Senate Bill S899

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Establishes the teachers' fossil fuel divestment act

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions 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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2023-S899 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A1101
Current Committee:
Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:
Education Law
Laws Affected:
Add §508-b, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:
S4783, A6331

2023-S899 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the teachers' fossil fuel divestment act; requires the New York state teachers' retirement system to divest the retirement system of any stocks, securities, equities, assets, or other obligations of corporations or companies included on an exclusion list of coal producers and oil and gas producers.

2023-S899 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S899 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    899
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 9, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  BRISPORT, ADDABBO, BAILEY, BROUK, CLEARE, COMRIE,
   COONEY, GIANARIS, HARCKHAM, HINCHEY, HOYLMAN, JACKSON,  KRUEGER,  MAY,
   MAYER,  MYRIE,  PARKER,  RAMOS,  RIVERA,  SALAZAR, SANDERS, SEPULVEDA,
   SERRANO, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and  when  printed
   to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions

 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring the New York
   state  teachers'  retirement system to divest the retirement system of
   any investments in corporations or companies included on an  exclusion
   list of coal producers and oil and gas producers
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the  "teachers'
 fossil fuel divestment act".
   §  2. Legislative findings. 1. a. Climate change is a real and serious
 threat to the health, welfare, and prosperity of all  New  Yorkers,  now
 and  in  the  future.  Maintaining  the status quo of fossil fuel energy
 production will lead to catastrophic results.
   b. In July 2019, New York state  passed  the  climate  leadership  and
 community  protection act and committed to reducing statewide greenhouse
 gas emissions by eighty-five percent by 2050 and net zero  emissions  in
 all  sectors  of  the  economy.  Other  cities and states have chosen to
 pursue similar paths to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
   c. The threat of climate change, and the transformation of the  global
 energy system that will be necessary to mitigate it, will have a serious
 negative  impact on investors whose assets are not aligned with the goal
 of keeping the global average temperature  increase  below  1.5  degrees
 Celsius,  as determined by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on
 Climate Change.
   d. There are no existing legal or fiduciary duties  that  require  New
 York  state's pension funds to invest in energy sources that are harmful
 to the environment, or in contradiction to  the  goals  of  the  climate

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03486-01-3
              

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