The bill could drastically raise energy costs for small business and disrupt operations.
The Community Action and Climate Protection Act, just passed by the New York State Senate and expected to be passed by the State Assembly soon, requires the state to get 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and become 85% carbon-free by 2050. The bill, according to the New York Times, is one of the most stringent climate bills in the world. Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign that bill into law.
NFIB’s State Director in New York, Greg Biryla, has worked hard in recent weeks to make sure lawmakers and the public are aware of the consequences of that legislation, and its impact on small businesses, and the cost of energy for all New Yorkers.
In an interview with the New York Times this week, Biryla explained the bill offered few details of how small companies, working on small margins, would rejigger their manufacturing and other operations.
“There doesn’t appear to be a fiscal impact statement for something that aims to completely reinvent our state’s economy,” he said in the New York Times article, adding it would inevitably lead to companies migrating elsewhere. “This just makes other states that much more attractive for investment.”
Biryla, also appeared on Spectrum News’ NY 1, a station that reaches 2 million cable subscribers in the New York City area, explaining that the Climate Action and Community Protection Act doesn’t have a plan for how the state and businesses will reach those very high emission reduction goals. He told viewers much of the technology to do that, such as replacing combustion engines used for tractors and construction equipment, doesn’t currently exist.
