Senator Walczyk Stands With Senate Republicans; Demands Governor Remove Gas Ban From Budget

Senator Mark Walczyk joined some of his colleagues in the conference to send a clear message to Governor Kathy Hochul regarding her plan to ban fossil fuels. The Governor’s plan would eliminate fossil fuel use for new single family homes by December 31, 2025, and ban fossil fuel use for existing single-family homes by January 1, 2030.

NYS Senate Leader Rob Ortt, Senator Mario Mattera, Senator Thomas O’Mara and Senator Walczyk sent the Executive a letter to request she remove the proposal to ban fossil fuel equipment in residential and commercial buildings. This letter comes on the heels of a recent ruling from the United States Court of Appeals, stating that a locality or state cannot ban natural gas hookups as it is preempted by federal law.

“Instead of trying to push an unconstitutional one size fits all fossil fuel ban in our state’s budget, we request that you instead advocate for affordable solutions in pursuing a cleaner energy future, such as independent cost studies and full transparency; support diverse energy sources; keep needed power supply online to ensure reliability of our grid; and oppose unaffordable mandates on consumers,” the Senators wrote.

"The cult of environmental extremism is leading the state government by the nose and New Yorkers have had enough,” said Senator Walczyk.” “ Senate Republicans have been steadfast in providing realistic solutions to address cleaner energy that won't put residents in a financial crisis and it's high time the Governor starts listening to reason."