Bill Text: NY A07172 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates a temporary state commission on the economic costs and benefits of hydraulic fracturing in New York State.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 25-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - referred to environmental conservation [A07172 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-A07172-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 7172 2011-2012 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y April 14, 2011 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. N. RIVERA, CAHILL, MAGNARELLI, COLTON, JAFFEE, CASTRO, P. RIVERA, STEVENSON, ROBERTS, COOK, ENGLEBRIGHT -- Multi- Sponsored by -- M. of A. ARROYO, BARRON, BOYLAND, CAMARA, CASTELLI, CLARK, CRESPO, GOODELL, JEFFRIES, LINARES, MARKEY, MENG, MOYA, RAMOS, J. RIVERA, RODRIGUEZ, SIMOTAS -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT providing for the creation of a temporary state commission on the economic costs and benefits of hydraulic fracturing in New York state; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration there- of THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. A temporary state commission, to be known as the commission 2 on the economic costs and benefits of hydraulic fracturing in New York 3 state, hereinafter referred to as the commission, is hereby created to 4 examine, evaluate, make recommendations and to collect data concerning 5 the economic impact of hydraulic fracturing on the entire economy of New 6 York state and the impact on local economies where hydraulic fracturing 7 will occur. Specifically, such data shall include at least the follow- 8 ing: 9 (a) the impact and costs to the housing sector including rental and 10 home ownership; 11 (b) the impact on infrastructure including roads and bridges; 12 (c) the impact on the environment; 13 (d) the impact on costs to the state for the displacement of individ- 14 uals and families from affected areas; 15 (e) the projected public safety costs for municipalities housing 16 hydraulic operations; and 17 (f) all foreseen costs to the state from allowing hydraulic fracturing 18 operations to be established, maintained, operated, dismantled and 19 decommissioned as well as run dry. EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09978-03-1 A. 7172 2 1 S 2. The commission shall consist of fifteen members, to be appointed 2 as follows: seven members to be appointed by the governor; three members 3 to be appointed by the temporary president of the senate and shall 4 include at least one member of the Business Council of New York State or 5 the Partnership for New York city and one member of the Sierra Club or 6 the New York Public Interest Group; three members to be appointed by the 7 speaker of the assembly and shall include at least one member of the 8 Business Council of New York State or the Partnership for New York City 9 and one member of the Sierra Club or the New York Public Interest Group; 10 one member to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate; and one 11 member to be appointed by the minority leader of the assembly. The 12 commission shall be housed at and staffed by the New York state depart- 13 ment of economic development and of the fifteen appointed members at 14 least one representative from that agency and each of the following 15 agencies; department of transportation, division of home and community 16 renewal, department of environmental conservation, the department of tax 17 and finance, and the office of temporary and disability assistance. The 18 governor shall designate the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the 19 commission. Vacancies in the membership of the commission and among its 20 officers shall be filled in the manner provided for original appoint- 21 ments or designations. 22 S 3. Members of the commission shall receive no compensation for their 23 services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses 24 incurred in the performance of their duties hereunder. To the maximum 25 extent feasible, the commission shall be entitled to request and receive 26 and shall utilize and be provided with such facilities, resources, and 27 data of any court, department, division, board, bureau, commission, or 28 agency of the state or any political subdivision thereof as it deems 29 necessary or desirable to carry out properly its powers and duties here- 30 under. 31 S 4. The commission may employ and at pleasure remove such personnel 32 as it may deem necessary for the performance of its functions and fix 33 their compensation within the amounts made available therefor. 34 S 5. The commission may meet within and outside the state, shall hold 35 public hearings, and shall have all the powers of a legislative commit- 36 tee pursuant to the legislative law. 37 S 6. (a) The commission shall make and submit its findings, including 38 any recommendations for legislative action as it may deem necessary and 39 appropriate in a report to the governor, the temporary president of the 40 senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate 41 and the minority leader of the assembly not later than one hundred 42 eighty days after it first convenes. Such report shall include: 43 (1) the overall environmental and social impact of hydraulic fractur- 44 ing in other states where the industry has been established; 45 (2) tax collection rates and tax schedules of those states which were 46 imposed on hydraulic fracturing operations; and 47 (3) a comparison of the annual revenue collected by the state from 48 hydraulic operations to costs incurred by those states in maintaining 49 and repairing infrastructure, cost to remedy displacement of families 50 and individuals, cost of environmental damage and remediation, cost from 51 loss of affordable housing due to demand for housing by hydraulic frac- 52 turing workforce, and any and all related costs to New York state that 53 will be incurred by hydraulic fracturing operations. 54 (b) Recommendations included in such report shall include: 55 (1) a tax structure for hydraulic fracturing firms and operations that 56 will take into account related costs to New York in order for policy A. 7172 3 1 makers to assess any potential tax collection benefits, if any, if full- 2 scale hydraulic fracturing is allowed to take place in New York; 3 (2) the projected potential number of total jobs created by hydraulic 4 fracturing; 5 (3) the projected revenue from tax collection under current business 6 tax structure; 7 (4) the projected number of housing units needed by new workforce; and 8 (5) the recommended amount of bonding and/or insurance needed for 9 hydraulic fracturing firms to cover potential natural and/or environ- 10 mental disasters and/or accidents. 11 S 7. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the 12 appointment of members to the New York state commission on the economic 13 costs and benefits of hydraulic fracturing shall be completed within 14 thirty days of such effective date, provided further, that this act 15 shall remain in effect until thirty days after the commission submits 16 the report required by section six of this act, at which time this act 17 shall expire and be deemed repealed.