STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________

1466--B

2021-2022 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

January 11, 2021 ___________

Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL, COLTON, DINOWITZ, GOTTFRIED, KIM, COOK, DICKENS, SIMON, STIRPE, BARNWELL, CRUZ, L. ROSENTHAL, WEPRIN, ROZIC, MAMDANI, FORREST, GALLAGHER, ANDERSON, EPSTEIN, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, MITAYNES, FRONTUS, JACKSON, BURDICK, WALKER, SILLITTI, ENGLEBRIGHT, J. RIVERA, LAVINE, THIELE, FERNANDEZ, STECK, QUART, CLARK, SEAWRIGHT, DAVILA, RAMOS, BURGOS, PHEFFER AMATO, KELLES, GALEF, SEPTIMO, NIOU, GLICK, EICHENSTEIN, CYMBROWITZ, BURKE, OTIS, SOLAGES, ABINANTI, DILAN, JACOBSON, GIBBS, DE LOS SANTOS, CUNNINGHAM, REYES, TAPIA -- Multi- Sponsored by -- M. of A. HEVESI, HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions -- commit- tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom- mitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Corpo- rations, Authorities and Commissions in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to implementing the "New York State Build Public Renewables Act"

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 twelve new subdivisions 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, and 5 39 to read as 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. 9 (b) For the purposes of this subdivision and subdivisions twenty-nine, 10 thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, 11 thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, and thirty-nine of this section, 12 the following terms shall have the following meanings:

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05455-17-2

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1 (i) "renewable energy" shall be defined as renewable electricity or 2 thermal energy that does not emit greenhouse gases or other pollutants 3 including, but not limited to, photovoltaics (solar), land-based and 4 offshore wind, run-of-the-river and existing New York state hydroelec- 5 tric, geothermal electric, tidal energy, wave energy, battery energy 6 storage systems, pumped hydroelectric energy storage systems, and renew- 7 able thermal energy technology such as solar thermal, air-source and 8 ground-source heat pumps, renewable co-generation, district heating 9 systems, systems designed to capture waste heat, or other heating or 10 cooling technologies using renewable sources of energy that do not emit 11 greenhouse gases or other pollutants; provided, however, that such term 12 shall not include nuclear energy, carbon capture and storage technology, 13 or any form of fossil fuels or combustion-based energy which relies upon 14 building new fossil fuel infrastructure or extending the use of fossil 15 fuel infrastructure including, but not limited to, gas, propane, and 16 oil, or any form of combustion-based energy including, but not limited 17 to any type of hydrogen fuel, including brown, grey, blue, or pink 18 hydrogen, biofuel, biogas, biomass, or renewable natural gas. However, 19 the authority shall be enabled to produce, use, and sell green hydrogen, 20 defined as hydrogen produced through even electrolysis using only one 21 hundred percent renewable energy, for energy storage in a fuel cell as 22 well as hard-to-electrify industrial processes and heavy-duty transport, 23 such as shipping, aviation, and long-distance trucking. However, this 24 green hydrogen shall not be used or sold for the purpose of being 25 combusted, whether in a fossil fuel plant or any other power plant to 26 generate electricity, nor shall it be sold or used for the purpose of 27 heating buildings, cooking, or hot water, as building electrification is 28 a safer, more feasible, and more cost-effective approach to building 29 decarbonization. 30 (ii) "renewable energy project" shall be defined as all infrastructure 31 which generates, stores, distributes or transmits renewable energy or 32 thermal energy as defined in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, and 33 includes the construction, installation and/or operation of ancillary 34 facilities or equipment done in connection with any such renewable ener- 35 gy generating projects, including, but not limited to, electric vehicle 36 charging infrastructure and renewable offshore wind vessels. 37 29. (a) The authority shall have the right of first offer and first 38 refusal to and shall coordinate with the department of state's office of 39 renewable energy siting (ORES) to purchase, acquire, plan, design, engi- 40 neer, finance, construct, operate, manage, improve and/or maintain 41 renewable energy projects over twenty-five megawatts and to own and sell 42 any power or energy created by such renewable energy project. The 43 authority shall have sixty days to commit to a project. The authority 44 shall also have the right of first offer and first refusal to purchase 45 planned, future, and existing renewable energy projects. 46 (b) Where a renewable energy site appropriate for New York state falls 47 into federal jurisdiction, the authority shall participate in lease 48 auctions in an attempt to obtain ownership of that area. 49 30. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to, on or after Janu- 50 ary first, two thousand twenty-five, only generate and transmit renewa- 51 ble energy and the authority shall only purchase, acquire, plan, design, 52 engineer, finance, construct, operate, manage, improve and/or maintain 53 generation and transmission facilities for the purpose of generating, 54 storing, distributing and transmitting renewable energy. The authority 55 shall phase out its use of existing non-renewable generation as quickly 56 as possible but no later than December thirtieth, two thousand twenty-

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1 five, as it scales up renewable energy generation to meet one hundred 2 percent of all state and municipal energy needs and the energy needs of 3 all public and private buildings and properties powered by the authority 4 with renewable energy by two thousand twenty-six, and it shall not 5 purchase, plan, finance, or construct any new generation project or 6 energy infrastructure which is not a renewable energy project or part of 7 a renewable energy project. The authority shall prioritize funding, 8 building, and owning renewable energy projects which: (a) actively bene- 9 fit disadvantaged communities as defined by the climate justice working 10 group; (b) minimize harm to wildlife, ecosystems, public health, and 11 public safety; (c) do not violate Indigenous rights or sovereignty; and 12 (d) which are the most cost-effective to the state according to the best 13 available cost modeling research. The types of renewable energy projects 14 the authority builds shall be determined and prioritized in consultation 15 with community groups, New York state energy research and development 16 authority's regional clean energy hubs, and environmental and energy 17 experts. The authority shall also convert all state and municipal prop- 18 erties and authority powered privately owned buildings to receive heat- 19 ing and cooling from renewable energy sources by two thousand thirty. 20 31. (a) Within two years of the effective date of this subdivision, 21 the authority shall make public a ten-year climate and resiliency plan. 22 Such climate and resiliency plan shall be designed to minimize the costs 23 to ratepayers while balancing the interests of employees, grid reliabil- 24 ity and resiliency, disadvantaged communities as defined by the climate 25 justice working group and the environment. Such plan shall be developed 26 in consultation with the New York state independent system operator, 27 the New York state energy research and development authority, and 28 experts, environmental justice communities, ratepayers and community 29 organizations via the New York state energy research and development 30 authority's regional clean energy hubs. Such resiliency plan shall 31 outline the renewable projects the authority plans to build, how the 32 authority plans to phase out non-renewable assets and how the authority 33 plans to comply with the climate leadership and community protection act 34 and the renewable energy targets outlined in this subdivision and subdi- 35 visions twenty-nine, thirty and thirty-two of this section. The authori- 36 ty shall also outline a plan to improve energy resiliency and if neces- 37 sary to meet the authority's renewable energy targets, shall coordinate 38 with the New York state independent system operator to re-adjust the 39 locational capacity requirements for each region in the state. Addi- 40 tionally, within two years of the effective date of this subdivision, 41 the authority shall make public a democratization plan, with a mandate 42 to implement the plan within two years of its completion. Such plan 43 shall be created in partnership with, and codesigned with, a statewide 44 alliance of community organizations with at least five years' history of 45 working on energy democracy and implementation issues, providing funding 46 for this alliance as necessary for their participation in the completion 47 of the plan. Such plan shall ensure that the scale up of renewable build 48 out across the state occurs in line with the principles of energy democ- 49 racy and transparency. 50 (b) (i) The authority shall hold as many public hearings as is needed 51 to accommodate all who sign up to speak related to such climate and 52 resiliency plan annually, and may update such plan annually as needed. 53 The hearing shall be publicized in various forms of media, including but 54 not limited to the authority's website, local newspapers and social 55 media platforms, and shall also be accessible via livestream. In 56 advance of such hearing, the authority shall conspicuously post written

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1 notice of such hearing in all authority facilities and New York state 2 energy research and development authority New York state energy research 3 and development authority's regional clean energy hubs on a sign posted 4 at each facility entrance and exit used by employees, and shall provide 5 at least two weeks advance notice of such hearing to authority customers 6 by directly communicating such notice to customer phone, email and mail- 7 ing lists. Hearings shall be permitted between 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM and 8 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and the authority shall provide all speakers with 9 the option to sign up to speak within those three hour windows such that 10 no speaker shall wait longer than three hours to speak. All speakers who 11 sign up shall publicly disclose whether they are being paid to speak at 12 the hearing, and if so, who they are being paid by. In addition to oral 13 testimony, written testimony from the public for such hearings shall be 14 accepted by the authority no less than two weeks after each hearing. 15 Each speaker shall have at least three minutes to speak, and a remote 16 option shall be provided for submitting comments via video conference, 17 phone, including short message services (SMS) text messages and/or writ- 18 ten comment, which shall be read aloud. Provisions for childcare, trans- 19 lation services, American sign language interpretation, closed caption- 20 ing, and access to accommodations provided by the Americans with 21 Disabilities Act shall be provided upon request. 22 (ii) The authority shall maintain an online suggestion board where the 23 public may submit recommendations to be voted on by other members of the 24 public. The top five suggestions shall be discussed publicly and shall 25 be voted on by the authority's board at the annual public hearing. Other 26 suggestions may be taken into consideration at the board's discretion. 27 All data, meeting minutes, recordings and documents that do not include 28 personal customer information, including but not limited to depreciation 29 schedules, annual financial statements of itemized spending, environ- 30 mental impact statements, cost-benefit analyses, climate and resiliency 31 plans, renewable energy project plans, and annual reports on operations, 32 customer service, reliability, resiliency and sustainability, shall be 33 made available on the authority's website, or otherwise made accessible 34 by the authority upon request. All such records shall be maintained as 35 business records for a minimum of ten years. The state comptroller 36 shall audit the authority at least once every two years until two thou- 37 sand thirty to ascertain whether the authority is in compliance with the 38 renewable energy targets outlined in this subdivision and subdivisions 39 twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-two and thirty-three of this section and 40 whether the authority's spending and operations are efficient. The most 41 recent comptroller audits shall also be made available on the authori- 42 ty's website, or otherwise made accessible by the authority upon 43 request. 44 (c) (i) The authority shall conduct an energy efficiency and energy 45 audit program to identify public and private buildings most in need of 46 retrofits and efficiency measures. The authority shall hire authority 47 employees or contractors to perform energy audits, retrofits and other 48 efficiency programs for these buildings, such as incentives for energy 49 efficient appliances and induction stoves, as needed, to meet the 50 climate goals outlined in the climate leadership and community 51 protection act. The authority shall prioritize public buildings and 52 low-income customers and tenants to receive the benefits of these effi- 53 ciency programs and retrofits. If the buildings selected for this 54 program need mold remediation measures or lead abatement measures to be 55 carried out before energy efficiency measures can be safely implemented,

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1 the authority shall also hire employees or contractors to perform lead 2 abatement measures and/or mold remediation measures for these buildings. 3 (ii) The authority or the New York state energy research and develop- 4 ment authority shall annually post and maintain for at least one year on 5 their website, a report evaluating the energy efficiency program, 6 including, but not limited to, the number of customers served by the 7 efficiency program, the customer demographics, the number of retrofits 8 and energy audits performed, the number of jobs created and employee 9 demographics, and the amount of energy and dollars saved as a result of 10 the program. 11 The authority shall also submit an annual report to the governor and 12 to the legislature which shall be made available to the public and shall 13 be subject to open hearings in the legislature. Such report shall 14 include the: 15 (A) Ten year climate and resiliency plan described in paragraph (a) of 16 this subdivision; 17 (B) Amount of energy produced by each facility; 18 (C) Energy transferred between facilities within the authority; 19 (D) Energy transferred outside of the authority for sale; 20 (E) Kilowatt-hour sales by project and by customer; 21 (F) Revenues and costs for each project facility; 22 (G) Accumulated provision for depreciation of each project facility; 23 (H) Financial and operating information of the energy efficiency 24 program; and 25 (I) Enrollment in and effectiveness of renewable energy auto-enroll- 26 ment, retrofit, and energy efficient appliance programs. 27 32. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including existing 28 electric vehicle charging stations and opt out provisions of CCAs, to be 29 the sole provider of electricity and power to all state and municipal 30 owned, leased, controlled, or operated properties that use electricity, 31 including but not limited to all buildings and transportation-related 32 properties such as trains, subways and subway stations, vessels, elec- 33 trified buses and vehicles, and public or private electric vehicle 34 charging stations. 35 33. (a) To sell or provide renewable energy to end-use customers and 36 CCA communities using the transmission or distribution system of any 37 utility with consolidated billing. Any excess renewable energy produced 38 by the authority and not used or stored by state or municipal owned or 39 leased properties shall be sold directly to end-use customers or CCA's, 40 wholesale, using utility's transmission or distribution systems. The 41 authority shall sell this energy, in order of lowest cost to highest 42 cost, with the exception of current and future ReCharge NY recipients, 43 to low-to-moderate income households or households that have an energy 44 burden greater than four percent of their annual income first; followed 45 by state or municipal owned or leased properties; followed by customers 46 who have installed electric heat pumps; followed by other residential 47 customers; followed by other commercial and industrial customers. This 48 subdivision shall not interfere with the authority's existing ReCharge 49 program. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "low-to-moderate 50 income households" shall mean households with annual incomes at or below 51 eighty percent of the area median income of the county or metro area 52 where they reside. 53 (b) There shall be no electricity rate increase for the first three 54 years following the effective date of this subdivision. After the first 55 three years following the effective date of this subdivision, a progres- 56 sive rate structure based on income and level of energy shall be devel-

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1 oped in consultation with the authority and communities via the New York 2 state energy research and development authority's regional clean energy 3 hubs. 4 (c) The authority shall discourage the shut off of any residential 5 customer's energy for non-payment and shall discourage the charge of 6 punitive late fees by collaborating with distribution companies. The 7 authority shall work with the low income home energy assistance program 8 to assist low-income customers with payment plans and to develop an 9 emergency fund to cover instances of non-payment. Notwithstanding any 10 other provision to the contrary, the authority may impose penalties for 11 large energy users and may incentivize energy conservation with rebates 12 and discounts on energy efficient products, to be determined by the 13 authority's board in consultation with the New York state energy 14 research and development authority. 15 (d) The authority is authorized to sell up to thirty percent of the 16 electricity that it provides to residential and commercial customers to 17 customers of the long island power authority, established under title 18 one-A of this article, and the long island power authority is authorized 19 to purchase this power. 20 34. All new renewable projects designed, built, owned and operated by 21 the authority and energy efficiency programs designed, built, owned and 22 operated by the authority shall pay a prevailing wage and shall be 23 subject to project labor agreements. These prevailing wage and project 24 labor agreement provisions shall apply both to the authority's employees 25 and to contractors hired for the construction and operation of these 26 projects. There shall be no emergency strike funds, nor shall there be 27 ratepayer funded management contract negotiation funds; the authority 28 and its contractors and subcontractors shall at a minimum remain neutral 29 to unionization efforts. Furthermore, the authority shall contribute to 30 a just transition fund, which shall make funding available for workers 31 who lose jobs as a result of these measures, provided that this funding 32 is used for retraining for other roles or used to contribute to the 33 retirement of these workers. This fund and a just transition plan for 34 any fossil fuel, nuclear, energy service company, or other employees who 35 lose their jobs as a result of this bill or as a result of the transi- 36 tion to renewables, shall be developed by the authority in consultation 37 with labor unions and impacted employees. 38 35. (a) The authority shall partner with both the office of renewable 39 energy siting and the New York state energy research and development 40 authority's regional clean energy hubs to determine siting of large 41 scale renewable and distributed renewable projects, prioritizing: 42 (i) the preferences of, land rights of, and benefits to indigenous 43 nations; 44 (ii) preferences of and benefits to disadvantaged communities; and 45 (iii) overall cost optimization of distributed generation resources 46 for the state overall as demonstrated by the most recent and detailed 47 available energy modeling. 48 36. The authority shall, when feasible, prioritize projects that make 49 a good faith effort to source materials manufactured within the state, 50 including, but not limited to, solar panels and batteries. 51 37. The authority shall work with existing workforce development 52 programs, union apprenticeship programs, and regional community energy 53 hubs to publish a report on the ways that the construction of renewable 54 projects can best support the development of skilled, well paid local 55 workforces in the renewable energy sector, and shall provide financial 56 support for pre-apprenticeship programs through local community based

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1 organizations that work with disadvantaged communities where this 2 support is found to be necessary to the effective development of this 3 workforce according to the report. 4 38. The authority shall support the bundling of distributed renewable 5 energy projects wherever possible to exceed the five megawatt project 6 threshold that ensures prevailing wage under current law. 7 39. For energy projects that the authority builds on properties of the 8 New York city housing authority, including heat pump installations, 9 retrofits, weatherization measures, and lead, mold, and asbestos remedi- 10 ation, both the authority and its contractors shall prioritize hiring 11 residents of these properties, provided that residents meet consider- 12 ations of availability, skill level and training, and that residents 13 want those jobs. If they do, the authority must connect those residents 14 with training or union apprenticeship opportunities that would prepare 15 them for long-term careers in those industries. No provisions of this 16 subdivision shall alter the status of any Section 9 housing. The author- 17 ity shall consult the residents or occupants of all public buildings 18 where the authority is building projects to assess their needs and mini- 19 mize disruption, nuisance, public health risks, and displacement during 20 any remediation, retrofit, weatherization, heat pump installations, or 21 other construction the authority or its contractors perform. 22 § 3. Section 1003 of the public authorities law, as amended by chapter 23 766 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows: 24 § 1003. Trustees. 1. The authority shall consist of [seven] seventeen 25 trustees, five of whom shall serve respectively for terms of one, two, 26 three, four and five years, to be appointed by the governor, by and with 27 the advice and consent of the senate. The sixth and seventh trustees 28 shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent 29 of the senate, and shall serve initial terms of one and two years 30 respectively. All other trustees shall be appointed by the regional 31 clean energy hubs and community organizations from across New York 32 State, and shall include: (a) two who are representative of the labor 33 unions that represent employees of the authority; (b) two with a back- 34 ground primarily in environmental justice advocacy; (c) two with a back- 35 ground primarily in community renewable energy advocacy; (d) two with a 36 background in consumer advocacy; (e) two with building electrification 37 expertise; and (f) two with energy efficiency expertise. No person shall 38 be a trustee of the authority who has a provable conflict of interest 39 with the authority's mission to provide low cost renewable energy. Each 40 trustee shall hold office until a successor has been appointed and qual- 41 ified or until removed by a majority vote of the legislature or the 42 governor. At the expiration of the term of each trustee and of each 43 succeeding trustee [the governor shall, by and with the advice and 44 consent of the senate, appoint a successor, who shall hold office for a 45 term of five years, or until a successor has been appointed and quali- 46 fied. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of the trustee 47 by death, resignation or otherwise, the governor shall, by and with the 48 advice and consent of the senate, appoint a successor, who shall hold 49 office for the unexpired term. Four trustees shall constitute a quorum 50 for the purpose of organizing the authority and conducting the business 51 thereof.], or the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of the 52 trustee by death, resignation or otherwise, the original entities who 53 appointed that trustee shall appoint a successor, who shall hold office 54 for the unexpired term. Nine trustees shall constitute a quorum for the 55 purpose of organizing the authority and conducting the business thereof. 56 Any authority trustee or board member may be terminated by either a

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1 majority vote of the senate or assembly, or by the governor. Reasons for 2 termination may include, but are not limited to: failure to meet the 3 renewable energy targets outlined in this bill; conflicts of interest; 4 failure to prioritize climate justice, environmental justice, or econom- 5 ic justice in the authority's operations; sexual assault or harassment; 6 or corruption. 7 2. The trustee chosen as chairman as provided in section one thousand 8 four of this title, shall receive an annual salary which shall be set by 9 the trustees of the authority, and which shall not exceed the salary 10 prescribed for the positions listed in paragraph (f) of subdivision one 11 of section one hundred sixty-nine of the executive law. [Each other 12 trustee shall not receive a salary or other compensation.] Each trustee 13 shall receive his or her reasonable expenses in the performance of his 14 or her duties hereunder. The trustee chosen as chairman may elect to 15 become a member of the New York state and local employees' retirement 16 system on the basis of such compensation to which he or she shall be 17 entitled as herein provided notwithstanding the provisions of any gener- 18 al, special or local law, municipal charter, or ordinance. 19 § 4. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section 20 1016 to read as follows: 21 § 1016. For-profit energy services companies. No for-profit energy 22 services company, their contractors, and/or their agents shall seek to 23 enroll or market the company's services to new residential customers. 24 The term "market" shall include any and all promotion or outreach to 25 residential customers in an attempt to get them to enroll in the compa- 26 ny's services. Within ninety days of the effective date of this section, 27 for-profit energy services companies shall unenroll any residential 28 customer that they currently serve. However, energy service companies 29 may continue selling, enrolling or marketing their services to community 30 choice aggregation customers. 31 § 5. Nothing in this act is intended to limit, impair, or affect the 32 legal authority of the power authority of the state of New York under 33 any other provision of title 1 of article 5 of the public authorities 34 law. 35 § 6. No section of this act or any action required to be taken under 36 this act shall be delayed or made contingent upon the completion of the 37 plan required by subdivision 31 of section 1005 of the public authori- 38 ties law, as added by section two of this act. 39 § 7. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi- 40 vision, or section of this act shall be adjudged by any court of compe- 41 tent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, 42 or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its opera- 43 tion to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or section thereof 44 directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have 45 been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature 46 that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions 47 had not been included herein. 48 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.