Senate Bill S2878B

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  2878--B
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 30, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. SANDERS, BIAGGI, COMRIE, MAY, PERSAUD -- read twice
   and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
   on Environmental Conservation -- committee discharged,  bill  amended,
   ordered  reprinted  as  amended  and  recommitted to said committee --
   committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
   recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  establish  a  Green  New  Deal for New York task force; and
   providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Legislative findings and intent. 1. The legislature recog-
 nizes the duty of the New York state government to create  a  Green  New
 Deal  for  New  York. An October 2018 report entitled "Special Report on
 Global Warming of 1.5°C"  by  the  Intergovernmental  Panel  on  Climate
 Change  and  the November 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment report
 found that:
   (a) human activity is the dominant cause of  observed  climate  change
 over the past century;
   (b)  a  changing climate is causing sea levels to rise and an increase
 in wildfires, severe storms, droughts, and other extreme weather  events
 that  threaten human life, healthy communities, and critical infrastruc-
 ture;
   (c) global warming at or above 2 degrees Celsius beyond preindustrial-
 ized levels will cause:
   (i) mass migration from the regions most affected by climate change;
   (ii) more than $500,000,000,000 in lost annual economic output in  the
 United States by the year 2100;
   (iii)  wildfires  that,  by 2050, will annually burn at least twice as
 much forest area in the western United States than was typically  burned
 by wildfires in the years preceding 2019;
   (iv) a loss of more than 99 percent of all coral reefs on earth;
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD07108-04-9

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   (v) more than 350,000,000 more people to be exposed globally to deadly
 heat stress by 2050; and
   (vi)  a  risk of damage to $1,000,000,000,000 of public infrastructure
 and coastal real estate in the United States; and
   (d) global temperatures must be kept below 1.5 degrees  Celsius  above
 preindustrialized  levels to avoid the most severe impacts of a changing
 climate, which will require:
   (i) global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from  human  sources
 of 40 to 60 percent from 2010 levels by 2030; and
   (ii) net-zero global emissions by 2050.
   2.  As  the  United  States, including New York, has historically been
 responsible for a disproportionate amount of greenhouse  gas  emissions,
 having  emitted  20  percent  of global greenhouse gas emissions through
 2014, and has a high technological capacity, the United States  and  New
 York  must  take  a  leading role in reducing emissions through economic
 transformation.
   3. The United States is currently experiencing several related crises,
 with:
   (a) life expectancy declining while basic needs, such  as  clean  air,
 clean  water, healthy food, and adequate health care, housing, transpor-
 tation, and education, are inaccessible to a significant portion of  the
 United States population;
   (b)  a  4-decade  trend  of  wage stagnation, deindustrialization, and
 antilabor policies that has led to:
   (i) hourly wages overall stagnating since the 1970's despite increased
 worker productivity;
   (ii) the third-worst level of socioeconomic mobility in the  developed
 world before the Great Recession;
   (iii)  the  erosion  of the earning and bargaining power of workers in
 the United States; and
   (iv) inadequate resources for public sector workers  to  confront  the
 challenges of climate change at local, state, and federal levels; and
   (c) the greatest income inequality since the 1920's, with:
   (i)  the  top 1 percent of earners accruing 91 percent of gains in the
 first few years of economic recovery after the Great Recession;
   (ii) a large racial wealth divide amounting  to  a  difference  of  20
 times more wealth between the average white family and the average black
 family; and
   (iii) a gender earnings gap that results in women earning approximate-
 ly 80 percent as much as men, at the median.
   4.  Climate  change,  pollution,  and  environmental  destruction have
 exacerbated  systemic  racial,  regional,  social,  environmental,   and
 economic  injustices  (hereinafter referred to as "systemic injustices")
 by  disproportionately  affecting  indigenous  peoples,  communities  of
 color,  migrant  communities,  deindustrialized communities, depopulated
 rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the
 unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth (hereinafter  referred  to
 as "frontline and vulnerable communities").
   5. Climate change constitutes a direct threat to the national security
 of the United States:
   (a)  by impacting the economic, environmental, and social stability of
 countries and communities around the world; and
   (b) by acting as a threat multiplier.
   6. The federal government-led mobilizations during World  War  II  and
 the  New  Deal  created the greatest middle class that the United States
 has ever seen, but many members of frontline and vulnerable  communities

 S. 2878--B                          3
 
 were  excluded  from many of the economic and societal benefits of those
 mobilizations.
   7.  The  New  York  state  government  recognizes that a new national,
 social, industrial, and economic mobilization on a scale not seen  since
 World War II and the New Deal era is a historic opportunity:
   (a) to create millions of good, high-wage jobs in New York state;
   (b) to provide unprecedented levels of prosperity and economic securi-
 ty for all people of New York state; and
   (c) to counteract systemic injustices.
   8. Now, therefore, be it resolved that it is the sense of the New York
 state legislature that:
   (a)  it is the duty of the New York state government to create a Green
 New Deal:
   (i) to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through  a  fair  and
 just transition for all communities and workers;
   (ii)  to create millions of good, high-wage jobs and ensure prosperity
 and economic security for all people of New York state;
   (iii) to invest in the infrastructure and industry of New  York  state
 to sustainably meet the challenges of the twenty-first century;
   (iv)  to  secure  for  all people of New York state for generations to
 come:
   (A) clean air and water;
   (B) climate and community resiliency;
   (C) healthy food;
   (D) access to nature; and
   (E) a sustainable environment; and
   (v) to promote justice and  equity  by  stopping  current,  preventing
 future,  and  repairing  historic oppression of frontline and vulnerable
 communities;
   (b) the goals described in clauses (A)  through  (E)  of  subparagraph
 (iv)  of  paragraph  (a) of this subdivision (hereinafter referred to as
 "Green New Deal for New York goals") should be  accomplished  through  a
 10-year  national  mobilization  (hereinafter  referred to as "Green New
 Deal mobilization") that will require the following goals and projects:
   (i) building resiliency against climate change-related disasters, such
 as extreme  weather,  including  by  leveraging  funding  and  providing
 investments for community-defined projects and strategies;
   (ii)  repairing  and  upgrading  the infrastructure in New York state,
 including:
   (A) by eliminating pollution and greenhouse gas emissions as  much  as
 technologically feasible;
   (B) by guaranteeing universal access to clean water;
   (C) by reducing the risks posed by climate impacts; and
   (D)  by  ensuring  that any infrastructure bill considered by New York
 state government addresses climate change;
   (iii) meeting 100 percent of  the  power  demand  in  New  York  state
 through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources, including:
   (A)  by  dramatically expanding and upgrading renewable power sources;
 and
   (B) by deploying new capacity;
   (iv) building  or  upgrading  to  energy-efficient,  distributed,  and
 "smart" power grids, and ensuring affordable access to electricity;
   (v)  upgrading  all  existing buildings in New York state and building
 new buildings to achieve maximum energy  efficiency,  water  efficiency,
 safety,  affordability, comfort, and durability, including through elec-
 trification;

 S. 2878--B                          4
 
   (vi) spurring massive growth in clean manufacturing in New York  state
 and  removing  pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing
 and industry as  much  as  is  technologically  feasible,  including  by
 expanding renewable energy manufacturing and investing in existing manu-
 facturing and industry;
   (vii)  working  collaboratively  with farmers and ranchers in New York
 state to remove pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricul-
 tural sector as much as is technologically feasible, including:
   (A) by supporting family farming;
   (B) by investing in sustainable farming and land  use  practices  that
 increase soil health; and
   (C)  by building a more sustainable food system that ensures universal
 access to healthy food;
   (viii) overhauling transportation systems in New York state to  remove
 pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector as
 much as is technologically feasible, including through investment in:
   (A) zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and manufacturing;
   (B) clean, affordable, and accessible public transit; and
   (C) high-speed rail;
   (ix)  mitigating  and managing the long-term adverse health, economic,
 and other effects of pollution and climate change, including by  provid-
 ing funding for community-defined projects and strategies;
   (x)  removing  greenhouse  gases  from  the  atmosphere  and  reducing
 pollution  by  restoring  natural  ecosystems  through  proven  low-tech
 solutions  that  increase soil carbon storage, such as land preservation
 and afforestation;
   (xi) restoring and  protecting  threatened,  endangered,  and  fragile
 ecosystems  through  locally appropriate and science-based projects that
 enhance biodiversity and support climate resiliency;
   (xii) cleaning up existing hazardous waste and abandoned sites, ensur-
 ing economic development and sustainability on those sites;
   (xiii) identifying other emission and pollution sources  and  creating
 solutions to remove them; and
   (xiv)  promoting  the international exchange of technology, expertise,
 products, funding, and services, with the aim of making New  York  state
 the  international leader on climate action, and to help other countries
 achieve a Green New Deal;
   (c) a Green New Deal for New York must be developed through  transpar-
 ent  and  inclusive  consultation,  collaboration,  and partnership with
 frontline and vulnerable communities, labor unions, worker cooperatives,
 civil society groups, academia, and businesses; and
   (d) to achieve the Green New Deal for New York goals and mobilization,
 a Green New Deal for New York  will  require  the  following  goals  and
 projects:
   (i)  providing  and  leveraging, in a way that ensures that the public
 receives  appropriate  ownership  stakes  and  returns  on   investment,
 adequate  capital, including through community grants, public banks, and
 other public financing, technical expertise,  supporting  policies,  and
 other forms of assistance to communities, organizations, federal, state,
 and  local  government agencies, and businesses working on the Green New
 Deal for New York mobilization;
   (ii) ensuring that New York state government takes  into  account  the
 complete  environmental  and  social  costs  and  impacts  of  emissions
 through:
   (A) existing laws;
   (B) new policies and programs; and

 S. 2878--B                          5
 
   (C) ensuring that frontline and vulnerable communities  shall  not  be
 adversely affected;
   (iii)  providing  resources,  training,  and  high-quality  education,
 including higher education, to all people of  New  York  state,  with  a
 focus on frontline and vulnerable communities, so that all people of New
 York  state may be full and equal participants in the Green New Deal for
 New York mobilization;
   (iv) making public investments in the research and development of  new
 clean and renewable energy technologies and industries;
   (v)  directing  investments  to  spur economic development, deepen and
 diversify industry and business in local  and  regional  economies,  and
 build  wealth  and  community ownership, while prioritizing high-quality
 job creation and economic, social, and environmental benefits in  front-
 line  and vulnerable communities, and deindustrialized communities, that
 may otherwise struggle with the  transition  away  from  greenhouse  gas
 intensive industries;
   (vi)  ensuring  the use of democratic and participatory processes that
 are inclusive of and led by frontline  and  vulnerable  communities  and
 workers  to  plan,  implement, and administer the Green New Deal for New
 York mobilization at the local level;
   (vii) ensuring that the Green  New  Deal  for  New  York  mobilization
 creates  high-quality  union jobs that pay prevailing wages, hires local
 workers, offers training and advancement opportunities,  and  guarantees
 wage and benefit parity for workers affected by the transition;
   (viii)  guaranteeing  a  job  with  a family-sustaining wage, adequate
 family and medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security to all
 people of New York state;
   (ix) strengthening and protecting the right of all workers  to  organ-
 ize,  unionize, and collectively bargain free of coercion, intimidation,
 and harassment;
   (x) strengthening and enforcing labor, workplace  health  and  safety,
 antidiscrimination,  and  wage  and hour standards across all employers,
 industries, and sectors;
   (xi) enacting and enforcing trade rules,  procurement  standards,  and
 border adjustments with strong labor and environmental protections:
   (A) to stop the transfer of jobs and pollution overseas; and
   (B) to grow domestic manufacturing in New York state;
   (xii) ensuring that public lands, waters, and oceans are protected and
 that eminent domain is not abused;
   (xiii)  obtaining  the free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous
 peoples for all decisions  that  affect  indigenous  peoples  and  their
 traditional  territories,  honoring  all  treaties  and  agreements with
 indigenous peoples, and protecting and  enforcing  the  sovereignty  and
 land rights of indigenous peoples;
   (xiv)  ensuring a commercial environment where every businessperson is
 free from unfair competition and domination by domestic or international
 monopolies; and
   (xv) providing all people of New York state with:
   (A) high-quality health care;
   (B) affordable, safe, and adequate housing;
   (C) economic security; and
   (D) clean water, clean air, healthy and affordable food, and access to
 nature.
   § 2. Green New Deal for New York task force. 1. There shall be a  task
 force  for  a  Green  New  Deal  for New York which shall consist of the
 following nineteen voting members:    three  members  appointed  by  the

 S. 2878--B                          6
 
 governor, one of which shall serve as the chair of the task force; pres-
 ident  of  the New York state energy research and development authority,
 or his or her designee; the chair of the public service  commission,  or
 his  or her designee; the commissioner of environmental conservation; or
 his or her designee; president of empire state development or his or her
 designee; the commissioner of transportation, or his  or  her  designee;
 the commissioner of health, or his or her designee; and the commissioner
 of agriculture and markets, or his or her designee; the president of the
 New  York  state  AFL-CIO  or  his  or  her  designee; the three members
 appointed by the temporary president of the senate, one of whom shall be
 a representative from the private sector; three members appointed by the
 speaker of the assembly, one of whom shall be a representative from  the
 private  sector;  one  member  appointed  by  the minority leader of the
 senate; and one member appointed by the minority leader of the assembly;
 and in consultation with the following and other  relevant  state  agen-
 cies,  public authorities, local governments, the federal government and
 non-governmental organizations: the department of health, the department
 of labor, the department of state, the division of homeland security and
 emergency services, the power authority of the state of  New  York,  the
 Long Island power authority, the department of taxation and finance, the
 metropolitan transportation authority, the state university of New York,
 the  city university of New York, the New York independent system opera-
 tor, and others.
   2. No member of the task force shall be disqualified from holding  any
 public office or employment, nor shall he or she forfeit any such office
 of  employment  by  virtue  of  his  or her appointment pursuant to this
 section.
   3. Members of the task force shall receive no compensation  for  their
 services,  but  shall  be  allowed  their  actual and necessary expenses
 incurred in the performance of their functions pursuant to this section.
   4. The task force shall hold at least five public hearings.    To  the
 extent  practicable, such hearings shall be held in different regions of
 the state. During the public hearings, the task  force  shall  hear  the
 testimony of voluntary witnesses.
   5.  The  task  force  shall  develop a detailed statewide, industrial,
 economic mobilization plan (hereinafter referred to as the "plan  for  a
 Green  New  Deal  for New York" or the "plan") for the transition of the
 New York economy to become greenhouse gas emissions neutral by 2030,  or
 as  soon  as feasible, by eliminating pollution and greenhouse gas emis-
 sions as much as technologically feasible, by transitioning  rapidly  to
 clean  renewable  energy  technologies  and  to  significantly draw down
 greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and oceans and to promote  economic
 and environmental justice and equality. In furtherance of the foregoing,
 the plan shall:
   (a)  be  prepared  in consultation with experts and leaders from busi-
 ness, labor, state and local governments, tribal nations,  academia  and
 broadly representative civil society groups and communities;
   (b)  be  driven by the state government, in collaboration, co-creation
 and partnership with business, labor, local governments, tribal nations,
 research institutions and civil society groups and communities, and  the
 federal government;
   (c) be executed in no longer than 10 years from the start of execution
 of such plan;
   (d)  provide  opportunities for high income work, entrepreneurship and
 cooperative and public ownership; and

 S. 2878--B                          7
 
   (e) additionally, be responsive to, and in accordance with, the  goals
 and  guidelines  relating  to  social,  economic,  racial,  regional and
 gender-based justice and equality.
   6.  In  addition  to  preparing the plan, the task force shall prepare
 draft legislation for the enactment of the plan in accordance with  this
 section.  Such  draft  legislation may be prepared concurrently with the
 development of the plan, or as the task force may otherwise deem  appro-
 priate,   provided  that  such  finalized  draft  legislation  shall  be
 completed in accordance with the timing set forth in  subparagraph  (ii)
 of paragraph (b) of subdivision 9 of this section.
   7. The task force shall have the authority to investigate, study, make
 findings,  convene  experts  and  leaders from industry, academia, local
 communities, labor, finance, environmental justice, technology  and  any
 other industry or group that the select committee deems to be a relevant
 resource.  The  task force may, at its discretion and as its members may
 deem appropriate, hold public hearings in connection with any aspect  of
 its investigative functions.
   8. To enable the task force to carry out the purposes of this article,
 the  task  force  will use existing staff and resources from appropriate
 agencies.
   9. (a) The task force shall submit a preliminary report on the plan to
 the governor, senate and assembly and online for the public by September
 1, 2019 and as it deems appropriate from time to time the results of its
 investigations and studies, together with  such  detailed  findings  and
 interim  recommendations  or  proposed  plan  or  draft  legislation, or
 portion thereof, as it may deem advisable.
   (b)(i) The task force shall complete the plan for a Green New Deal for
 New York and issue a report to the governor, the temporary president  of
 the  senate,  and  the  speaker  of the assembly by a date no later than
 January 1, 2020.
   (ii) The task force shall complete the finalized draft legislation and
 submit it to the governor, the temporary president of  the  senate,  and
 the  speaker of the assembly by a date no later than the date that is 90
 calendar days after the task force has completed the plan  and,  in  any
 event, no later than March 1, 2020.
   (iii)  The  task force shall ensure that the plan and the draft legis-
 lation prepared in accordance with this section shall,  upon  completion
 be  made  available  to  the general public in widely accessible formats
 including, but not limited to, via at least one dedicated website and  a
 print  publication,  by  a date no later than 30 calendar days following
 the respective dates for completion.
   10. (a) The plan for a Green New Deal and the draft legislation  shall
 be developed with the objective of reaching the following outcomes with-
 in  the  target  window  of  10 years from the start of execution of the
 plan:
   (i) dramatically expand existing renewable power  sources  and  deploy
 new production capacity with the goal of meeting 100 percent of New York
 state power demand through clean renewable sources;
   (ii) building a statewide, energy-efficient, "smart" grid;
   (iii)  upgrading  every residential and industrial building for state-
 of-the-art energy efficiency, comfort and safety;
   (iv) eliminating greenhouse  gas  emissions  from  the  manufacturing,
 agricultural and other industries, including by investing in local-scale
 agriculture in communities across the state;

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   (v) eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from, repairing and improving
 transportation and other infrastructure, and upgrading water infrastruc-
 ture to ensure universal access to clean water;
   (vi) funding massive investment in the drawdown of greenhouse gases;
   (vii)  making  "green"  technology,  industry, expertise, products and
 services a major export of New York state, with the aim of becoming  the
 undisputed  international  leader  in helping other states and countries
 transition to completely greenhouse gas neutral economies  and  bringing
 about a global Green New Deal; and
   (viii) explain how these actions will be financed and what the econom-
 ic  impact  will be if we take these actions and if we do not take these
 actions.
   (b) The plan for a Green New Deal  and  the  draft  legislation  shall
 recognize  that a state, industrial, economic mobilization of this scope
 and scale is a historic opportunity to virtually  eliminate  poverty  in
 New  York  state  and  to  make prosperity, wealth and economic security
 available to everyone participating in the transformation.  In  further-
 ance of the foregoing, the plan and the draft legislation shall:
   (i)  provide  all  members  of our society, across all regions and all
 communities, the opportunity, training and education to be  a  full  and
 equal  participant  in the transition, including through a job guarantee
 program to assure a living wage job to every person who wants one;
   (ii) diversify local and regional economies, with a  particular  focus
 on  communities where the fossil fuel industry holds significant control
 over the labor market, to  ensure  workers  have  the  necessary  tools,
 opportunities,  and  economic  assistance  to  succeed during the energy
 transition;
   (iii) require strong enforcement of labor, workplace safety, and  wage
 standards  that recognize the rights of workers to organize and unionize
 free of coercion, intimidation, and harassment, and creation of meaning-
 ful, quality, career employment;
   (iv) ensure a 'just transition' for all workers,  low-income  communi-
 ties,  communities  of  color,  indigenous  communities, rural and urban
 communities and the front-line  communities  most  affected  by  climate
 change,  pollution  and  other  environmental harm including by ensuring
 that local implementation of the transition is led  from  the  community
 level  and  by prioritizing solutions that end the harms faced by front-
 line communities from climate change and environmental pollution;
   (v) protect and enforce sovereign rights and  land  rights  of  tribal
 nations;
   (vi)  mitigate  deeply  entrenched  racial,  regional and gender-based
 inequalities in income and wealth including, but not limited to,  ensur-
 ing  that  state  and  other investment will be equitably distributed to
 historically impoverished, low income, deindustrialized or other  margi-
 nalized  communities  in  such a way that builds wealth and ownership at
 the community level;
   (vii) include additional  measures  such  as  basic  income  programs,
 universal health care programs and any others as the task force may deem
 appropriate  to  promote economic security, labor market flexibility and
 entrepreneurism;
   (viii) deeply involve state and local labor unions to take  a  leader-
 ship role in the process of job training and worker deployment; and
   (ix)  explain how these actions will be financed and what the economic
 impact will be if these actions are taken and if these actions  are  not
 taken.

 S. 2878--B                          9
 
   (c)  The  plan  for  a  Green New Deal and the draft legislation shall
 recognize that innovative public and other financing  structures  are  a
 crucial  component  in achieving and furthering the goals and guidelines
 relating to social, economic, racial, regional and gender-based  justice
 and  equality  and  cooperative  and  public ownership. The plan and the
 draft legislation  shall,  accordingly,  ensure  that  the  majority  of
 financing  of  the  plan  shall be accomplished by the state government,
 using a combination of a new public bank or a  system  of  regional  and
 specialized  public  banks, public venture funds and such other vehicles
 or structures that the task force deems appropriate, in order to  ensure
 that interest and other investment returns generated from public invest-
 ments  made  in  connection with the plan will be returned to the state,
 reduce taxpayer burden and allow for more investment.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
 deemed repealed April 1, 2020.