New York A 849: Relates to the decriminalization of sex work; repealer

Bill Text

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A00849 Summary:

BILL NOA00849 

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORBlankenbush

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COSPNSRBrabenec, McDonough, Miller, Shimsky, Smullen

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MLTSPNSR

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Relates to enacting the biomass fired exception program providing an exception for certain biomass fired electric generation facilities to the definition of a fossil fuel-fired facility for purposes of a CO2 budget trading program.

Go to top A00849 Actions:

BILL NOA00849 

&nbsp

01/08/2025referred to environmental conservation

01/07/2026referred to environmental conservation

Go to topA00849 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA00849 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA00849 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 849

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 (Prefiled)

 January 8, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. BLANKENBUSH, BRABENEC, McDONOUGH, MILLER, SHIM-
 SKY, SMULLEN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environ-
 mental Conservation

 AN ACT in relation to enacting the "biomass fired exception program"
 addressing the applicability of a CO2 budget trading program to biom-
 ass-fired electric generating facilities that have converted from
 coal-fired generation

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 2 the "biomass fired exception program".
 3 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and declares
 4 that it is in the economic and environmental interests of the citizens
 5 of the state of New York to support and encourage renewable energy
 6 generation through the conversion of coal-fired electric generating
 7 facilities to biomass-fired facilities. The combustion of biomass offers
 8 a sustainable and manageable carbon lifecycle since the materials
 9 included in biomass generally absorb atmospheric carbon during their
 10 lifecycle and then return it to the atmosphere during combustion. This
 11 process mimics the natural lifecycle of plant life that can fall to the
 12 forest floor, decompose and return its carbon to the atmosphere.
 13 The legislature further finds and declares that biomass production
 14 facilities support and sustain jobs, particularly in upstate New York,
 15 where more than four thousand people are employed directly or indirectly
 16 by the industry. In fact, many of the largest and most successful biom-
 17 ass facilities are located in parts of New York state that have high
 18 unemployment and are in desperate need of economic development. New York
 19 state also possesses an abundance of biomass fuel due to the large
 20 amount of untapped forest and agricultural land where biomass fuel can
 21 be collected. Biomass is the equivalent of solar energy stored in organ-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD03294-01-5

 A. 849 2

 1 ic matter and is environmentally friendly while costing around one third
 2 of the cost of fossil fuels.
 3 As such, to the extent that operators of electric generating facili-
 4 ties in New York state are willing to convert formerly coal-fired facil-
 5 ities (boilers, combustion turbines, or combined cycle systems) to
 6 instead be fueled by biomass, state policy should encourage and support
 7 such conversions rather than discourage them. While new biomass-fired
 8 electric generating facilities are not required to acquire CO2 allow-
 9 ances under the regulations implementing the Regional Greenhouse Gas
 10 Initiative (RGGI) in New York state, former coal-fired facilities that
 11 convert to combusting biomass are still subject to RGGI's requirements
 12 under existing regulations, which effectively discourages such conver-
 13 sions. To remedy this situation, and consistent with the intent of RGGI
 14 to encourage more renewable energy generation, the legislature declares
 15 that formerly coal-fired electric generating facilities that convert to
 16 primarily biomass-fired facilities shall be treated in the same manner
 17 as a new biomass facility under the RGGI regulations.
 18 § 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this act "boiler", "combustion
 19 turbine", "combined