A 956: Authorizes counties to lease county land for natural gas exploration, development and production for five years or as long as gas is produced in paying quantities.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 956 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ANGELINO, DeSTEFANO, DiPIETRO, DURSO, LEMONDES, MANKTELOW, McDONOUGH, MORINELLO, TAGUE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the county law, in relation to leases for the explora- tion and drilling for and extraction of natural gas and liquefied natural gas The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 215 of the county law is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 4-a to read as follows: 3 4-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions three and four of 4 this section, a board of supervisors or other county legislative body 5 may lease, upon such terms and conditions as the board or body shall 6 determine, county land for the purposes of the exploration, development 7 and production of natural gas and liquefied natural gas, as such terms 8 are defined in section 23-1705 of the environmental conservation law, 9 for not more than five years and, if any such gas is produced upon the 10 county land prior to the expiration of such five year lease, the lease 11 shall be extended for as long as natural gas or liquefied natural gas is 12 produced in paying quantities. 13 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02660-01-5