S 8669: Repeals the New York state climate leadership and community protection act and establishes the nineteen member common sense energy council which will prepare and approve recommendations for achieving affordable and attainable statewide greenhouse gas reductions; requires a statewide greenhouse gas emissions report by the department of environmental conservation; makes technical corrections thereto.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8669  IN SENATE January 7, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. ASHBY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the thriving reliable inexpensive versatile energy council which will prepare and approve recommendations for achieving affordable and attainable statewide greenhouse gas reductions; to amend the environ- mental conservation law, the administrative code of the city of New York, the energy law, the public authorities law, the public service law, the public health law, the town law, the general municipal law, and the labor law, in relation to making technical corrections there- to; to repeal article 75 of the environmental conservation law relat- ing to climate change; to repeal section 66-p of the public service law relating to the establishment of a renewable energy program; to repeal section 99-qq of the state finance law, relating to the New York climate action fund; and to repeal certain provisions of the public authorities law, relating to the New York state energy research and development authority The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Article 75 of the environmental conservation law is 2 REPEALED and a new article 75 is added to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 75 4 THRIVING RELIABLE INEXPENSIVE VERSATILE ENERGY COUNCIL 5 Section 75-0101. Thriving reliable inexpensive versatile energy council. 6 75-0103. Statewide greenhouse gas emissions report. 7 § 75-0101. Thriving reliable inexpensive versatile energy council. 8 1. There is hereby established the thriving reliable inexpensive 9 versatile energy council ("council") which shall consist of the follow- 10 ing nineteen members: 11 a. the commissioners of economic development, environmental conserva- 12 tion, the chair of the public service commission, the president of the 13 New York state energy research and development authority; New York power 14 authority; Long Island power authority; and New York Independent System 15 Operator; or their designees; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD14020-04-5 
 S. 8669 2 1 b. three members to be appointed by the temporary president of the 2 senate; 3 c. three members to be appointed by the speaker of the assembly; 4 d. three members to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate; 5 and 6 e. three members to be appointed by the minority leader of the assem- 7 bly. 8 2. The at large members shall include at all times individuals with 9 expertise in the following areas: business, energy production, manufac- 10 turing, construction, labor, transportation, agriculture and a local 11 government official. 12 3. Council members shall receive no compensation for their services 13 but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in 14 the performance of their duties. 15 4. The co-chairs of the council shall be the chair of the public 16 service commission and the president of the New York independent system 17 operator; or their designee. 18 5. Each member of the council shall be entitled to one vote. The coun- 19 cil's approval and adoption of the final scoping plan pursuant to this 20 section, and any subsequent interim updates thereto, shall require a 21 supermajority of the council. No action may be taken by the council 22 unless there is a quorum, which shall at all times be a majority of the 23 members of the council. 24 6. Any vacancies on the council shall be filled in the manner provided 25 for in the initial appointment. 26 7. The council shall convene advisory panels requiring special exper- 27 tise and, at a minimum, shall establish advisory panels on energy 28 affordability, transportation, energy intensive and trade-exposed indus- 29 tries, land-use and local government, energy efficiency and construction 30 costs, power generation, energy grid reliability and agriculture. Where 31 applicable, advisory panels may provide recommendations for upstate 32 versus downstate and provide cost-benefit analysis to support each 33 regional policy distinction. The purpose of the advisory panels shall be 34 to provide recommendations to the council on specific topics, in the 35 preparation of the scoping plan, and interim updates to the scoping 36 plan, and in fulfilling the council's ongoing duties. 37 a. Each advisory panel shall be chaired by the relevant at large 38 member or designee. The council may convene and dissolve additional 39 advisory panels, in its sole discretion, and pursuant to the require- 40 ments herein. 41 b. Advisory panels shall be comprised of no more than five voting 42 members. The council shall elect advisory panel members, and such 43 membership shall at all times represent individuals with direct involve- 44 ment or expertise in matters to be addressed by the advisory panels 45 pursuant to this section. 46 c. Advisory panels shall work directly with the council on the prepa- 47 ration of the scoping plan pursuant to this section. 48 8. The council shall, within two years of the effective date of this 49 article, prepare and approve a scoping plan that outlines recommenda- 50 tions for achieving affordable and attainable statewide greenhouse gas 51 reductions. The plan shall include proposed legislative and regulatory 52 actions and must incorporate a detailed cost-benefit analysis, that 53 includes a breakout of state, utility, and consumer projected costs. 54 Each recommendation shall be demonstrated to be cost-effective. For the 55 purposes of this article, cost-effective shall mean the proposed legis- 56 lative and regulatory actions must not increase the per-kilowatt hour 
 S. 8669 3 1 price of electricity by more than the national average annual increase 2 in the per-kilowatt hour price of electricity. The scoping plan shall 3 include recommendations extending through at least the year two thousand 4 forty. The first state energy plan issued after completion of the scop- 5 ing plan required by this section shall incorporate the council's recom- 6 mendations. 7 9. a. The council shall hold at least one public comment hearing on 8 the draft scoping plan in each of the empire state development regions 9 and shall allow at least one hundred twenty days for the submission of 10 public comment. 11 b. The council shall provide meaningful opportunities for public 12 comment from all segments of the population that will be impacted by the 13 plan. 14 c. On or before three years of the effective date of this article, the 15 council shall submit the final scoping plan to the governor, the speaker 16 of the assembly and the temporary president of the senate, the minority 17 leader of the senate and the minority leader of the assembly and post 18 such plan on its website. 19 10. The scoping plan shall identify and make recommendations on regu- 20 latory measures, legislation and other state actions that will ensure 21 affordable and attainable statewide greenhouse gas reductions. The meas- 22 ures and actions considered in such scoping plan shall at a minimum 23 include: 24 a. Measures to ensure the state uses affordable, reliable sources of 25 energy such as, among others, hydro, nuclear, clean natural gas, along 26 with wind and solar; 27 b. Measures to ensure local input is considered during the siting 28 process of energy facilities; 29 c. Measures to ensure the electric grid maintains reliability; 30 d. Measures to ensure energy and utility costs are affordable; 31 e. Measures to reduce emissions using energy efficiency that are cost 32 effective; 33 f. Measures that provide consumer choice; 34 g. Land-use and transportation planning measures aimed at reducing 35 greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles; and 36 h. Recommendations to aid in the transition of the state workforce. 37 11. The council shall update its plan for achieving affordable and 38 attainable statewide greenhouse gas reductions at least once every five 39 years and shall make such updates available to the governor, the speaker 40 of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate, the minority 41 leader of the senate, the minority leader of the assembly and post such 42 updates on its website. 43 § 75-0103. Statewide greenhouse gas emissions report. 44 No later than two years after the effective date of this article, and 45 every two years thereafter, the department shall issue a report on 46 statewide greenhouse gas emissions, expressed in tons of carbon dioxide 47 equivalents, from all greenhouse gas emission sources in the state. 48 § 2. Section 66-p of the public service law is REPEALED. 49 § 3. Subdivision c of section 4-207.1 of the administrative code of 50 the city of New York, as added by local law 99 for the year 2024, is 51 amended to read as follows: 52 c. In meeting the requirements of subdivision b of this section, the 53 department shall prioritize the installation of photovoltaic systems in 54 disadvantaged communities, as defined by section [75-0101] 8-0105 of the 55 environmental conservation law. 
 S. 8669 4 1 § 4. Subdivision 18-a of section 16-102 of the energy law, as added by 2 chapter 374 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 3 18-a. "Greenhouse gas" means ["greenhouse gas" as defined in subdivi- 4 sion seven of section 75-0101 of the environmental conservation law] 5 carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluoro- 6 carbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and any other substance emitted into the 7 air that may be reasonably anticipated to cause or contribute to anthro- 8 pogenic climate change. 9 § 5. Subdivision 9 of section 8-0105 of the environmental conservation 10 law, as added by chapter 840 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as 11 follows: 12 9. "Disadvantaged community" [shall have the same meaning as subdivi- 13 sion five of section 75-0101 of this chapter] means communities that 14 bear burdens of negative public health effects, environmental pollution, 15 impacts of climate change, and possess certain socioeconomic criteria, 16 or comprise high-concentrations of low- and moderate- income households. 17 § 6. Subdivision 3 of section 54-1511 of the environmental conserva- 18 tion law, as amended by section 1 of part S of chapter 58 of the laws of 19 2024, is amended to read as follows: 20 3. State assistance payments shall not exceed fifty percent of the 21 project cost or two million dollars, whichever is less, provided however 22 if a municipality meets criteria established by the department relating 23 to either financial hardship or disadvantaged communities pursuant to 24 section [75-0101] 8-0105 of this chapter, the commissioner may authorize 25 state assistance payments of up to eighty percent of the project cost or 26 two million dollars, whichever is less. Such costs are subject to final 27 computation and determination by the commissioner upon completion of the 28 project, and shall not exceed the maximum eligible cost set forth in the 29 contract. A determination of financial hardship shall be based on crite- 30 ria that clearly indicates that the municipality is experiencing signif- 31 icant and widespread financial distress, with primary consideration 32 given to whether a municipality has a median household income at or 33 below eighty percent of the state median household income. 34 § 7. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 70-0118 of the environ- 35 mental conservation law, as amended by chapter 49 of the laws of 2023, 36 is amended to read as follows: 37 (a) "Disadvantaged communities" shall have the same meaning as subdi- 38 vision [five] nine of section [75-0101] 8-0105 of this chapter. 39 § 8. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 70-0118 of the environ- 40 mental conservation law, as added by chapter 49 of the laws of 2023, is 41 amended to read as follows: 42 (a) relevant baseline data on existing burdens, including from rele- 43 vant criteria used to designate the particular disadvantaged communities 44 [pursuant to subdivision one of section 75-0111 of this chapter]; 45 § 9. Subdivision 8 of section 76-0101 of the environmental conserva- 46 tion law, as amended by chapter 100 of the laws of 2025, is amended to 47 read as follows: 48 8. "Covered greenhouse gas emissions" means, with respect to any enti- 49 ty, the total quantity of greenhouse gas emissions, expressed in metric 50 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, [as defined in section 75-0101 of 51 this chapter,] attributable to the total amount of fossil fuels 52 extracted by that entity during the covered period, as well as the total 53 amount of crude oil refined by that entity during the covered period. 54 For the purposes of this article, covered greenhouse gas emissions 55 include those emissions attributable to all fossil fuel extraction and 
 S. 8669 5 1 refining worldwide by such entity and are not limited to such emissions 2 within the state. 3 § 10. Paragraph g of subdivision 2 of section 76-0103 of the environ- 4 mental conservation law, as amended by chapter 100 of the laws of 2025, 5 is amended to read as follows: 6 g. To allocate funds in such a way as to achieve a goal that at least 7 forty percent of the qualified expenditures from the program, but not 8 less than thirty-five percent of such expenditures, shall go to climate 9 change adaptive infrastructure projects that benefit disadvantaged 10 communities as defined in section [75-0101] 8-0105 of this chapter. 11 § 11. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 27-a of section 1005 of the public 12 authorities law, as amended by section 28 of part O of chapter 58 of the 13 laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows: 14 (d) No later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of 15 this subdivision, and annually thereafter, the authority shall confer 16 with the New York state energy research and development authority, the 17 department of public service, climate and resiliency experts, labor 18 organizations, and environmental justice and community organizations 19 concerning the state's progress on meeting [the] certain renewable ener- 20 gy goals [established by the climate leadership and community protection 21 act. When exercising the authority provided for in paragraph (a) of this 22 subdivision, the information developed through such conferral shall be 23 used to identify projects to help ensure that the state meets its goals 24 under the climate leadership and community protection act]. Any confer- 25 ral provided for in this paragraph shall include consideration of the 26 timing of projects in the interconnection queue of the federally desig- 27 nated electric bulk system operator for New York state, taking into 28 account both capacity factors or planned projects and the intercon- 29 nection queue's historical completion rate. A report on the information 30 developed through such conferral shall be published and made accessible 31 on the website of the authority. 32 § 11-a. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 27-a of section 1005 of the 33 public authorities law, as added by section 1 of part QQ of chapter 56 34 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows: 35 (d) No later than one hundred eighty days after the effective date of 36 this subdivision, and annually thereafter, the authority shall confer 37 with the New York state energy research and development authority, the 38 office of renewable energy siting, the department of public service, 39 climate and resiliency experts, labor organizations, and environmental 40 justice and community organizations concerning the state's progress on 41 meeting [the] certain renewable energy goals [established by the climate 42 leadership and community protection act]. When exercising the authority 43 provided for in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the information 44 developed through such conferral shall be used to identify projects to 45 help ensure that the state meets its goals under the climate leadership 46 and community protection act. Any conferral provided for in this para- 47 graph shall include consideration of the timing of projects in the 48 interconnection queue of the federally designated electric bulk system 49 operator for New York state, taking into account both capacity factors 50 or planned projects and the interconnection queue's historical 51 completion rate. A report on the information developed through such 52 conferral shall be published and made accessible on the website of the 53 authority. 54 § 11-b. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 27-b of section 1005 of the 55 public authorities law, as added by section 2 of part QQ of chapter 56 56 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows: 
 S. 8669 6 1 (a) Definitions. For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms 2 shall have the following meanings: 3 (i) "bill credit" means a monthly monetary credit which is funded by 4 the authority, as further determined by the public service commission 5 and appears on the utility bill of a low-income or moderate-income end- 6 use electricity consumer located in a disadvantaged community, for 7 renewable energy produced by renewable energy systems developed, 8 constructed, owned, or contracted for by the power authority of the 9 state of New York and injected into a distribution or transmission 10 facility at one or more points in New York state, together with any 11 enhanced incentive payments for a community distributed generation 12 project serving a disadvantaged community provided for in [paragraph (b) 13 of] subdivision [seven] nine of section [sixty-six-p] 8-0105 of the 14 [public service] environmental conservation law, together with any other 15 funding made available by the authority for such purposes; 16 (ii) "disadvantaged community" means a community defined as a disad- 17 vantaged community in accordance with [article seventy-five] section 18 8-0105 of the environmental conservation law; 19 (iii) "jurisdictional load serving entity" has the same meaning as 20 defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section sixty-six-p of 21 the public service law; 22 (iv) ["low-income or moderate-income end-use consumer" shall mean 23 end-use customers of electric corporations and combination gas and elec- 24 tric corporations regulated by the public service commission whose 25 income is found to be below the state median income based on household 26 size; 27 (v)] "renewable energy" means electrical energy produced by a renewa- 28 ble energy system; 29 [(vi)] (v) "renewable energy systems" [has the same meaning as defined 30 in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section sixty-six-p of the public 31 service law] shall be defined by the public service commission and shall 32 include, but not be limited to, an energy system that uses solar, wind, 33 hydropower, hydrogen, nuclear power, or natural gas as its power source; 34 and 35 [(vii)] (vi) "qualified energy storage system" has the same meaning as 36 defined in subdivision one of section seventy-four of the public service 37 law. 38 § 12. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 27-c of section 1005 of the public 39 authorities law is REPEALED. 40 § 13. Subdivisions 3 and 4 of section 1911 of the public authorities 41 law, subdivision 3 as added by chapter 759 of the laws of 2023 and 42 subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 106 of the laws of 2024, are amended 43 to read as follows: 44 3. "Disadvantaged communities" shall have the same meaning as defined 45 in subdivision [five] nine of section [75-0101] 8-0105 of the environ- 46 mental conservation law. 47 4. "Renewable energy" shall [have the same meaning as defined in 48 section sixty-six-p of the public service law] be defined by the public 49 service commission and shall include, but not be limited to, energy 50 derived from an energy system that uses solar, wind, hydropower, hydro- 51 gen, nuclear power, or natural gas as its power source. 52 § 14. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 66-t of the public service law, 53 as added by chapter 375 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as 54 follows: 55 1. The public service commission shall initiate a proceeding within 56 three months of the effective date of this section to support the devel- 
 S. 8669 7 1 opment of thermal energy networks [for the purpose of meeting the green- 2 house gas emissions and equity goals of the climate leadership and 3 community protection act]. The matters the commission shall consider in 4 such proceeding shall include, but shall not be limited to, the appro- 5 priate ownership, market, and rate structures for thermal energy 6 networks and whether the provision of thermal energy services by gas 7 and/or electric utilities is in the public interest. The commission 8 shall promulgate rules and regulations within two years to: (a) create 9 fair market access rules for utility-owned thermal energy networks to 10 accept thermal energy [that aligns with the climate justice and green- 11 house gas emissions reductions requirements of the climate leadership 12 and community protection act] and that does not increase greenhouse gas 13 emissions or co-pollutants; (b) exempt small-scale thermal energy 14 networks not owned by utilities from commission regulation; (c) promote 15 the training and transition of utility workers impacted by this [act] 16 section; and (d) encourage third party participation and competition 17 where it will maximize benefits to customers. 18 2. Within three months of the effective date of this section, each of 19 the seven largest gas, electric, or combination gas and electric corpo- 20 rations shall submit to the commission for review and approval at least 21 one and as many as five proposed pilot thermal energy network projects. 22 In developing the pilot project proposals, at least one pilot project in 23 each utility territory shall be proposed in a disadvantaged community as 24 defined in subdivision [five] nine of section [75-0101] 8-0105 of the 25 environmental conservation law, and if a utility proposes four or more 26 pilot projects, at least two shall be proposed in disadvantaged communi- 27 ties. Each utility shall coordinate with other utility participants, the 28 New York state energy research and development authority, and consult- 29 ants with expertise on successful pilot projects to ensure that the 30 pilot projects are diverse and designed to inform the commission's deci- 31 sions in the proceeding on the various ownership, market, and rate 32 structures for thermal energy networks. The pilot project proposals 33 shall include specific customer protection plans and shall be made 34 publicly available on the commission's website and shall be subject to a 35 public comment period of no less than thirty days. Within six months of 36 the effective date of this section, the commission shall determine 37 whether it is in the public interest to approve or modify such pilot 38 thermal energy network projects and shall issue an order directing each 39 gas, electric or combination gas and electric corporation to implement 40 such proposed or modified pilot thermal energy network projects. In 41 considering whether pilot thermal energy network projects are in the 42 public interest, the commission shall consider whether the pilot project 43 will develop information useful for the commission's promulgation of 44 regulations governing thermal energy networks, [whether the pilot 45 project furthers the climate justice and/or emissions reduction mandates 46 of the climate leadership and community protection act,] whether the 47 pilot project advances financial and technical approaches to equitable 48 and affordable building electrification, and whether the pilot project 49 creates benefits to customers and society at large, including but not 50 limited to public health benefits in areas with disproportionate envi- 51 ronmental or public health burdens, job retention/creation, reliability, 52 and increased affordability of renewable thermal energy options. 53 § 15. Section 99-qq of the state finance law, as added by section 2 of 54 part TT of chapter 56 of the laws of 2023, is REPEALED. 55 § 16. Subdivisions 24, 25 and 26 of section 1854 of the public author- 56 ities law are REPEALED. 
 S. 8669 8 1 § 17. The third undesignated paragraph of subdivision a of section 2 25-120 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by 3 local law number 172 for the year 2023, is amended to read as follows: 4 Disadvantaged community. The term "disadvantaged community" means a 5 disadvantaged community identified pursuant to section [75-0111] 8-0105 6 of the environmental conservation law. 7 § 18. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 16-106 of the energy 8 law, as added by chapter 374 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as 9 follows: 10 (d) To adopt regulations to achieve the purposes of this article. Such 11 regulations shall ensure that compliance therewith will not result in a 12 net increase in co-pollutant emissions or otherwise disproportionately 13 burden disadvantaged communities [as identified by the climate justice 14 working group established under section 75-0111 of the environmental 15 conservation law. In order to increase public participation and improve 16 the efficacy of any efficiency standards adopted pursuant to subdivision 17 (b) or (c) of this section, the president shall, before publication of a 18 notice of proposed rule making, conduct public meetings to provide mean- 19 ingful opportunities for public comment from all segments of the popu- 20 lation that would be impacted by the standards or regulations, including 21 persons living in disadvantaged communities as identified by the climate 22 justice working group established under section 75-0111 of the environ- 23 mental conservation law]; 24 § 19. Subdivisions 32 and 33 of section 27-1405 of the environmental 25 conservation law, as added by section 1 of part LL of chapter 58 of the 26 laws of 2022, are amended to read as follows: 27 32. "Disadvantaged community" shall mean a community that is identi- 28 fied pursuant to section [75-0111] 8-0105 of this chapter. 29 33. "Renewable energy facility site" shall mean real property: (a) 30 that is used for a renewable energy system[, as defined in section 31 sixty-six-p of the public service law]; or (b) any co-located system 32 storing energy generated from such a renewable energy system prior to 33 delivering it to the bulk transmission, sub-transmission, or distrib- 34 ution system. 35 § 20. Subdivision 4 of section 58-0101 of the environmental conserva- 36 tion law, as amended by section 2 of part OO of chapter 58 of the laws 37 of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 38 4. "Disadvantaged communities" shall mean a community that is identi- 39 fied pursuant to section [75-0111] 8-0105 of this chapter. 40 § 21. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 70-0118 of the envi- 41 ronmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 49 of the laws of 42 2023, is amended to read as follows: 43 (a) "Disadvantaged communities" shall have the same meaning as subdi- 44 vision [five] nine of section [75-0101] 8-0105 of this chapter. 45 § 22. Paragraph g of subdivision 2, paragraph d of subdivision 3, 46 paragraph h of subdivision 6, and subdivision 7 of section 76-0103 of 47 the environmental conservation law, paragraph g of subdivision 2, para- 48 graph d of subdivision 3, and paragraph h of subdivision 6 as amended 49 and subdivision 7 as added by chapter 100 of the laws of 2025, are 50 amended to read as follows: 51 g. To allocate funds in such a way as to achieve a goal that at least 52 forty percent of the qualified expenditures from the program, but not 53 less than thirty-five percent of such expenditures, shall go to climate 54 change adaptive infrastructure projects that benefit disadvantaged 55 communities as defined in section [75-0101] 8-0105 of this chapter. 
 S. 8669 9 1 d. In determining the amount of greenhouse gas emissions attributable 2 to any entity, the department may: i. require an entity to provide 3 information to the department related to past practices, production, 4 extraction, refining, emissions, or other historical information about 5 such entity necessary or appropriate to enable the department to deter- 6 mine whether such entity is a responsible party and, if so, the amount 7 of such responsible party's covered greenhouse gas emissions; ii. apply 8 consistent emissions factors, [consistent with the climate leadership 9 and community protection act pursuant to chapter one hundred six of the 10 laws of two thousand nineteen,] to convert extraction and refining data 11 into greenhouse gas emissions; and iii. utilize information received 12 from the department of taxation and finance pursuant to subdivision (a) 13 of section three hundred fourteen of the tax law. 14 h. provide opportunities for public engagement in all regions of the 15 state, including by holding at least two public hearings, one in-person 16 and one virtual, with meaningful opportunities for participation and 17 public comment from all segments of the population, including persons 18 living in disadvantaged communities as identified pursuant to section 19 [75-0111] 8-0105 of this chapter, a minimum of sixty days' public notice 20 in compliance with the provisions of article seven of the public offi- 21 cers law, on a draft of the plan, a summary and analysis of the public 22 comments and a description of any changes made to the plan based on the 23 public comments received. 24 7. Total qualifying expenditures shall be allocated in such a way as 25 to achieve a goal that at least forty percent of the qualified expendi- 26 tures from the program, but not less than thirty-five percent of such 27 expenditures, shall go to climate change adaptive infrastructure 28 projects that benefit disadvantaged communities as defined in section 29 [75-0101] 8-0105 of this chapter. 30 § 23. Paragraph (s) of subdivision 1 of section 207 of the public 31 health law, as added by chapter 294 of the laws of 2024, is amended to 32 read as follows: 33 (s) Promoting public awareness of the dangers of fatal and non-fatal 34 drowning, including but not limited to the unique risk factors and expo- 35 sures associated with infant and early drowning, childhood and teenage 36 drowning and adult drowning, the disparate risk of drowning in disadvan- 37 taged communities identified pursuant to section [75-0111] 8-0105 of the 38 environmental conservation law and with individuals with a mental disa- 39 bility as defined by subdivision three of section 1.03 of the mental 40 hygiene law, and methods to reduce the risks of drowning, including but 41 not limited to water safety instruction, swim lessons, and awareness of 42 water based risks. 43 § 24. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 1 of section 64-e of the town law, 44 as added by chapter 666 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as 45 follows: 46 (f) "Disadvantaged communities" shall mean a community that is identi- 47 fied pursuant to section [75-0111] 8-0105 of the environmental conserva- 48 tion law. 49 § 25. Subdivision 21 of section 854 of the general municipal law, as 50 added by section 5 of part X of chapter 59 of the laws of 2021, is 51 amended to read as follows: 52 (21) "Renewable energy project" shall mean any project and associated 53 real property on which the project is situated, that utilizes any system 54 or equipment as set forth in section four hundred eighty-seven of the 55 real property tax law [or as defined pursuant to paragraph b of subdivi- 
 S. 8669 10 1 sion one of section sixty-six-p of the public service law as added by 2 chapter one hundred six of the laws of two thousand nineteen]. 3 § 26. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 224-d of the labor law, subdivi- 4 sion 1 as amended by section 31 of part O of chapter 58 of the laws of 5 2024, and subdivision 2 as added by section 2 of part AA of chapter 56 6 of the laws of 2021, are amended to read as follows: 7 1. For purposes of this section, a "covered renewable energy system" 8 means: (a) a renewable energy system[, as such term is defined in 9 section sixty-six-p of the public service law,] that uses renewable 10 energy as defined by the public service commission, including but not 11 limited to, solar, wind, hydropower, hydrogen, nuclear power, or natural 12 gas as its power source with a capacity of one or more megawatts alter- 13 nating current and which involves the procurement of renewable energy 14 credits by a public entity, or a company or corporation provided in 15 subdivisions twenty-three and twenty-four of section two of the public 16 service law, or a third party acting on behalf and for the benefit of a 17 public entity; (b) any "thermal energy network" as defined by subdivi- 18 sion twenty-nine of section two of the public service law; (c) any 19 offshore wind supply chain project, including but not limited to port 20 infrastructure, primary component manufacturing, finished component 21 manufacturing, subassembly manufacturing, subcomponent manufacturing, or 22 raw material producers, or a combination thereof receiving direct fund- 23 ing from the New York state energy research and development authority 24 pursuant to an award under a New York state energy research and develop- 25 ment authority solicitation; or (d) a "major utility transmission facil- 26 ity" as such term is defined by section one hundred twenty of the public 27 service law. 28 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of section two hundred twenty-four-a 29 of this article, a covered renewable energy system shall be subject to 30 prevailing wage requirements in accordance with sections two hundred 31 twenty and two hundred twenty-b of this article. Provided that a renewa- 32 ble energy system [defined in section sixty-six-p of the public service 33 law] which is not considered to be covered by this section, may still 34 otherwise be considered a "covered project" pursuant to section two 35 hundred twenty-four-a of this article if it meets such definition. 36 § 27. Subdivision 1 of section 66-r of the public service law, as 37 added by section 2-a of part AA of chapter 56 of the laws of 2021, is 38 amended to read as follows: 39 1. For the purposes of this section, a "covered renewable energy 40 system" means a renewable energy system[, as such term is defined in 41 section sixty-six-p of this article,] that uses renewable energy as 42 defined by the public service commission, including but not limited to, 43 solar, wind, hydropower, hydrogen, nuclear power, or natural gas as its 44 power source with a capacity of greater than five megawatts alternating 45 current and which involves the procurement of renewable energy credits 46 by a public entity, or a third party acting on behalf and for the bene- 47 fit of a public entity. 48 § 28. Subdivision 4 of section 137 of the public service law, as added 49 by section 11 of part O of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, is amended to 50 read as follows: 51 4. "Major renewable energy facility" means any renewable energy 52 system[, as such term is defined in section sixty-six-p of this chap- 53 ter,] that uses renewable energy as defined by the public service 54 commission as its power source with a nameplate generating capacity of 55 twenty-five thousand kilowatts or more, and any co-located system stor- 56 ing energy generated from such a renewable energy system prior to deliv- 
 S. 8669 11 1 ering it to the bulk transmission system, including all associated 2 appurtenances to electric plants, including electric transmission facil- 3 ities less than ten miles in length in order to provide access to load 4 and to integrate such facilities into the state's bulk electric trans- 5 mission system. 6 § 29. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 7 the amendments to subdivisions 3 and 4 of section 1911 of the public 8 authorities law made by section thirteen of this act shall not affect 9 the repeal of such subdivisions and shall be deemed repealed therewith; 10 provided, further, that the amendments made to subdivision 4 of section 11 137 of the public service law made by section twenty-eight of this act 12 shall not affect the repeal of such subdivision and shall be deemed 13 repealed therewith; provided, further, that the amendments to paragraph 14 (d) of subdivision 27-a of section 1005 of the public authorities law 15 made by section eleven of this act shall be subject to the expiration 16 and reversion of such subdivision pursuant to section 34 of part O of 17 chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, as amended, when upon such date the 18 provisions of section eleven-a of this act shall take effect.