 limited to, the following:
31 (i) Assisting residents and businesses to adopt renewable energy and
32 energy efficiency measures through outreach, education, enrollment,
33 intake, referral and project management. Administering and enrolling
34 customers into financial assistance, energy efficiency, and renewable
35 energy programs of the authority and the New York state energy research
36 and development authority.
37 (ii) Planning and using microgrids, battery storage, and decarboniza-
38 tion projects at the level of an individual customer meter or group of
39 meters, where distributed energy resources might be shared locally
40 across multiple customer meters in the same community. The community
41 energy hubs shall also enable the authority to design, finance, procure,
42 install, and own demand-side, behind the meter assets, sited at the
43 customers' property or in the public right of way.
44 (iii) Coordinating the research needs of the New York state energy
45 research and development authority and the authority in partnership with
46 advocacy organizations, environmental justice organizations and univer-
47 sities to assist with scaling up renewable energy and efficiency tech-
48 nologies.
49 (iv) Ensuring that advocacy organizations and environmental justice
50 organizations co-design energy programs, providing their knowledge of
51 local communities and their insight into how energy programs have
52 performed in their community, and receive the necessary financial and
53 technical assistance to meaningfully participate in the co-design proc-
54 ess.
55 (v) Identifying, soliciting, receiving feedback on and addressing
56 concerns about proposals for locations for renewable energy projects in
A. 1466--A 6
1 coordination with the department of state's office of renewable energy
2 siting and local organizations that are accountable to the community,
3 utilizing the same co-design process outlined in subparagraph (iv) of
4 paragraph (b) of this subdivision to assess the energy needs of each
5 community and how such needs interact with the energy needs of the state
6 as a whole.
7 (vi) Performing community outreach and education on energy and
8 climate-related initiatives, and/or supporting local community organiza-
9 tions to perform this outreach and education, including utility
10 proceedings and the power authority of the state of New York's renewable
11 energy enrollment program.
12 (vii) Addressing customer service issues and billing issues for
13 services provided by the New York state energy research and development
14 authority and the authority, including connecting low-income customers
15 with assistance programs such as the low income home energy assistance
16 program, and providing access to language translation services.
17 (c)(i) All community energy hubs shall hold at least one public meet-
18 ing on the new rate design before the new rate design is implemented.
19 Such hubs shall also hold quarterly public meetings where all stakehold-
20 ers, including employees and ratepayers, may provide suggestions for
21 improvements to the programs, investments, technologies, and renewable
22 energy projects of the New York state energy research and development
23 authority and the authority. New York state energy research and develop-
24 ment staff and at least one representative of the authority shall attend
25 such meetings and shall report key findings and recommendations to the
26 authority's board for consideration. All records of public meetings
27 shall be maintained as business records for a minimum of ten years.
28 (ii) Additional issue-based hearings may also be held at the request
29 of any stakeholder, when such stakeholder submits a request with at
30 least one hundred petition signatures. Every public meeting shall be
31 accessible via livestream and shall be held between the hours of 6:00 PM
32 and 9:00 PM. Each speaker shall have at least three minutes to speak,
33 and a remote option shall be provided for submitting comments via video
34 conference, phone, and/or written comment, which shall be read aloud.
35 Provisions for childcare, translation services, American sign language
36 interpretation, closed captioning, and access to accommodations provided
37 by the Americans with Disabilities Act shall be provided upon request.
38 All records of issue-based hearings shall be maintained as business
39 records for a minimum of ten years.
40 (d) The community energy hubs shall be funded through a combination of
41 bonds and revenue from the authority, a portion of rates from the top
42 five-percent earning commercial and industrial customers or any other
43 source of state revenue that is demonstrated to have no impact on low-
44 to-moderate-income New Yorkers. All new renewable projects shall be
45 financed via the following methods: state and municipal bond issuances,
46 available funds from the New York state energy research and development
47 authority and the authority, public banks and participatory budgeting
48 efforts, and/or progressive electric rates.
49 (e) The authority and the New York state energy research and develop-
50 ment authority shall have the power to administer and finance programs
51 for the development, design, installation and provision of financial
52 assistance, with respect to the replacement of refrigerators, dishwash-
53 ers and other appliances with more energy efficient appliances, or the
54 replacement of gas stoves and water heaters with electric or induction
55 appliances, provided that no costs associated with such financial
56 assistance shall be charged to the authority's customers. Financial
A. 1466--A 7
1 assistance shall be repaid to the authority, over a period not to exceed
2 ten years, based on projected savings in energy costs and related costs
3 which accrue to the owner as a result of installing such measures.
4 35. (a) All employees who become unemployed as a result of this subdi-
5 vision, subdivisions twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one,
6 thirty-two, thirty-three, or thirty-four of this section, or as a result
7 of the transition to renewables and implementation of the climate lead-
8 ership and community protection act, including but not limited to nucle-
9 ar, fossil fuel, and ESCO employees, shall be provided with free
10 retraining options to transition to another role, the opportunity to
11 retire early where deemed appropriate by the community energy hubs in
12 consultation with labor unions and employees, or the option for disad-
13 vantaged employees to participate in a paid direct access and training
14 program.
15 (b) There shall be a hiring hall developed within the community energy
16 hubs for the express purpose of hiring and retraining employees for
17 green jobs. Retraining programs may prepare employees to transition to
18 fields including, but not limited to, jobs installing and/or maintaining
19 renewable energy infrastructure, green roofs and green walls, renewable
20 heat pumps, bioswales, restoring wetlands, regenerative agriculture,
21 remediating lead and mold, performing retrofits, providing customer
22 service for the community energy hubs and the authority, and other green
23 jobs which would allow New York to comply with climate laws including
24 the climate mobilization act and the climate leadership and community
25 protection act.
26 (c) Such hiring halls shall also create a community jobs pipeline
27 strategy of engaging low-income communities of color and disconnected
28 employees in the struggle to create an equitable community-controlled
29 green economy. Such hiring halls shall: (i) act as employer of record
30 and recruit, screen and hire employees; (ii) mediate disputes between
31 employees and employers as needed; (iii) administer timesheets, payroll,
32 general liability and worker's compensation insurance as needed; (iv)
33 coordinate free training in both general and specialized credentials;
34 and (v) provide wraparound support for employees, including transporta-
35 tion costs and financial literacy.
36 (d) All new renewable projects owned and operated by the authority and
37 energy efficiency programs owned and operated by the authority shall pay
38 a prevailing wage and shall be subject to project labor agreements.
39 There shall be no emergency strike funds, nor shall there be ratepayer
40 funded management contract negotiation funds; the authority shall at a
41 minimum remain neutral to unionization efforts.
42 36. (a) A labor advisory board shall be established to determine safe-
43 ty and training standards, disaster response measures, guaranteed hours,
44 staffing levels, retraining programs and other labor issues in consulta-
45 tion with the authority's board.
46 (b) The advisory board shall consist of seven members to be elected by
47 all current rank-and-file authority employees and rank-and-file employ-
48 ees of community energy hubs and resulting green job programs, not
49 including any outside private contractors. Members shall serve for a
50 term of two years and may serve until their successors are elected. The
51 members of the board shall receive no compensation for their services
52 but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the
53 performance of their duties as board members.
54 (c) Any labor required to build, design, operate and maintain the
55 authority's renewable energy projects will be performed by authority
A. 1466--A 8
1 employees. All employees, regardless of their union, will be cross-
2 trained and perform both new construction and maintenance work.
3 § 3. Section 349-d of the general business law is REPEALED.
4 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 27 of section 1005 of the public
5 authorities law, as added by section 2 of part LL of chapter 58 of the
6 laws of 2019, is amended and a new subparagraph 3 is added to read as
7 follows:
8 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, as deemed
9 feasible and advisable by the trustees, the authority is authorized to
10 undertake the following actions when it deems it necessary or desirable
11 to address the energy-related needs of any (i) authority customer, (ii)
12 public entity, or (iii) CCA community:
13 (1) (A) supply power and energy procured from competitive market
14 sources to any (i) authority customer, (ii) public entity, or (iii) CCA
15 community through the supply of such products through an [energy
16 services company or other] entity that is authorized by the public
17 service commission to procure and sell energy products to participants
18 of a CCA program[, provided, however, that the authority shall not
19 supply at any point more than a total of four hundred megawatts of power
20 and energy to authority customers and public entities pursuant to the
21 authority of this clause];
22 (B) supply renewable power[,] or energy[, or related credits or attri-
23 butes procured through a competitive process, from competitive market
24 sources, or through negotiation when a competitive procurement is not
25 reasonably feasible and such products can be procured on reasonably
26 competitive terms] to (i) any authority customer, (ii) any public enti-
27 ty, or (iii) any CCA community [through the supply of such products
28 through an energy services company or other entity that is authorized by
29 the public service commission to procure and sell energy products to
30 participants of a CCA program; and];
31 (2) (A) alone or jointly with one or more other entities, finance the
32 development of renewable energy generating projects that are located in
33 the state, including its territorial waters, and/or on property or in
34 waters under the jurisdiction or regulatory authority of the United
35 States, (B) purchase power, energy or related credits or attributes
36 produced from such renewable energy generating projects, and (C) allo-
37 cate and sell any such products to (i) any authority customer, (ii) any
38 public entity, and (iii) any CCA community through [an] a not-for-profit
39 energy services company or other entity that is authorized by the public
40 service commission to procure and sell energy products to participants
41 of a CCA program[, provided that the authority shall not, pursuant to
42 the authority in this subparagraph, finance more than six renewable
43 energy generation projects and have a per-project electric generating
44 capacity in excess of twenty-five megawatts.]; and
45 (3) (A) provide proof that the applicant is a tax exempt non-profit
46 organization described in section 501(c) of the internal revenue code,
47 (B) a corporation established by the state of New York that is wholly
48 owned by a state, county or municipal entity within the state of New
49 York, (C) a public authority established by the state of New York, or
50 (D) an ESCO registered as a tax exempt non-profit organization described
51 in section 501(c) of the internal revenue code, a corporation wholly
52 owned by a federal, state or municipal government, or a public authority
53 established and controlled by a federal, state or municipal government.
54 § 5. Subdivision 5 of section 44 of the public service law, as added
55 by chapter 359 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
A. 1466--A 9
1 5. At least once a year, every utility corporation, not-for-profit
2 energy services company or municipality shall provide its customers with
3 a notice that billing statements are available in large print format.
4 Upon written request by a customer, a utility corporation, not-for-pro-
5 fit energy services company or municipality shall provide the customer's
6 billing statements in the large print format commencing no later than
7 sixty days after the date upon which the request is received by the
8 utility corporation, not-for-profit energy services company or munici-
9 pality. The provisions of this subdivision shall apply only to printed
10 statements. For the purposes of this section, "large print" shall mean a
11 printed font size of sixteen or greater to illuminate billing informa-
12 tion. For the purposes of this section, "not-for-profit energy services
13 company" or "non-for-profit ESCO" shall mean [an] a not-for-profit enti-
14 ty eligible to sell energy services to end-use customers using the tran-
15 smission or distribution system of a utility corporation.
16 § 6. Nothing in this act is intended to limit, impair, or affect the
17 legal authority of the power authority of the state of New York under
18 any other provision of title 1 of article 5 of the public authorities
19 law.
20 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
21 ments to subdivision 27 of section 1005 of the public authorities law
22 made by section four of this act shall not affect the repeal of such
23 subdivision and shall be deemed repealed therewith.