Plugged In @ Hinman Straub – July 19, 2019

What’s Inside

  • Governor Signs Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act
  • Governor Signs MWBE Expansion
  • Governor Signs Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act
  • Age to Purchase Tobacco Products Raises to 21
  • State Education Department Commissioner Resigns
  • Landlord Organizations File Federal Lawsuit Challenging New Rent Laws
  • Updates, Reminders, and Links
  • Coming Up

Governor Signs Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act

Governor Cuomo, joined by former Vice President Al Gore, signed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) this week. The Governor also announced two offshore wind projects that are supposed to create 1,700 megawatts of renewable energy. The CLCPA requires the State to achieve a carbon free electricity system by 2040 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85% below 1990 levels by 2050. Highlights of the new law include:

  • Economy-Wide Carbon Neutrality: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will, through the adoption of regulations, drive an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with an interim mandate of 40% reduction in emissions by 2030 (both relative to 1990 levels). The Climate Action Council will develop a plan to offset remaining emissions through carbon capture or other technologies.
  • 70% Renewable Energy by 2030 and Zero-Carbon Emission Electric Sector by 2040:The CLCPA codifies goals as called for under the Governor’s Green New Deal, mandating that at least 70% of New York’s electricity come from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar by 2030, and that the state’s power system is 100% carbon neutral by 2040. 
  • Clean Energy Investments:The CLCPA also codifies the Governor’s commitments to install 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035; 6,000 megawatts of distributed solar by 2025; and 3,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030.
  • Climate Action Council and Policy Roadmap:Heads of relevant state agencies and legislative appointees will draft the roadmap of policies needed to achieve the law’s mandates. The Council, co-chaired by the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA) and DEC will establish sector specific working groups. Planned working groups include a just transition working group, as well as working groups on transportation, agriculture, energy-intensive and trade-exposed industries, land use and energy efficiency. 
  • Investments in Environmental Justice and Just Transition:Relevant state agencies will invest 35% of clean energy program resources to benefit disadvantaged communities, and will aim to invest 40%.

Governor Cuomo said:

“The environment and climate change are the most critically important policy priorities we face. They literally will determine the future – or the lack thereof. Even in today’s chaos of political pandering and hyperbole there are still facts, data and evidence – and climate change is an undeniable scientific fact. But cries for a new green movement are hollow political rhetoric if not combined with aggressive goals and a realistic plan on how to achieve them. With this agreement, New York will lead the way in developing the largest source of offshore wind power in the nation, and today I will sign the most aggressive climate law in the United States of America. Today we are true to the New York legacy – to lead the way forward, to govern with vision and intelligence, to set a new standard, and to match our words with action.”

Statement from the Business Council of NYS:

“The passage of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), puts New York in uncharted territory. The course the State takes will have a profound impact on families, communities, businesses, the State and possibly the world. Importantly, the CLCPA includes a commitment that New York’s climate policies will not cause leakage by addressing affordability and listening to the impacted business community. Carbon policies that global competitors are not subject to can put businesses at an economic disadvantage. If our companies are not competitive there is risk of job loss to other jurisdictions with weaker standards, ultimately resulting in higher global greenhouse gas emissions. We need to get this right, to avoid a potential shipwreck.” 

Governor Signs MWBE Expansion

This week, Governor Cuomo signed into law S.6575/A.8414, which expands the Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) program and reauthorizes the program for an additional five years. The program was originally set to expire this year. The changes to the program include:

  • Allows a certified MWBE to be considered the lowest bid if their bid is not more than 10% higher than the lowest bid (for construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair or improvement of any state building for projects less than $1.4 million);
  • Extends the term of MWBE certification from 3 years to 5 years;
  • Increases agency and authority discretionary purchasing threshold from $200,000 to $500,000 without a formal competitive process;
  • Increases the Personal Net Worth cap from $3.5 million to $15 million to make more businesses eligible;
  • Authorizes the Division of MWBE to organize outreach events, training and educational opportunities for MWBE firms across the state; and
  • Establishes a Workforce Diversity Program that requires State agencies overseeing construction projects to utilize a diverse workforce; among additional new terms.

Governor Cuomo said:

“The extension and expansion of New York’s nation-leading MWBE program will help ensure our economy is reflective of our values and of our diverse talent pool. Diversity is New York’s greatest asset, and by signing this measure into law we will empower more women and people of color to participate in State contracts and continue our aggressive program to make contracting even more inclusive.”  

Governor Signs Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act

Governor Cuomo this week signed the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act. The bill will take effect on January 1, 2020 and includes the following provisions:

  • Grants collective bargaining rights to farm laborers;
  • Requires employers of farm laborers to allow at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week;
  • Provides for 60-hour work week for farm workers;
  • Requires overtime rate at one and one-half times normal rate;
  • Makes provisions of unemployment insurance law applicable to farm laborers and reduces costs to farmers for ineligible workers (H-2A);
  • Ensures sanitary codes apply to all farm worker housing, regardless of the number of occupants;
  • Removes a payroll threshold for requiring farm labor employers to obtain workers’ compensation coverage;
  • Allows farm laborers to receive disability and Paid Family Leave benefits; and
  • Requires reporting of injuries to employers of farm laborers.

Governor Cuomo said:

“This new law is not just a great achievement in terms of the effect on the human condition, it’s also a milestone in the crusade for social justice. By signing this bill into law, 100,000 farmers and their families will have better lives and will finally have the same protections that other workers have enjoyed for over 80 years. This powerful and practical achievement is even more significant in the era of President Trump who continually diminishes workers’ rights, attacks labor unions, disrespects the disenfranchised and has made divide and conquer, rather than unify and grow, the credo of America.”

Grow New York Farms statement on the signing of the bill:

“For months, hundreds of farmers and farmworkers spent countless hours seeking to find a balance with elected officials on measures that will change working conditions on farms across New York State. However, the measure that ultimately passed the Legislature and was signed by the Governor on July 17 did not address the challenges and needs of farmers and farmworkers.

“This measure does not create a path that will assure an economically viable New York agriculture industry, and the four fixable flaws within this bill will likely drive more family-owned farms out of the state or out of business. Worst of all, farmworkers will feel the impacts the most because their work hours will be restricted and their income reduced.

Grow NY Farms has been seeking to correct four fundamental flaws contained in the new legislation (Assembly Bill No. 8419 and Senate Bill No. 6578). Modifications include:

  • Applying a standard wage rate for farmworkers who decide to work on the prescribed day of rest.
  • Expanding the family farm definition to include close relatives such as aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.
  • Modifying the composition and timeline of the wage board.

Preserving secret balloting for both farmworkers and farmers.”

Age to Purchase Tobacco Products Raises to 21

The Governor signed into law a bill (S.2833/A.558) to raise the minimum sales age for tobacco and electronic cigarette products from 18 to 21. Previously, each county was able to raise the age to 21 by the adoption of a local law. The law will take effect on November 13, 2019.

Governor Cuomo said:

“New York is taking aggressive action to stamp out smoking among teens and children, but tobacco and e-cigarette use still persists thanks to irresponsible corporate marketing campaigns targeting young people. By raising the smoking age from 18 to 21, we can stop cigarettes and e-cigarettes from getting into the hands of young people in the first place and prevent an entire generation of New Yorkers from forming costly and potentially deadly addictions.”

State Education Department Commissioner Resigns

At this week’s Board of Regents meeting, Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia announced that she would be resigning from her position at the end of August. The board was not informed of her decision to leave prior to announcing the move during the meeting. Elia is stepping down to join a national firm that specializes in helping districts with school turnaround plans. It was announced later in the week that Executive Deputy Commissioner Beth Berlin will serve as Acting Commissioner of the State Education Department effective September 1, 2019.

Landlord Organizations File Federal Lawsuit Challenging New Rent Laws

This week, the Rent Stabilization Association and the Community Housing Improvement Program, along with seven individual landlords, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York. The lawsuit alleges that the rent law approved last month violates the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment, which includes a clause that bars taking of private property without “just compensation,” and the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause. The complaint argues that changes to the rent law deprive “property owners of their core rights to exclude others from their property and to possess, use, and dispose of their property,” because — among other things — owners can’t refuse to renew leases “except in very narrow circumstances.” The 125-page complaint names the city, the city’s Rent Guidelines Board, the board’s members and the state Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas as defendants. The suit seeks to prohibit the enforcement and application of the rent law.

Updates, Reminders, and Links

City & State NY’s Winners and Losers here.

Daily News Opinion: Governor Cuomo, approve this pipeline here.

Cabán narrows Katz lead to 15 votes here.

Governor urges caution during this weekend’s heat wave here.

Coming Up

The Assembly Committees on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions and Consumer Affairs and Protection will hold a joint public hearing on robocalls, spoofing and nuisance calls on a date to be determined (Postponed – Date TBD).

JCOPE will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, July 23.

The PSC will hold its next meeting on Thursday, August 8.

The Board of Regents will hold its next meeting on September 9 and 10.