Amd §§2 & 6, Chap of 2024; rpld & add §76-0105, amd §§76-0101 & 76-0103, En Con L; amd §97-m, St Fin L (as
proposed in S.2129-B & A.3351-B); amd §224-f, Lab L; amd §314, Tax L
Relates to the climate change adaptation cost recovery program and requirements for climate change adaptive infrastructure projects; relates to the use of funds from the climate change adaptation fund for certain projects; relates to the disclosure of certain data from returns of petroleum or fossil fuel businesses; relates to expenditure of funds from the climate change adaptation fund; repeals certain provisions; relates to severability and legislative findings.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1474
SPONSOR: Dinowitz TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
climate change adaptation cost recovery program and requirements for
climate change adaptive infrastructure projects; to amend the labor law,
in relation to the use of funds from the climate change adaptation fund
for certain climate risk-related and energy transition projects; to
amend the tax law, in relation to the disclosure of certain data from
returns of petroleum or fossil fuel businesses to the department of
environmental conservation or the New York state energy research and
development authority; to amend the state finance law, in relation to
expenditure of funds from the climate change adaptation fund; to repeal
section 76-0105 of the environmental conservation law, relating to labor
and job standards and worker protection; and to amend a chapter of the
laws of 2024 amending the environmental conservation law relating to
establishing the climate change adaptation cost recovery program, and
amending the state finance law relating to establishing the climate
change adaptation fund, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.
2129-B and A. 3351-B, in relation to legislative findings and severabil-
ity
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this chapter amendment is to make negotiated changes to
the Climate Change Adaptation Cost Recovery Program, which was estab-
lished by Chapter 679 of the Laws of 2024.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill would: grant the Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) greater flexibility when administering the Climate Change Adapta-
tion Cost Recovery Program by authorizing DEC to adopt regulations rath-
er than prescribing all requirements statutorily, most notably around
processes of responsible party identification and cost recovery
collection; delay the regulation development timeline by 18 months;
delay initial payment date by 27 months; revise the covered period to
include the additional years of 2019-2024; establish an appeals process
for responsible parties; expand the development of the Statewide Climate
Adaptation and Resilience Plan to include more public input and trans-
parency and require it to be updated no less,than every three years;
increase nonpayment penalties; make the annual Program reporting more
detailed and robust; promote data transparency, including by requiring
DEC to develop procedures to make extraction and refining data of
responsible parties publicly available; make technical revisions to
labor protections to conform to existing law; ensure legislative over-
sight of expenditures and require appropriations to include details by
project types; and authorize the Department of Taxation and Finance to
share relevant data to facilitate identification of responsible parties.
JUSTIFICATION:
The chapter amendment revisions to the Climate Change Adaptation Cost
Recovery Program are intended to help ensure the Program is as effective
as possible and include greater clarity regarding the selection of
responsible parties and the role of the Legislature; ensuring additional
transparency and public involvement; and revising implementation time-
frames per the requests of the Executive to reflect staffing and proce-
dural timing needs. In particular, the clarifications to the responsible
party selection process, including the usage of refining and extraction
data only, will help avoid the possibility of double emissions counting
and other potential confusion.
The changes to transparency and public participation will also be bene-
ficial as the Program begins to take shape, all while reiterating the
importance of benefiting disadvantaged communities. Given that all New
Yorkers have been directly impacted by the harmful effects of climate
change' driven by the combustion of fossil fuels, it is important that
they have a voice in how the damages collected under this Program are
allocated.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS ON THE STATE:
No changes to the fiscal implications from the original chapter, which
authorized the collection of $75 billion. However, the chapter amendment
would authorize up to one percent of funds collected, pursuant to appro-
priation by the Legislature, to be used for administrative costs.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a
chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the environmental conservation law
relating to establishing the climate change adaptation cost recovery
program; and amending the state finance law relating to establishing the
climate change adaptation fund, as proposed in legislative bills
S.2129-B and A.3351-B, takes effect.
