HEAT CO-SPONSOR DROPS BILL, CAMPAIGN PAUSED: An assemblymember has dropped her co-sponsorship of a complex gas transition measure after an advocacy group vowed to target her and 15 other members if the bill isn’t included in the state budget. So far, the measure hasn’t been on the negotiating table. But despite Gov. Kathy Hochul’s announcement of a deal, several issues aren’t settled. Some advocates still see the budget as their best shot to get the measure done — especially as the end of session looms in June.
Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato is not having it. Amato, a Democrat from Queens, posted a video of herself on X signing paperwork to withdraw her co-sponsorship of NY HEAT. “I will not be part of a bill that has advocates that act badly or threaten an action to members because they don’t act the way they want them,” she said in the video. “To those who are targeting my office, and will be targeting my staff, bye bye.”
Spring Street Climate Fund committed $50,000 to target assemblymembers if the measure isn’t in the budget. John Raskin, the group’s president, was unphased by the pushback (“sanguine,” he said) but told POLITICO Thursday evening that he's pausing the planned campaign because of productive conversations on the bill.
“It is totally reasonable in a democracy to engage people's constituents, to let them know what their elected officials are or are not doing,” he told POLITICO before the decision to pause the outreach. “The question on the table is whether or not the bill passes. And so far, this bill has been sitting for years in the State Assembly without passing.”
Other co-sponsors of the bill listed by Spring Street contacted by POLITICO reiterated their support for the legislation. “I am uncertain why I am being targeted as I have long supported the bill and have taken multiple meetings over several years with organizations that support the legislation,” said Assemblymember Pamela Hunter in a statement. “I have also been vocal with Assembly leadership on energy affordability and routinely go on the record against rate hikes during public comment periods when utilities propose higher rates."
Assemblymember Jonathan Rivera, a rare co-sponsor of the bill from the Buffalo area, said he’s heard from constituents on all sides including those concerned about the electric grid and manufacturers. “The details of this bill are still being heavily debated,” Rivera said in a statement. “I am committed to carefully reviewing any changes to ensure that the final language achieves our shared goals in a way that is fair, effective, and equitable for all New Yorkers.” Assemblymember Jen Lunsford’s chief of staff, Chloe Dervin, said Lunsford's been an active supporter of the bill and that Spring Street has never reached out to the office. Lunsford remains a supportive co-sponsor, she added.
Spring Street, through its political arm, spent money against two of the assemblymembers targeted in the latest campaign in the last election. Both won reelection. — Marie J. French
BUSINESS GROUPS, DEVELOPERS CHALLENGE WETLAND RULES: Several business groups and individual developers are taking the state to court over expanded wetland protections. The new rules to protect additional wetlands went into effect at the beginning of the year. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Albany County Supreme Court by plaintiffs including the Business Council of New York State and the New York State Builders Association.
The lawsuit seeks to annul the regulations. It argues the rules expand the Department of Environmental Conservation’s authority by 3.5 million acres of wetlands and adjacent buffer areas based on comparing previously mapped wetlands to informational maps released by the department. DEC is putting too much onus on property owners, the lawsuit argues. That’s because they’re responsible for seeking DEC approval and asking whether there’s a wetland on their property before taking regulated actions such as clear cutting trees, building a structure or putting in drainage.
The lawsuit says DEC’s process to roll out the regulations violated the state’s environmental review act because it did not classify it as a significant action. The lawsuit also claims violations of the administrative procedures law and the state constitution for vagueness. Creating a regulated 100 foot buffer around wetlands is “arbitrary and capricious,” the lawsuit says. The lawsuit frames the regulations as a barrier for building homes, a top priority of Gov. Kathy Hochul. The new protections were part of the 2022 budget. — Marie J. French
REAL TALK — EPA Region 2 administrator Mike Martucci wants to talk with New Jersey officials about their proposed coastal flood rules, known as REAL.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican who represents part of the New Jersey coast, said this week that the EPA had “agreed to engage” with Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration about the rules he called “extreme.”
“EPA committed to the Congressman that, while this is a state matter, we’d look further into it to see if there is a role for EPA,” Martucci said through a spokesperson.
The New Jersey Business and Industry Association, along with some legislative Republicans, have attacked the rules, which environmental groups are trying to keep intact and get adopted.
The 1,000-page rule package, a draft of which was first made available in May 2024, assumes that sea levels will rise by 5 feet by the end of the century — a major threat to development and tourism along the state’s 130 miles or so of coastline. The rule package includes amendments to the state’s existing flood hazard, stormwater, coastal zone and freshwater wetland regulations. It also includes provisions aimed to improve water quality and flood protections and address what the DEP said are issues of particular concern to overburdened communities.
Environmental groups who have backed the rules are on edge and wondering what will come of the EPA’s involvement here.
“If the US EPA has been in fact secured to engage on the [REAL] rule package to try to change it and limit the [the New Jersey DEP’s] ability to carry out its own authority, this is yet another example of grotesque federal overreach by the Trump Administration,” Anjuli Ramos-Busot, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said in an email.
LIPA BOARD SCUTTLES TRANSITION — POLITICO’s Marie J. French: The Long Island Power Authority board of trustees on Wednesday voted down a new operator for the region’s electric grid. Staff recommended the board select Texas-based Quanta Services to replace PSEG Long Island as the company responsible for maintaining and operating the grid based on the results of a competitive process. The board’s unusual move raises questions about next steps.
The Long Island Power Authority’s system supplies electricity to 1.2 million customers on Long Island and the Rockaways. LIPA contracts out most of its operations, though there’s been a push in recent years for the authority to expand its scope and take on full operations of the utility system. Like other state authorities, LIPA is controlled by Gov. Kathy Hochul. High costs and problems with Long Island’s electric grid can become major political headaches.
— Statement: LIPA sent a press release saying the decision by the board extends the procurement process for services to run the electric system. Next steps remain to be determined, but it’s an active procurement. “Today’s action by the Board is significant,” John Rhodes, acting CEO, said. “While work remains to be done as we seek to align and, ultimately, come to an agreement with our future service provider, we are committed to ensuring the outcome is in the best interests of our customers and the continuity of service.”
NYPA BEEFS UP RENEWABLES TEAM: The New York Power Authority has hired some key staff to bolster its renewable energy development and other efforts in the past several months. That includes Maureen F. Harris, a former Public Service Commission member, who started as a special counsel in February, according to LinkedIn. The authority also brought on Hayley Carlock as a special counsel to work on renewable energy siting. Carlock was most recently a top lawyer for the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and before that oversaw legal and advocacy efforts at Scenic Hudson. Angela Sicker was also brought on from the New York Independent System Operator as a senior attorney in February.
The authority also snagged Chad Gholizadeh, formerly in the executive chamber working on ethics and as assistant counsel for energy, earlier this month. Gholizadeh was most recently with the Department of Public Service for a short stint on policy implementation. His title at NYPA is deputy general counsel, according to LinkedIn.
While NYPA has previously publicly promoted key new hires to assist with building out its renewable portfolio, spokesperson Lindsay Kryzak declined to comment on the added legal firepower. — Marie J. French
NJ TRANSIT CONTINGENCY PLAN — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: NJ Transit is encouraging commuters to work from home as part of a contingency plan unveiled Wednesday ahead of a threatened strike later this month.
NJ Transit’s leader said a strike, which would be the first since the 1980s, would “destroy the lives of 350,000 residents and riders.” If the union that represents train engineers goes ahead with the strike May 16, New York City commuters coming from New Jersey are going to have a rougher trip.
CUTS FROM ALL SIDES — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette told state lawmakers Tuesday that federal funding cuts by the Trump administration should concern them.
But DEP is also dealing with state-level belt tightening, even as his agency’s firefighters are stretched thin and as federal interest in environmental protection and money for pollution controls are waning.
Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget proposal would cut DEP’s state budget to $495 million, an 8 percent decrease when adjusted for quirks in the budgeting process, according to the Office of Legislative Services. Federal funding, which supports infrastructure projects and a tenth of the agency’s personnel budget, is facing drastic if uncertain cuts.
LaTourette tried to make the best of the Trump administration’s slashes to federal spending and Murphy’s own spending cuts, saying during the afternoon hearing that “flat is the new up and, in this budget, down is the new up.” |
