At a time when we need to move off of fossil fuels, increase renewable energy transmission, and encourage the development of battery energy storage across the state, the FY25 budget makes some important strides. We applaud Governor Hochul and the State Senate for their good faith efforts throughout the process, and we look forward to working with them and the Assembly in the coming months to meet the environmental moment head on.
There is no clean energy transition without transmission, and so we applaud the Governor and the Legislature for passing the RAPID Act, which will help ensure we are able to deliver wind, solar, and hydro power to homes and businesses across the state. And while this budget delivered a partial victory by making battery energy storage less costly for home systems, it missed the opportunity to provide tax breaks for utility-scale battery storage systems critically needed to ensure our clean energy grid is as reliable as it is robust.
Speaking of missed opportunities, we are deeply disappointed that the NY HEAT Act – which would stop subsidizing expansion of the gas infrastructure and create plans to carefully move utilities off fossil fuels – never got a fair shake in the Assembly, and that the state refused to fund thermal energy projects at SUNY Purchase and the University at Buffalo.
That the Clean Water Infrastructure Act remains funded at $500M and the EPF will not be raided to pay for staff is positive news, and we look forward to increasing those investments in the coming years to shore up flood mitigation, replace lead service lines, address emerging contaminants like PFAS, and remove lead from school drinking water.
Other measures in the budget that NYLCV supports include:
- Sammy’s Law, which allows NYC to lower speed limit to 20 mph on certain streets,
- Authorization for the MTA to waive penalties for fare evasion if the offender instead enrolls in the Fair Fares program,
- Stronger enforcement of illegal license plate covers to help ensure effective implementation of the congestion pricing program in New York City,
- A needs evaluation for highway and depot electric vehicle charging infrastructure,
- Clarification that Bond Act grant funding for electric school buses will not impact a school district’s transportation aid,
- The creation of a Zero-Emission School Bus Resource Center within NYSERDA.
More work must be done to tackle the climate crisis and we must take bold action to implement the climate action plan, meet our emissions reduction goals and head off the most dire impacts of a warming planet.