STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5334 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 8, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to establish a green new deal for New York task force; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration there- of The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Green new deal for New York task force. 1. There shall be a 2 task force for a green new deal for New York which shall consist of the 3 following nineteen voting members: three members appointed by the 4 governor, one of which shall serve as the chair of the task force; pres- 5 ident of the New York state energy research and development authority, 6 or his or her designee; the chair of the public service commission, or 7 his or her designee; the commissioner of environmental conservation; or 8 his or her designee; president of empire state development or his or her 9 designee; the commissioner of transportation, or his or her designee; 10 the commissioner of health, or his or her designee; and the commissioner 11 of agriculture and markets, or his or her designee; the president of the 12 New York state AFL-CIO or his or her designee; the three members 13 appointed by the temporary president of the senate, one of whom shall be 14 a representative from the private sector; three members appointed by the 15 speaker of the assembly, one of whom shall be a representative from the 16 private sector; one member appointed by the minority leader of the 17 senate; and one member appointed by the minority leader of the assembly; 18 and in consultation with the following and other relevant state agen- 19 cies, public authorities, local governments, the federal government and 20 non-governmental organizations: the department of health, the department 21 of labor, the department of state, the division of homeland security and 22 emergency services, the power authority of the state of New York, the 23 long island power authority, the department of taxation and finance, the 24 metropolitan transportation authority, the state university of New York, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07108-03-9A. 5334 2 1 the city university of New York, the New York independent system opera- 2 tor, and others. 3 2. No member of the task force shall be disqualified from holding any 4 public office or employment, nor shall he or she forfeit any such office 5 of employment by virtue of his or her appointment pursuant to this 6 section. 7 3. Members of the task force shall receive no compensation for their 8 services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses 9 incurred in the performance of their functions pursuant to this section. 10 4. The task force shall hold at least five public hearings. To the 11 extent practicable, such hearings shall be held in different regions of 12 the state. During the public hearings, the task force shall hear the 13 testimony of voluntary witnesses. 14 5. The task force shall develop a detailed statewide, industrial, 15 economic mobilization plan (hereinafter referred to as the "plan for a 16 green new deal for New York" or the "plan") for the transition of the 17 New York economy to become greenhouse gas emissions neutral by 2030 and 18 to significantly draw down greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and 19 oceans and to promote economic and environmental justice and equality. 20 In furtherance of the foregoing, the plan shall: 21 (a) be prepared in consultation with experts and leaders from busi- 22 ness, labor, state and local governments, tribal nations, academia and 23 broadly representative civil society groups and communities; 24 (b) be driven by the state government, in collaboration, co-creation 25 and partnership with business, labor, local governments, tribal nations, 26 research institutions and civil society groups and communities, and the 27 federal government; 28 (c) be executed in no longer than 10 years from the start of execution 29 of such plan; 30 (d) provide opportunities for high income work, entrepreneurship and 31 cooperative and public ownership; and 32 (e) additionally, be responsive to, and in accordance with, the goals 33 and guidelines relating to social, economic, racial, regional and 34 gender-based justice and equality. 35 6. In addition to preparing the plan, the task force shall prepare 36 draft legislation for the enactment of the plan in accordance with this 37 section. Such draft legislation may be prepared concurrently with the 38 development of the plan, or as the task force may otherwise deem appro- 39 priate, provided that such finalized draft legislation shall be 40 completed in accordance with the timing set forth in subparagraph (ii) 41 of paragraph (b) of subdivision 9 of this section. 42 7. The task force shall have the authority to investigate, study, make 43 findings, convene experts and leaders from industry, academia, local 44 communities, labor, finance, environmental justice, technology and any 45 other industry or group that the select committee deems to be a relevant 46 resource. The task force may, at its discretion and as its members may 47 deem appropriate, hold public hearings in connection with any aspect of 48 its investigative functions. 49 8. To enable the task force to carry out the purposes of this article, 50 the task force will use existing staff and resources from appropriate 51 agencies. 52 9. (a) The task force shall submit a preliminary report on the plan to 53 the governor, senate and assembly and online for the public by September 54 1, 2019 and as it deems appropriate from time to time the results of its 55 investigations and studies, together with such detailed findings andA. 5334 3 1 interim recommendations or proposed plan or draft legislation, or 2 portion thereof, as it may deem advisable. 3 (b)(i) The task force shall complete the plan for a green new deal for 4 New York and issue a report to the governor, the temporary president of 5 the senate, and the speaker of the assembly by a date no later than 6 January 1, 2020. 7 (ii) The task force shall complete the finalized draft legislation and 8 submit it to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, and 9 the speaker of the assembly by a date no later than the date that is 90 10 calendar days after the task force has completed the plan and, in any 11 event, no later than March 1, 2020. 12 (iii) The task force shall ensure that the plan and the draft legis- 13 lation prepared in accordance with this section shall, upon completion 14 be made available to the general public in widely accessible formats 15 including, but not limited to, via at least one dedicated website and a 16 print publication, by a date no later than 30 calendar days following 17 the respective dates for completion. 18 10. (a) The plan for a green new deal and the draft legislation shall 19 be developed with the objective of reaching the following outcomes with- 20 in the target window of 10 years from the start of execution of the 21 plan: 22 (i) dramatically expand existing renewable power sources and deploy 23 new production capacity with the goal of meeting 100 percent of New York 24 state power demand through clean renewable sources; 25 (ii) building a statewide, energy-efficient, "smart" grid; 26 (iii) upgrading every residential and industrial building for state- 27 of-the-art energy efficiency, comfort and safety; 28 (iv) eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing, 29 agricultural and other industries, including by investing in local-scale 30 agriculture in communities across the state; 31 (v) eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from, repairing and improving 32 transportation and other infrastructure, and upgrading water infrastruc- 33 ture to ensure universal access to clean water; 34 (vi) funding massive investment in the drawdown of greenhouse gases; 35 (vii) making "green" technology, industry, expertise, products and 36 services a major export of New York state, with the aim of becoming the 37 undisputed international leader in helping other states and countries 38 transition to completely greenhouse gas neutral economies and bringing 39 about a global green new deal; and 40 (viii) explain how these actions will be financed and what the econom- 41 ic impact will be if we take these actions and if we do not take these 42 actions. 43 (b) The plan for a green new deal and the draft legislation shall 44 recognize that a state, industrial, economic mobilization of this scope 45 and scale is a historic opportunity to virtually eliminate poverty in 46 New York state and to make prosperity, wealth and economic security 47 available to everyone participating in the transformation. In further- 48 ance of the foregoing, the plan and the draft legislation shall: 49 (i) provide all members of our society, across all regions and all 50 communities, the opportunity, training and education to be a full and 51 equal participant in the transition, including through a job guarantee 52 program to assure a living wage job to every person who wants one; 53 (ii) diversify local and regional economies, with a particular focus 54 on communities where the fossil fuel industry holds significant control 55 over the labor market, to ensure workers have the necessary tools,A. 5334 4 1 opportunities, and economic assistance to succeed during the energy 2 transition; 3 (iii) require strong enforcement of labor, workplace safety, and wage 4 standards that recognize the rights of workers to organize and unionize 5 free of coercion, intimidation, and harassment, and creation of meaning- 6 ful, quality, career employment; 7 (iv) ensure a 'just transition' for all workers, low-income communi- 8 ties, communities of color, indigenous communities, rural and urban 9 communities and the front-line communities most affected by climate 10 change, pollution and other environmental harm including by ensuring 11 that local implementation of the transition is led from the community 12 level and by prioritizing solutions that end the harms faced by front- 13 line communities from climate change and environmental pollution; 14 (v) protect and enforce sovereign rights and land rights of tribal 15 nations; 16 (vi) mitigate deeply entrenched racial, regional and gender-based 17 inequalities in income and wealth including, but not limited to, ensur- 18 ing that state and other investment will be equitably distributed to 19 historically impoverished, low income, deindustrialized or other margi- 20 nalized communities in such a way that builds wealth and ownership at 21 the community level; 22 (vii) include additional measures such as basic income programs, 23 universal health care programs and any others as the task force may deem 24 appropriate to promote economic security, labor market flexibility and 25 entrepreneurism; 26 (viii) deeply involve state and local labor unions to take a leader- 27 ship role in the process of job training and worker deployment; and 28 (ix) explain how these actions will be financed and what the economic 29 impact will be if these actions are taken and if these actions are not 30 taken. 31 (c) The plan for a green new deal and the draft legislation shall 32 recognize that innovative public and other financing structures are a 33 crucial component in achieving and furthering the goals and guidelines 34 relating to social, economic, racial, regional and gender-based justice 35 and equality and cooperative and public ownership. The plan and the 36 draft legislation shall, accordingly, ensure that the majority of 37 financing of the plan shall be accomplished by the state government, 38 using a combination of a new public bank or a system of regional and 39 specialized public banks, public venture funds and such other vehicles 40 or structures that the task force deems appropriate, in order to ensure 41 that interest and other investment returns generated from public invest- 42 ments made in connection with the plan will be returned to the state, 43 reduce taxpayer burden and allow for more investment. 44 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 45 deemed repealed April 1, 2020.