NY State Senate Bill 2023-S3059

Current 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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to energy and telecommunications
Jan 27, 2023	referred to energy and telecommunications

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2352
Current Committee:: Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:: Public Service Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §161, Pub Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S6338, A8311
2021-2022: S7593, A4549

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S3059

SPONSOR: HELMING
 
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 elec-
tric generating facilities

 
PURPOSE:

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

 
SUMMARY OF 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 represen-
tation. This bill expresses our state's commitment to democracy and
local representation by establishing that siting boards may not conduct
business without local ad hoc members.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: S.7953 referred to Energy and Telecommunications/A.4549
referred to Energy

2019-2020: S.6338 referred to Energy and Telecommunications/A.8311
referred to Energy

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3059
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 27, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HELMING -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
   cations
 
 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

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04435-01-3

 S. 3059                             2
 
 regulations  required  by  paragraphs  (f) and (g) of subdivision one of
 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 S3059

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S3059

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Sponsored By

Pamela Helming

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S3059 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments