March 14, 2022
updated May 14th, 2022
In this article, you'll find descriptions of some of the bills we support and are following this legislative session. We've also included whether our representatives, Senator Brouk and Assembly Member Lunsford have co-sponsored them or not.
Note: If they have not co-sponsored the bill, that does not necessarily mean they won't vote for it or that they don't support it. It's also possible that they have co-sponsored the bill but that their names have yet to be added.
We encourage you to contact their offices to ask them to support any of these bills that are important to you. While talking with them, please also thank them for the steps they've taken to support some of these climate-focused pieces of legislation.
District Phone Numbers
Senator Samra Brouk: 585-223-1800
Assembly Member Jen Lunsford: 585-223-9130
Buildings
Co-sponsored by Senator Brouk.
Requires new buildings to have all-electric space and water heating and appliances, except where infeasible technologically. Building permits for new buildings with fossil fuel systems cannot be issued after December 31, 2023. Requires state agencies to identify policies to ensure affordable electricity for all-electric buildings.
Passed the Assembly. Co-sponsored by Assembly Member Lunsford.
Passed the Senate. Senator Brouk Excused.
Saves consumers over a billion dollars by updating appliance efficiency standards to reduce energy use. Authorizes the NYS Codes Council to incorporate greenhouse gas emissions reduction standards into building codes.
Co-sponsored by both Senator Brouk and Assembly Member Lunsford
Requires the Public Service Commission to develop and for utilities to implement a plan for an orderly and equitable transition from gas utilities to renewable heating, cooking, and hot water services. Necessary to stop gas expansion and achieve the state’s climate mandates.
Both bills are co-sponsored by Assembly Member Lunsford
Bills to enact a tax credit for geothermal heat pump systems and exempt the sale of geothermal heat pump systems from sales tax. Necessary to incentivize the most efficient systems for heating and bring heat pump manufacturing and workforce to scale.
Electric Vehicles
Allows for Reimbursement of School Districts for the Purchase or Lease of Electric School Buses (S5268/A6754)
Co-sponsored by both Senator Brouk and Assembly Member Lunsford
Passed the Assembly. Co-sponsored by Assembly Member Lunsford
Passed the Senate. Senator Brouk was excused.
Provides that 100% of in-state sales of new lawn care devices shall be zero-emissions by 2027 (S7462A, no assembly version)
Sustainable Land Use
Passed the Assembly. Co-sponsored by Assembly Member Lunsford
On Senate Floor Calendar.
NY state would commit to the National goal of enabling permanent protections from development of at least 30% of land, inland waters, and ocean areas. This is to slow down our crisis of biodiversity loss and protect the natural carbon sinks that reduce climate change.
Utilizing Pollinator Friendly Road Maintenance Techniques (S4088, no assembly version)
Establishes the utilization of pollinator friendly road maintenance techniques including planting and seeding native, locally appropriate low-mow or no mow grasses and wildflowers, implementing mowing strategies that limit disturbances, minimizing the use of pesticides, and implementing the application of integrated vegetation management.
Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Co-sponsored by Assembly Member Lunsford
This bill signals NY's opposition to fossil fuel development and its support for a climate-healthy future. The Act would eliminate many of the most egregious fossil fuel subsidies from the NYS Tax Code. For example, it would:
End $118 million in Sales and Use Tax exemptions for airline fuels;
Halt $89 million in Sales and Use Tax exemptions for fossil fuels used in research and development and production of tangible personal property in the fossil fuel industry;
Abolish $65 million in Petroleum Business Tax exemptions for liquid petroleum gases such as butane, ethane (used in making plastics), and propane; and
Stop $4 million in Sales and Use Tax exemptions for operating fracked gas infrastructure.
In addition, this bill would limit tax subsidies to fossil fuel-related businesses as part of several economic development programs, specifically the Excelsior Jobs Program, START-UP NY, Investment Tax Credit, Brownfield Redevelopment Tax Credit, Rehabilitation of Historic Properties Tax Credit, qualified emerging technology tax credits, and special tax benefits for qualified New York manufacturers.
Importantly, the bill preserves tax exemptions that help the public, including a home-heating credit that benefits low- to moderate-income households, as well as an agricultural exemption that helps small- to mid-sized farmers.
Banking
Co-sponsored by both Senator Brouk and Assembly Member Lunsford
Every year local governments deposit billions of dollars in Wall Street banks. These are the same banks that invest in fossil fuels, real estate speculation, private prisons, and other destructive industries that disproportionately harm low-income, Black, brown, and immigrant communities.
Through public banking, we can divest from Wall Street and invest in communities. The New York Public Banking Act would create a statewide framework for local public banks, paving the way for democratic financial institutions that invest in community needs, such as renewable energy, permanently-affordable housing, small and worker-owned businesses, equitable banking services, and so much more.
Proof of Work Cryptocurrency Mining
Passed the Assembly.
This would establish a moratorium on consolidated operations that use proof-of-work authentication methods to validate blockchain transactions. See our blog article on the topic.