•  Summary 
 
•  Actions 
 
•  Committee Votes 
 
•  Floor Votes 
 
•  Memo 
 
•  Text 
 
•  LFIN 
 
•  Chamber Video/Transcript 

A08567 Summary:

A08567 Actions:

A08567 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.

A08567 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
 submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)



 
BILL NUMBER: A8567
 
SPONSOR: Byrnes

 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the public service law, in relation to
appointing ad hoc members to the New York state board on electric gener-
ation siting and the environment
 
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
 
To ensure that local municipalities are notified as to which local ad
hoc members have been appointed from their lists of candidates submitted
to sit on siting boards for electric generating facilities. To provide a
mechanism for appointment of local ad hoc members to siting boards for
electric generating facilities upon a failure of the president pro tem
of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and/or the governor to
appoint. To ensure that siting boards for electric generating facilities
cannot take any action until local ad hoc members are appointed.
 
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
 
Section 1: Amends subdivision 2 of section 161 of the public service law
to state that the Governor shall appoint the ad hoc member from the list
of candidates within forty-five days.
 
Additionally adds subsection (b) to require notification to all involved
parties of the status of the appointment and application process.
 
Adds subsection (c) that grants state senators or assemblymembers the
authority to appoint ad hoc members if not completed according to
subsection (a).
 
Adds subsection (d) to define a quorum.
 
Section 2: provides the effective date
 
 
JUSTIFICATION:
 
Under current law, a.siting board for an electric generating facility is
composed of seven members - five executive agency heads and two local ad
hoc members.
 
The host municipalities nominate lists of candidates for appointment as
local ad hoc members to the siting board. The president pro tem of the
senate and the speaker of the assembly each appoint one ad hoc member
from the lists submitted within 30 days of their nominations.  If the
president pro tem of the senate or the speaker of the assembly fails to
appoint within 30 days, then the governor makes the appointments. If the
governor fails to appoint local ad hoc members within 45 days, then
there are no local ad hoc members on the siting board. The siting board
can proceed and conduct business without any local members.
 
A significant number of proposed projects are going forward without
local ad hoc members on the siting boards. For example, Horseshoe Solar
Project in the Towns of Caledonia and Rush, Morris Ridge Solar Project
in the Town of Mt. Morris, and Bear Ridge Solar Project in Towns of
Cambria and Pendleton. Municipalities submitted lists of candidates, but
no appointments were ever made.
 
 
By simply ignoring the lists of candidates, municipalities are denied
local representation and the siting boards go forward without them.
Municipalities are not even noticed as to who on their lists was
appointed, if anyone. Municipalities are kept in the dark and excluded
from the process when their communities are most affected by decisions
made by the siting boards. Local ad hoc members are needed to voice
local concerns and raise local issues. They are vital to any project.
 
This bill would require that municipalities be notified of what action,
if any, was taken on their lists of candidates. This will allow munici-
palities to take appropriate action to ensure their interests are
protected.
 
This bill would also ensure local membership on the siting boards. If
the president pro tem of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and/or
the governor fail to appoint one or both of the local ad hoc members,
then the senator and assembly member whose districts encompass the
proposed project will make the appointments.
 
Further, this bill would ensure that the siting boards could not take
any action without ad hoc local members being appointed.
 
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
 
New Bill
 
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
 
None
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

A08567 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          8567
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                   September 13, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. BYRNES -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Energy
 
        AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to appointing ad hoc
          members  to the New York state board on electric generation siting and
          the environment
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. Subdivision 2 of section 161 of the public service law, as
     2  added by chapter 388 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
     3    2. (a) Upon receipt of a pre-application preliminary scoping statement
     4  under this article, the chair shall promptly notify  the  governor,  the
     5  president  pro tem of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chief
     6  executive officers representing the municipality and the county in which
     7  the facility is proposed  to  be  located,  and,  if  such  facility  is
     8  proposed  to  be  located  within the city of New York, the mayor of the
     9  city of New York, as well as the chairperson of the community board  and
    10  the  borough  president  representing  the area in which the facility is
    11  proposed to be located. One ad hoc member  shall  be  appointed  by  the
    12  president pro tem of the senate and one ad hoc member shall be appointed
    13  by  the  speaker  of the assembly from a list of candidates submitted to
    14  them, in the following manner.  If  such  facility  is  proposed  to  be
    15  located  outside  of  the  city of New York, the chief executive officer
    16  representing the municipality shall nominate  four  candidates  and  the
    17  chief  executive  officer  representing  the  county shall nominate four
    18  candidates for consideration. If such facility is proposed to be located
    19  outside of the city of New York and in a village located within a  town,
    20  the  chief  executive  officer representing the town shall nominate four
    21  candidates, the chief executive officer representing  the  county  shall
    22  nominate  four  candidates, and the chief executive officer representing
    23  the village shall nominate four candidates for  consideration.  If  such
    24  facility  is  proposed to be located in the city of New York, the chair-
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13658-04-9
        A. 8567                             2
 
     1  person of the community board, the borough president, and the  mayor  of
     2  the  city  of New York shall each nominate four candidates for consider-
     3  ation. Nominations shall be submitted to the president pro  tem  of  the
     4  senate and the speaker of the assembly within fifteen days of receipt of
     5  notification  of  the  pre-application preliminary scoping statement. In
     6  the event that the president pro tem of the senate does not appoint  one
     7  of  the  candidates within thirty days of such nominations, the governor
     8  shall appoint the ad hoc member  from  the  list  of  candidates  within
     9  forty-five days.  In the event that the speaker of the assembly does not
    10  appoint  one  of  the candidates within thirty days of such nominations,
    11  the governor shall appoint the ad hoc member from the list of candidates
    12  within forty-five days.  [In the event that one or both of  the  ad  hoc
    13  public members have not been appointed within forty-five days, a majori-
    14  ty of persons named to the board shall constitute a quorum.]
    15    (b)  In the event that one or both of the ad hoc members have not been
    16  appointed, pursuant to paragraph (a)  of  this  subdivision,  the  chair
    17  shall, within thirty days, notify all parties required to be notified of
    18  the  pre-application  preliminary scoping statement of the status of the
    19  candidates submitted. The state senator or senators and  state  assembly
    20  member  or  members  who  represent  the  districts wherein the proposed
    21  project is planned shall also be notified of the status  of  the  candi-
    22  dates submitted.
    23    (c)  If  one  or  both  of  the ad hoc members have not been appointed
    24  pursuant to  paragraph (a) of this subdivision, then the  state  senator
    25  or  senators  and  state  assembly  member  or members who represent the
    26  districts wherein the proposed project is planned shall be authorized to
    27  appoint ad hoc members from the lists of  candidates  submitted  in  the
    28  same  manner  as  the president pro tem of the senate and the speaker of
    29  the assembly.
    30    (d) Upon the appointment of all ad hoc members, a majority of  persons
    31  named to the board shall constitute a quorum.
    32    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
    33  current and future ad hoc member openings on the New York state board on
    34  electric generation siting and the environment.