Krueger Praises Passage Of Environmental Bills

New York— With only one official day remaining in New York's legislative session State Senator Liz Krueger praised the Senate for passing some high priority environmental bills. "I am very proud of my colleagues for having the foresight to make the environment a top priority regardless of partisan politics," said Senator Krueger.

Some of the bills that passed the Senate this session included:

        vS.8145 the NYC Solar Tax Credits Bill (passed the Assembly)

               o  The bill creates an incentive for installing solar panels on the roofs of New York City 
                    buildings by creating a tax abatement for buildings that install solar panels. The roofs 
                    of New York City buildings are a prime place for no emission solar electricity 
                    generating but due to high installation costs buildings have never embraced the idea. 
                    This bill will offset the installation costs and create an incentive for solar technology.

  v S.8481 the Wind Net Metering Bill (passed the Assembly)

              o   This bill promotes the use and construction of residential and non-residential wind 
                   electric generating systems through net metering. Net metering is the practice of 
                   crediting consumers for the power they generate themselves and return to the power grid.

  v S.5442-C the Green Building Construction Act (passed the Assembly)

             o   This bill requires that new construction and substantial renovation of state buildings 
                  comply with energy consumption and resource use standards established by the 
                  Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

  v  S.1634-B the Clean Energy Tax Credits Bill (has not passed the Assembly)

            o   This bill establishes tax credits to subsidize the cost of purchasing and installing solar, 
                 wind, and other renewable energy equipment. These tax credits would incentivize the
                 use of clean technologies that generate electricity without producing harmful greenhouse gases.

Senator Krueger expressed hope that "passing these bills will serve as a turning point for New York State to become an environmental leader in this nation. However, many important environmental measures still need to be acted on. The Senate needs to continue to seize this moment and bring home real victories for all New York."