Each year following the release of the governor’s executive budget proposal, the State Senate and Assembly hold joint committee hearings where they question agency leaders and welcome advocates and other stakeholders to lay out their priorities. These hearings inform legislators as they discuss their one-house budgets and the leaders and negotiations with the Executive Chamber begin in earnest.
[Bookmark NYLCV’s budget tracker to follow along as negotiations proceed.]
NYLCV’s turn came on Tuesday when Patrick McClellan, NYLCV’s policy director, testified before the Committees on Finance, Ways and Means, Environmental Conservation, and Energy. Before looking ahead, McClellan set the context by noting the current hostility toward clean energy and environmental policy more broadly emanating from the White House, and how New York responded during the first Trump administration.
“The last time Trump was in office threatening to roll back the clock on environmental protections and fighting climate change, New York stepped up,” said McClellan in his written testimony. “During that time, New York solidified its commitment to offshore wind, adopted congestion pricing, established the Clean Water Infrastructure Act, made it easier to site renewable energy projects, and the landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.”
Just as before, there is a lot that states can do to shore up their environmental policies. The top of that list for NYLCV is cap-and-invest.
“Cap and invest is the strongest, most cost effective tool at the State’s disposal to tackle the climate crisis, using a market based approach to both incentivize economy-wide emissions reductions while generating billions of dollars in recurring revenue from polluters for investments in deeper carbon reductions, and in climate justice,” McClellan said.
Last week, a broad new coalition, New Yorkers for Clean Air, formed to urge Governor Hochul to cut pollution and protect clean air by releasing the anticipated cap-and-invest rules. After retreating from her signature climate program, the coalition of NYLCV and other environmental groups, environmental justice groups, businesses, and community-based and public health organizations is demanding leadership to prioritize the health and safety of New Yorkers over corporate interests.
It’s a call that McClellan reiterated to the committee.
“This is unacceptable. Further delay will not result in greater affordability, cut the pollution causing so much damage to our communities, provide certainty for the business community nor support the jobs of the future,” he said, referring to the delay in the issuing of the draft rules. “We urge Governor Hochul to direct DEC and NYSERDA to advance the rules for public comment.”
Another top priority that McClellan focused on at the hearing was the NY HEAT Act, “which would start the planning process for equitably and cost efficiently reducing our reliance on natural gas while also saving working New Yorkers money on their utility bills,” he said.
[Tell the governor to advance cap-and-invest and support NY HEAT!]
As we’ve discussed here before, NYLCV is also strongly advocating for a Clean Fuel Standard, increasing the state’s distributed solar goal to 20 GW by 2035, updating the solar tax credit to make rooftop solar accessible for even more New Yorkers, accelerating the buildout of Battery Energy Storage Systems, and more money for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act, Environmental Protection Fund, and for staffing at key agencies.
Watch McClellan’s appearance at the joint hearing: