Griffo, Miller and Buttenschon: CLCPA creating significant challenges for consumers, businesses, schools and communities
New York State Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-C-Rome, Assemblyman Brian Miller, R-C-New Hartford, and Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon, D-Marcy, were joined today by area business owners and municipal officials to express concerns with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and to push for needed changes that will help those affected by this problematic policy.
Passed in 2019, the CLCPA placed the state on a path of reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions of 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2050. It also mandated significant investment in renewable energy infrastructure with the goal of making the grid 70% powered by renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2040.
While the CLCPA set highly ambitious goals and standards, it provided little guidelines for governments or actionable roadmaps for how those goals were to be achieved. Since the CLCPA has been on the books, there has been nothing to show for it except frustrated ratepayers and taxpayers, business organizations and even climate advocacy groups.
Concerns raised about the CLCPA and the state’s approach to accomplishing its goals at today’s news conference included the detrimental effect the policy would have on energy bills, small businesses, schools and communities and the possibility it could jeopardize the security and reliability of the state’s energy grid. Other concerns were:
- The implementation of the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) Rule: The regulation would require that medium and heavy-duty vehicles, including municipal plows, be manufactured as zero emission starting in 2025, with the goal of 100% of trucks over 8,500 pounds to be zero emission by 2045. However, groups like the New York State Automobile Dealers Association, Trucking Association of New York, New York State County Highway Association and local highway superintendents and departments and Utica Mack, Inc. have pushed back against this regulation because it would be detrimental to businesses and communities. Sen. Griffo and Assemblywoman Buttenschon have introduced legislation that would delay the implementation of the ACT Rule to provide more time to fully understand the effect that this rule would have on industries and municipalities in the state. Assemblyman Miller supports the bill and plans to cosponsor it in the Assembly.
- Regulations prohibiting new products and equipment that contain hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Banning these commonly used refrigerants will impose significant costs on New York businesses, including grocers, convenience stores and neighborhood bodegas, who will have to retrofit their facilities with new equipment in response to this mandate. Small business owners and groups representing larger businesses have warned the aggressive timetable to phase out hydrofluorocarbons could cripple businesses, icing out jobs and triggering price hikes on food items and other consumer products, as they attempt to comply with the costly mandate. The National Supermarket Association has said it could cost grocery stores between $300,000 to $1 million to eventually replace the cooling compressors that power refrigerators.
- An electric school bus mandate: As a result of a mandate passed as part of the 2022-23 state budget, all new school buses purchased in New York must be zero-emission by 2027 and all school buses in operation must be electric by 2035. However, many school districts have shared concerns and challenges they are facing regarding their ability to comply with this mandate. Some of the challenges that stakeholders have identified include utility providers being unable to provide adequate power to districts; fiscal challenges related to school buses and charging infrastructure acquisition; and zero-emission school buses not being conducive to long bus routes or cold weather, among others. To help districts, Sen. Griffo and Assemblyman Robert Smullen, R-C-Meco, have introduced legislation that would provide districts with the option of submitting an opt-out waiver that would permanently exempt them from the provisions required by the zero-emission school bus mandate.
Besides raising more awareness about this issue and pressing for delays to the implementation of these regulations, the legislators and those in attendance at today’s news conference also urged the public to contact the offices of Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to express their concerns. Contact information for their office is as follows:
- Gov. Kathy Hochul
1-518-474-8390
https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form (to send a message)
- Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
(518) 455-2585
- Speaker Carl Heastie
518-455-3791
“I appreciate and understand the need to embrace clean energy,” Sen. Griffo said. “However, the problematic CLCPA, which I did not support, is full of unaffordable mandates and unrealistic and unreasonable deadlines that hurt struggling taxpayers, families, business owners and communities. We need reasonable and realistic deadlines and expectations to reach the state’s energy goals, policies that improve the reliability and security of the grid and a diversified energy portfolio to best meet the needs of New Yorkers.”
“The CLCPA has placed an undue burden on our communities, businesses, and schools, all while failing to provide the necessary guidance or resources to achieve its lofty goals,” Assemblyman Miller said. “From costly mandates on electric school buses to regulations impacting small businesses and municipalities, the implementation of this policy is creating significant challenges for the people of New York. I did not support the CLCPA because it lacks actionable solutions and imposes unrealistic expectations that disproportionately harm rural and upstate communities. It’s clear that this policy needs immediate adjustments to ensure fairness and practicality, and I stand with my colleagues in calling for changes that will better serve our residents while protecting their livelihoods and local economies.”
“I clearly support continuous efforts to keep our communities environmentally sound,” Assemblywoman Buttenschon said. “However, we must also be sure that our businesses can thrive. As chair of the Small Business Committee in the New York State Assembly, I am confident that if we listen to our small business owners we can accomplish this collaboratively. They have expressed to me that they want a vibrant environment for their families and employees to live in. We must take a commonsense approach to have a balance between a productive work community and a healthy environment.”
“Utica Mack appreciates the opportunity to host this press conference to continue to bring awareness to the challenges presented by the CARB and ACT laws that took effect on January 1, 2025,” said Tom Heiland, President of Utica Mack, Inc., HEP Leasing LLC, Marcy Hydraulics. “These regulations have created an almost insurmountable burden on businesses like Utica Mack in New York State, forcing us to sell a product that consumers do not want, and that the state's current infrastructure cannot support. These laws are not just hurting individual businesses, they are undermining our ability to operate effectively in a state already strained by overregulation. It has become nearly impossible to conduct business in New York under these conditions. We are committed to advocating for a practical solution. Please join us in welcoming Senator Griffo and Assemblymembers Buttenschon and Miller to discuss these issues and direct us all on ways move forward and potentially stop this law.”
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