Gov. Hochul and the New York State legislature finalized the 2023 New York State budget on Tuesday night. Here is how the budget is addressing climate and environment issues:
Gains
- Cap and invest deal: The original cap and invest plan is not in the budget by name, but the budget has allocated emission allowances revenues to the following: 30% to consumer rebates, 3% to support industrial small businesses, 67% to a dedicated climate investment fund.
- Public renewables: The main components of the Build Public Renewables Act — the New York Power Authority building renewables if private developers don’t meet state targets, labor protections, and phasing out peaker plants by the end of 2030 — are included in the budget. However, reforms that would expand NYPA’s board was left out of the budget.
- Energy affordability: $200 million of relief for utility debt and $200 million for a new EmPower Plus program is included in the budget.
- Fossil fuel phase-out: Starting in 2026, fossil fuels will be banned in new buildings up to 7 stories. For larger buildings, this will take effect in 2029. This will make New York the first state to ban fossil fuels in new buildings.
Losses
- Replacing fossil fuel appliances: The budget excluded the phaseout of fossil fuel appliances in existing homes in 2030. Although this would not have banned gas stoves, this was viewed by opponents as a gas stove ban. In place of this phaseout, the budget included a decarbonization mandate for the 15 state buildings with the highest emissions.
- HEAT Act: The NY-HEAT Act, which planned to regulate the state’s gas system in order to reduce emissions and keep down customer costs, was excluded from the budget.
- Waste Reduction and Recycling: The proposal to address the state’s landfill problem was excluded from the budget.
For more details, and for updates on the other categories — education, health, housing, transportation, taxes and subsidies, and criminal justice — read this New York Focus article: https://nysfocus.com/2023/05/03/new-york-state-budget-2023-finished-hochul
