Bill Text: NY A04056 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Creates climate liability for fossil fuel related activity which caused or contributed to climate change; creates a right of action.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-11 - print number 4056a [A04056 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A04056-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Creates climate liability for fossil fuel related activity which caused or contributed to climate change; creates a right of action.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-11 - print number 4056a [A04056 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A04056-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4056 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 9, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to creating climate negligence for dangers to safety and health caused by certain fossil fuel related activities The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The legislature finds that the consequences of a changing 2 climate directly impact New York state. Around the world thousands of 3 scientific studies have documented changes in air and water temper- 4 atures, melting glaciers, diminishing snow cover, shrinking sea ice, 5 rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and increasing atmospheric water 6 vapor. Warming trends and incidences of intense heat waves will 7 contribute to greater localized heat stresses; heavy rainfall events 8 that exacerbate localized flooding will continue to impact food 9 production, natural ecosystems, and water resources; and sea-level rise 10 will increasingly threaten sensitive coastal communities and ecosystems. 11 Climate change is adversely affecting New York's economic well-being, 12 public health, natural resources, and environment. 13 To achieve the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community 14 Protection Act (hereinafter the "Climate Act") that include 70% renewa- 15 ble electricity by 2030, 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040, a 40% 16 reduction in statewide GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 2030, an 85% 17 reduction in statewide GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 2050, and net 18 zero emissions statewide by 2050, the New York State Climate Action 19 Council (the "Council") determined in its Scoping Plan for the Climate 20 Act that "[i]t is imperative that New York take immediate action to 21 aggressively reduce GHG emissions as well as invest in resiliency meas- 22 ures." The cost of not taking immediate and aggressive action, according 23 to the Council, is approximately $115 billion dollars. 24 The public health impacts of GHG and co-pollutant emissions are simi- 25 larly devastating. Increased heat stress (such as heat edema, heat 26 stroke, heat cramps, heat stress, and dehydration) and other heat-relat- 27 ed morbidity and mortality; exacerbation of respiratory conditions EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01983-01-3A. 4056 2 1 (including pneumonia, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) 2 and cardiovascular disease; increased duration and severity of allergy 3 symptoms due to increased duration and intensity of pollen season; 4 increased risk for vector-borne diseases (such as Lyme disease, West 5 Nile virus, and other pathogens); increased risk of injury and death 6 following extreme precipitation events and flooding (or, conversely, 7 after droughts); rising sea levels that threaten infrastructure; the 8 saltwater intrusion of the State's groundwater resources (which may 9 impact drinking water supplies); and poor indoor air quality (such as 10 mold and moisture) are just some of those impacts. Additionally, 11 climate-driven impacts are magnified in New York's historically margi- 12 nalized communities that have been disproportionately affected by and 13 are on the front lines of climate change. 14 The legislature finds that the New York Constitution grants every New 15 Yorker the right to mitigate these impacts. Article I, Section 19 of 16 the New York State Constitution reads: "Each person shall have a right 17 to clean air and water, and a healthful environment." Overwhelmingly 18 approved by the voters in 2021, this "green amendment" to our constitu- 19 tion placed a right to a healthful environment alongside the freedom of 20 speech, religion, and property in our Bill of Rights. As such, every 21 New Yorker should have the tools to best utilize that right. This bill 22 seeks to provide them with at least one tool. 23 The legislature further finds that the fossil fuel industry has known 24 for decades that their products overwhelmingly contributed to and accel- 25 erated climate change, yet they have - and continue to - lie about this 26 fact to the public. Documents unveiled by litigation and investigative 27 journalists demonstrate that as early as the 1950s, the industry became 28 aware of the potentially catastrophic impact of its products and even in 29 the face of scientific consensus shortly thereafter and research 30 conducted by their own scientists affirming the impacts of their busi- 31 ness, the industry outright denied that climate change was real, spread 32 disinformation to cast doubt on the science, dismissed regulatory action 33 as insufficient (after no longer being able to deny climate change 34 outright), and currently advertise "green" efforts to the public that 35 mask the industry's lack of real investment in resiliency and energy- 36 source transition. A December 2022 report by the Oversight Committee in 37 Congress also revealed internal documents from senior leaders in the 38 industry where, among other things, they explicitly reject taking 39 accountability for the emissions of their products. 40 By conduct and impact, the industry has intentionally obfuscated the 41 truth about climate change and outright deceived the public in order to 42 continue dependence on their products. The legislature finds that this 43 conduct and the subsequent impact on the public is not political speech, 44 but fundamentally commercial activity with incidental political impact. 45 We also find this conduct to be a substantial factor in affecting the 46 public's perception of the threat of climate change, scientific consen- 47 sus notwithstanding. 48 New Yorkers should have the ability to hold those responsible for 49 climate change accountable for their deceptive practices and the cata- 50 clysmic impacts these practices have yielded. This bill seeks to provide 51 them with that opportunity. 52 § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new article 20-B 53 to read as follows: 54 ARTICLE 20-B 55 FOSSIL FUEL RELATED ACTIVITIES 56 Section 328. Definitions.A. 4056 3 1 328-a. Fossil fuel industry member obligations. 2 328-b. Climate negligence. 3 328-c. Governmental enforcement prohibited. 4 328-d. Private right of action. 5 § 328. Definitions. For purposes of this article, the following terms 6 shall have the following meanings: 7 1. "Fossil fuel industry member" shall mean a person, firm, corpo- 8 ration, company, partnership, society, joint stock company or any other 9 entity or association with total annual revenues in excess of one 10 billion dollars engaged in extracting, storing, transporting, refining, 11 importing, exporting, producing, manufacturing, distributing, compound- 12 ing, marketing, or offering for wholesale or retail sale, a qualified 13 product. 14 2. "Qualified product" shall mean a fossil fuel product including, but 15 not limited to: 16 (a) crude petroleum oil and all other hydrocarbons, regardless of 17 gravity, that are produced at the wellhead in liquid form by ordinary 18 production methods. 19 (b) natural, manufactured, mixed, and byproduct hydrocarbon gas. 20 (c) refined crude oil, crude tops, topped crude, processed crude, 21 processed crude petroleum, residue from crude petroleum, cracking stock, 22 uncracked fuel oil, fuel oil, treated crude oil, residuum, gas oil, 23 casinghead gasoline, natural-gas gasoline, kerosene, benzine, wash oil, 24 waste oil, blended gasoline, lubricating oil, and blends or mixtures of 25 oil with one or more liquid products or byproducts derived from oil or 26 gas. 27 (d) any physical waste generated in the extracting, storing, trans- 28 porting, refining, importing, producing, manufacturing, distributing, or 29 compounding a qualified product defined in paragraphs (a), (b), and/or 30 (c) of this subdivision which contains or is contaminated by any quali- 31 fied product defined in paragraphs (a), (b), and/or (c) of this subdivi- 32 sion or any substance appearing on a list within regulations promulgated 33 by the department of environmental conservation pursuant to section 34 37-0101 of the environmental conservation law. 35 3. "Reasonable controls and procedures" shall mean policies that 36 include, but are not limited to: (a) instituting business practices to 37 prevent pollution in New York state, including but not limited to the 38 release of greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change and emis- 39 sions which contribute to adverse health impacts; and (b) preventing 40 deceptive acts and practices and false advertising and otherwise ensur- 41 ing compliance with all provisions of article twenty-two-A of this chap- 42 ter. Acts or practices related to environmental commitment, performance, 43 or sustainability shall also be subject to this subdivision and shall be 44 clear, objective, and verifiable. The net impression of such acts and 45 practices shall not mislead a reasonable person about the fossil fuel 46 industry member's environmental commitment, performance, or sustainabil- 47 ity. This subdivision may not be construed to impose liability on any 48 speech or conduct protected by the first amendment of the United States 49 Constitution, as made applicable to the states through the United States 50 Supreme Court's interpretation of the fourteenth amendment of the United 51 States Constitution. 52 4. The terms "knowingly" and "recklessly" shall have the same meaning 53 as defined in section 15.05 of the penal law. 54 5. "Deceptive acts or practices" shall mean those acts and practices 55 which are unlawful pursuant to article twenty-two-A of this chapter.A. 4056 4 1 6. "False advertising" shall have the same meaning as defined in arti- 2 cle twenty-two-A of this chapter. 3 § 328-a. Fossil fuel industry member obligations. 1. No fossil fuel 4 industry member shall knowingly or recklessly create, maintain or 5 contribute to a condition in New York state that endangers the safety or 6 health of the public, whether directly or indirectly, through extract- 7 ing, storing, transporting, refining, importing, exporting, producing, 8 manufacturing, distributing, compounding, marketing, or offering for 9 wholesale or retail sale, a qualified product. 10 2. Each fossil fuel industry member in New York state shall establish 11 and utilize reasonable controls and procedures to prevent its qualified 12 products from creating, maintaining or contributing, whether directly or 13 indirectly, to a condition in New York state that endangers the safety 14 or health of the public including, but not limited to, climate change. 15 § 328-b. Climate negligence. 1. A violation of section three hundred 16 twenty-eight-a of this article is hereby declared to be a climate negli- 17 gence. 18 2. Any harm caused by an action taken by a fossil fuel industry member 19 shall be deemed climate negligence regardless of when the underlying 20 conduct creating the nuisance occurred. 21 § 328-c. Governmental enforcement prohibited. Whenever there shall be 22 a violation of this article, no person or entity acting on behalf of the 23 state or any political subdivision thereof may bring, or intervene in, 24 an action in any court to enjoin and/or restrain such violation or to 25 obtain restitution or damages under this article. This section shall not 26 prohibit any person or entity, including a person or entity acting on 27 behalf of the state or any political subdivision thereof, from bringing 28 an action under any other provision of law nor shall it prohibit any 29 person or entity acting on behalf of the state or any political subdivi- 30 sion thereof from filing an amicus curiae brief in an action involving 31 an alleged violation of this article. 32 § 328-d. Private right of action. Except as described in section three 33 hundred twenty-eight-c of this article, any person, firm, corporation or 34 association that has been damaged as a result of a fossil fuel industry 35 member's acts or omissions in violation of this article shall be enti- 36 tled to bring an action for recovery of damages or to enforce this arti- 37 cle in: 38 1. the county in which all or a substantial part of the events or 39 omissions giving rise to the claim occurred; 40 2. the county of residence for any one of the natural person defend- 41 ants at the time the cause of action accrued; 42 3. the county of the principal office in this state of any one of the 43 defendants that is not a natural person; or 44 4. the county of residence for the claimant if the claimant is a 45 natural person residing in this state. 46 § 3. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, 47 section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent 48 jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or 49 invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation 50 to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof 51 directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have 52 been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature 53 that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions 54 had not been included herein. 55 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
