NY State Senate Bill 2019-S6338

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to energy and telecommunications
Jun 05, 2019	referred to rules

co-Sponsors

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8311
Current Committee:: Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:: Public Service Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §161, Pub Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S7593, A4549
2023-2024: S3059, A2352

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires ad hoc members to be appointed in order to constitute a quorum on the board of electric generating facilities and includes ad hoc members as part of the board.

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6338

SPONSOR: ORTT
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the public service law, in relation to
the need of ad hoc members to be appointed to constitute a quorum on the
board of electric generating facilities

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To ensure that the siting board for an electric generating facility
cannot meet until local ad hoc members are appointed.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 removes language in the public service law that allows a
siting board to exclude ad hoc siting board members from siting board
decisions. It also amends the public service law to define what consti-
tutes a quorum in meetings of the siting board.

Section 2 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Under current law, the siting board for a proposed electric generating
facility is composed of five executive agency heads and two local ad hoc
members from the towns where the project is proposed to be built.

The host municipalities nominate lists of possible ad hoc members. The
Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker each appoint one ad hoc
member from these lists, but must do so within 30 days of their nomi-
nation. If either chamber leader fails to make an appointment within 30
days, then their ability to make an appointment is forfeited and given
to the Governor.

If the Governor does not make an appointment within 45 days, then the
siting board may meet and conduct business despite not having any local
members.

Ad hoc members serve the purpose of ensuring local voices are repres-
ented on siting boards. Without ad hoc members, siting decisions are
made solely by Albany bureaucrats in offices hundreds of miles from the
communities impacted by these projects.

There have been instances like Niagara County's Bear Ridge Solar
Project, where legislative leaders and the Governor all failed to make
ad hoc member appointments. Failing to make a nomination effectively
serves as a pocket veto of local representation.

This bill expresses our state's commitment to democracy and local repre-
sentation by establishing that siting boards may not conduct business
without local ad hoc memtiers.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6338
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 5, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  ORTT  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to the  need  of  ad
   hoc  members  to  be  appointed to constitute a quorum on the board of
   electric generating facilities

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 161 of the public service
 law, as added by chapter 388 of the laws of 2011, are amended to read as
 follows:
   1. The board[, exclusive of the ad hoc members,] shall have the  power
 to adopt the rules and regulations relating to the procedures to be used
 in certifying facilities under the provisions of this article, including
 the  suspension  or revocation thereof, and shall further have the power
 to seek delegation from the federal government pursuant to federal regu-
 latory programs applicable to the siting of major  electric  facilities.
 The  chairperson, after consultation with the other members of the board
 [exclusive of the ad hoc members], shall have exclusive jurisdiction  to
 issue  declaratory  rulings regarding the applicability of, or any other
 question under, this article and rules and regulations adopted hereunder
 and to grant requests for extensions or amendments to  or  transfers  of
 certificate terms and conditions, provided that no party to the proceed-
 ing opposes such request for extensions or amendments within thirty days
 of  the  filing  of  such  request. Regulations adopted by the board may
 provide for renewal applications for pollutant  control  permits  to  be
 submitted to and acted upon by the department of environmental conserva-
 tion  following  commercial operation of a certified facility. The board
 shall not accept any pre-application preliminary  scoping  statement  or
 application for a certificate, or exercise any powers or functions until
 the  department  of environmental conservation has promulgated rules and
 regulations required by paragraphs (f) and (g)  of  subdivision  one  of
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD13206-01-9

 S. 6338                             2
 
 section  one  hundred  sixty-four of this article and section 19-0312 of
 the environmental conservation law;  provided  however  that  the  board
 shall  be  authorized  to  adopt  rules and regulations required by this
 article.
   2.  Upon  receipt  of  a pre-application preliminary scoping statement
 under this article, the chair shall promptly notify  the  governor,  the
 president  pro tem of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chief
 executive officers representing the municipality and the county in which
 the facility is proposed  to  be  located,  and,  if  such  facility  is
 proposed  to  be  located  within the city of New York, the mayor of the
 city of New York, as well as the chairperson of the community board  and
 the  borough  president  representing  the area in which the facility is
 proposed to be located. One ad hoc member  shall  be  appointed  by  the
 president pro tem of the senate and one ad hoc member shall be appointed
 by  the  speaker  of the assembly from a list of candidates submitted to
 them, in the following manner.  If  such  facility  is  proposed  to  be
 located  outside  of  the  city of New York, the chief executive officer
 representing the municipality shall nominate  four  candidates  and  the
 chief  executive  officer  representing  the  county shall nominate four
 candidates for consideration. If such facility is proposed to be located
 outside of the city of New York and in a village located within a  town,
 the  chief  executive  officer representing the town shall nominate four
 candidates, the chief executive officer representing  the  county  shall
 nominate  four  candidates, and the chief executive officer representing
 the village shall nominate four candidates for  consideration.  If  such
 facility  is  proposed to be located in the city of New York, the chair-
 person of the community board, the borough president, and the  mayor  of
 the  city  of New York shall each nominate four candidates for consider-
 ation. Nominations shall be submitted to the president pro  tem  of  the
 senate and the speaker of the assembly within fifteen days of receipt of
 notification  of  the  pre-application preliminary scoping statement. In
 the event that the president pro tem of the senate does not appoint  one
 of  the  candidates within thirty days of such nominations, the governor
 shall appoint the ad hoc member from the  list  of  candidates.  In  the
 event  that  the  speaker  of  the  assembly does not appoint one of the
 candidates within thirty days of such nominations,  the  governor  shall
 appoint  the  ad  hoc  member from the list of candidates. [In the event
 that one or both of the ad hoc public members have  not  been  appointed
 within  forty-five  days, a majority of persons named to the board shall
 constitute a quorum] A MAJORITY OF PERSONS NAMED TO THE BOARD SHALL  NOT
 CONSTITUTE  A  QUORUM UNLESS BOTH OF THE AD HOC PUBLIC MEMBERS HAVE BEEN
 APPOINTED.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S6338

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee

co-Sponsors

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S6338

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Sponsored By

Robert G. Ortt

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee

co-Sponsors

Pamela Helming

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S6338 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments