NY State Senate Bill 2023-S1487

Senate Bill S1487

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Appoints ad hoc members to the New York state board on electric generation siting and the environment

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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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to energy and telecommunications
Jan 12, 2023	referred to energy and telecommunications

co-Sponsors

2023-S1487 (ACTIVE) - Details

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: S6774
2021-2022: S3714

2023-S1487 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to appointing ad hoc members to the New York state board on electric generation siting and the environment; provides notification of the status of proposed candidates for appointment.

2023-S1487 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1487

SPONSOR: ORTT
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public service law, in relation to appointing ad hoc
members to the New York state board on electric generation siting and
the environment

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure that local municipalities are notified as to which local ad
hoc members have been appointed from their lists of candidates submitted
to sit on siting boards for electric generating facilities.  To provide
a mechanism for appointment of local ad hoc members to siting boards for
electric generating facilities upon a failure of the president pro tern
of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and/or the governor to
appoint. To ensure that siting boards for electric generating facilities
cannot take any action until local ad hoc members are appointed.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends subdivision 2 of section 161 of the public service law
to state that the Governor shall appoint the ad hoc member from the list
of candidates within forty-five days.

Additionally adds subsection (b) to require notification to all involved
parties of the status of the appointment and application process.

Adds subsection (c) that grants state senators or assembly members the
authority to appoint ad hoc members if not completed according to
subsection (a).

Adds subsection (d) to define a quorum. Section 2: provides the effec-
tive date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Under current law a, siting board for an electric generating facility is
composed of seven members - five executive agency, heads and two local
ad hoc members.

The host municipalities nominate lists of candidates for appointment as
local ad hoc members to the siting board. The president pro tem of the
senate and the speaker of the assembly each appoint one ad hoc member
from the lists submitted within 30 days of their nominations, If the
president pro tern of the senate or the speaker of the assembly fails to
appoint within 30 days, then the governor makes the appointments.  If
the governor fails to appoint local ad hoc members within 45 days, then
there are no local ad hoc members on the siting board. The siting board
can proceed and conduct business without any local members.

A significant number of proposed projects are going forward without
local ad hoc members on the siting boards. For example, Horseshoe Solar
Project in the Towns of Caledonia and Rush,Morris Ridge Solar Project in
the Town of Mt. Morris, and Bear Ridge Solar Project in Towns of Cambria
and Pendleton. Municipalities submitted lists of candidates, but no
appointments were ever made.

By simply ignoring the lists of candidates, municipalities are denied
local representation and the siting boards go forward without them.
Municipalities are not even noticed as to who on their lists was
appointed, if anyone. Municipalities are kept in the dark and excluded
from the process when their communities are most affected by decisions
made by the siting boards. Local ad hoc members are needed to voice
local concerns and raise local issues. They are vital to any project.

This bill would require that municipalities be notified of what action,
if any, was taken on their lists of candidates. This will allow munici-
palities to take appropriate action to ensure their interests are
protected.

This bill would also ensure local membership on the siting boards. If
the president pro tern of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and/or
the governor fail to appoint one or both of the local ad hoc
members,then the senator and assembly member whose districts encompass
the proposed project will make the appointments.

Further, this bill would ensure that the siting boards could not take
any action without ad hoc local members being appointed.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: S. 3714 Referred to Energy and Telecommunications

2019-2020: Referred to Energy and Telecommunications.

2019-2020: Referred to Rules New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S1487 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1487
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 12, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  ORTT  --  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 appointing ad hoc
   members  to the New York state board on electric generation siting and
   the environment

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 2 of section 161 of the public service law, as
 added by chapter 388 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   2. (A) 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05177-01-3

 S. 1487                             2
 
 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 WITHIN
 FORTY-FIVE DAYS.  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
 WITHIN  FORTY-FIVE  DAYS.   [In the event that one or both of the ad hoc
 public members have not been appointed within forty-five days, a majori-
 ty of persons named to the board shall constitute a quorum.]
   (B) IN THE EVENT THAT ONE OR BOTH OF THE AD HOC MEMBERS HAVE NOT  BEEN
 APPOINTED,  PURSUANT  TO  PARAGRAPH  (A)  OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE CHAIR
 SHALL, WITHIN THIRTY DAYS, NOTIFY ALL PARTIES REQUIRED TO BE NOTIFIED OF
 THE PRE-APPLICATION PRELIMINARY SCOPING STATEMENT OF THE STATUS  OF  THE
 CANDIDATES  SUBMITTED.  THE STATE SENATOR OR SENATORS AND STATE ASSEMBLY
 MEMBER OR MEMBERS WHO  REPRESENT  THE  DISTRICTS  WHEREIN  THE  PROPOSED
 PROJECT  IS  PLANNED  SHALL ALSO BE NOTIFIED OF THE STATUS OF THE CANDI-
 DATES SUBMITTED.
   (C) IF ONE OR BOTH OF THE AD  HOC  MEMBERS  HAVE  NOT  BEEN  APPOINTED
 PURSUANT  TO   PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THEN THE STATE SENATOR
 OR SENATORS AND STATE ASSEMBLY  MEMBER  OR  MEMBERS  WHO  REPRESENT  THE
 DISTRICTS WHEREIN THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS PLANNED SHALL BE AUTHORIZED TO
 APPOINT  AD  HOC  MEMBERS  FROM THE LISTS OF CANDIDATES SUBMITTED IN THE
 SAME MANNER AS THE PRESIDENT PRO TEM OF THE SENATE AND  THE  SPEAKER  OF
 THE ASSEMBLY.
   (D)  UPON THE APPOINTMENT OF ALL AD HOC MEMBERS, A MAJORITY OF PERSONS
 NAMED TO THE BOARD SHALL CONSTITUTE A QUORUM.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  all
 current and future ad hoc member openings on the New York state board on
 electric generation siting and the environment.

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Senate Bill S1487

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Sponsored By

Robert G. Ortt