AND AMID BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS, LAWMAKERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES ARE HOPING FOR FUNDING FOR THE NEW YORK HEAT ACT.

THE BILL WOULD ENSURE GAS COMPANIES HONOR MANDATES TO HELP THE STATE REACH ITS CLIMATE GOALS.

IF PASSED, THE BILL WOULD ALSO ENSURE THAT LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERS WOULD NOT PAY MORE THAN 6 PERCENT OF THEIR INCOME FOR UTILITY BILLS.

FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, THE BILL HAS PASSED IN THE SENATE - BUT HAS SEEN LITTLE MOVEMENT IN THE ASSEMBLY.

WE SPOKE WITH THE ASSEMBLY SPONSOR OF THE BILL, PATRICIA FAHY, ABOUT THE PROGRESS BEING MADE TO GET IT OVER THE FINISH LINE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SIT WITH US, ASSEMBLYMEMBER.

THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

OF COURSE.

NOW, FOR OUR VIEWERS WHO MAY NOT HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THE NEW YORK HEAT ACT, CAN YOU JUST GIVE US SOME INSIGHT INTO WHAT THE IMPACT OF THIS BILL WOULD BE IF PASSED, AND WHY SHOULD NEW YORKERS CARE ABOUT IT?

WE'RE NOT GOING TO SEE IMMEDIATE CHANGES.

BUT THIS IS PART OF A LONG-TERM PROCESS TO TRANSITION OUR ENERGY ECONOMY AWAY FROM GAS AND OTHER FOSSIL FUELS AND MOVE TOWARD RENEWABLE, CLEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY.

AND AGAIN THIS IS GOING TO TAKE A WHILE, BUT WE PASSED VERY FAR REACHING ENERGY GOALS IN 2019, ALMOST FIVE YEARS AGO, THAT'S CALLED THE CLCPA, THE CLIMATE LEADERSHIP AND THE CLIMATE PROTECTION ACT.

THIS IS PART OF MEETING THOSE GOALS THAT WE ALL AGREED TO AT THE TIME WERE AMBITIOUS, AND THIS IS ANOTHER STEP IN MOVING THAT, BUT THE POINT IS IT'S BEEN A DIFFICULT PROCESS, BUT WHAT WE REALLY ARE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE IS THAT ULTIMATELY THERE WILL BE SAVINGS IN MOVING TOWARD THIS CLEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY ECONOMY.

AND A PART OF THIS BILL WOULD IMPLEMENT A 6 PERCENT INCOME CAP ON NEW YORKERS PAYING THEIR UTILITY BILLS.

SO CAN YOU GIVE US SOME INSIGHT INTO HOW THAT FIGURE WAS DETERMINED?

SURE.

WELL, I SHOULD START BY SAYING, NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, WE WANT TO MAKE ENERGY AFFORDABLE AND RELIABLE.

THEY'RE TWO VERY, VERY KEY PRINCIPLES HERE, AFFORDABLE AND RELIABLE.

AND PART OF IT IS WE ARE SEEING UTILITY BILLS REALLY GO UP.

THEY'RE GOING UP MUCH HIGHER IN TEXAS, PARTLY BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T DONE THE INVESTMENT.

AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS MAKING NEW YORK STAND OUT, THAT WHILE THEY'RE GOING UP HERE NOWHERE NEAR THE SCALE, BUT WE -- NOWHERE NEAR THE SCALE OF OTHER STATES.

BUT WHAT WE WANT TO MOVE IS TOWARD AN AFFORDABLE, CLEAN ENERGY SYSTEM AND THAT MEANS TRYING TO LIMIT AFFORDABILITY TO ABOUT 6 PERCENT OF ONE'S INCOME, ESPECIALLY LOW INCOME AND MIDDLE INCOME FAMILIES.

AND THAT, BY THE WAY, THAT'S ALREADY BEEN AN EXISTING GOAL.

THAT'S NOT NEW WITH THIS LEGISLATION.

IT'S BEEN A GOAL, BUT IT'S NOT IN LAW, FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, THE PSC.

THEY'RE THE ONES THAT OVERSEE THESE ENERGY INVESTMENTS AND THE ENERGY SYSTEM HERE IN NEW YORK.

SO WHILE IT'S BEEN A GOAL, WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE THAT LAW SO THAT WE COMMUNICATE THAT THESE DO TAKE SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS UP FRONT, BUT THEN IT MAKES RENEWABLE ENERGY CAN BECOME VERY AFFORDABLE ON THE BACK END BECAUSE IF YOU ARE USING RENEWABLE ENERGY, RELYING ON THE SUN AND WIND AND GEOTHERMAL, WE'RE BRINGING IN MORE ENERGY, HOME INSULATION, BUILDING INSULATION, ENERGY COSTS CAN DROP DRAMATICALLY.

SO IT'S THE UPFRONT COSTS, BUT EVEN THEN WE ARE TRYING TO TELL RATEPAYERS, ESPECIALLY LOW AND MIDDLE INCOME, THAT WE WANT A CEILING TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S AFFORDABLE, 6 PERCENT AFFORDABLE.

AND THIS BILL WOULD ESTABLISH CIVIL PENALTIES FOR UTILITY COMPANIES THAT PROVIDE FALSE STATEMENTS TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.

SO CAN YOU GIVE US SOME INSIGHT INTO WHAT THOSE CIVIL PENALTIES WOULD LOOK LIKE?

WELL, SOME OF THOSE WOULD BE ESTABLISHED -- WE LEAVE A LOT OF AUTHORITY TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.

AGAIN, WHICH IS THE STATE OVERSIGHT COMMISSION OVERSEEING THIS TRANSITION.

THEY CERTAINLY WOULD BE WORKING WITH NYSERDA AND DEC AND OTHER AGENCIES, BUT PART OF THAT IS TO SAY WE WANT OUR UTILITIES TO BE TRANSPARENT, UTILITY COMPANIES TO BE TRANSPARENT.

WE ALSO WANT THEM TO BEGIN TO MAKE THE INVESTMENTS AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S AFFORDABLE SO THAT THE RATEPAYERS ARE NOT HIT HARD, AND RIGHT NOW, AS YOU KNOW, EVERY YEAR WHEN WE SEE RATE PROPOSALS FROM DIFFERENT UTILITY COMPANIES TO RAISE RATES, THERE'S OFTEN QUITE A TUG OF WAR BETWEEN THE RATEPAYERS, THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, AND WHAT'S CALLED PULP, THE PUBLIC UTILITIES LAW PROJECT, AND OTHER ADVOCATES TO TRY TO KEEP ENERGY AFFORDABLE IN THIS STATE.

THIS WOULD MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT TRANSPARENCY AND ALLOWS FOR PENALTIES WHERE IT WOULDN'T.

I SHOULD ALSO ADD, PART OF THE DESIGN OF THIS PROPOSAL IS, RIGHT NOW, ABOUT ROUGHLY -- AND IT'S VERY ROUGH NUMBERS -- $200 MILLION, 200 MILLION IS SPENT EVERY SINGLE YEAR ON GAS PIPE INFRASTRUCTURE, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO BE -- THE GAS PIPES HAVE TO BE REPLACED.

SO ONE OF THE KEY COMPONENTS OF THIS BILL -- AND WE'RE VERY PLEASED THE GOVERNOR HAS PICKED IT UP IN HER BUDGET PROPOSAL -- IS TO STOP THIS, WHAT WE CALL, AUTOPILOT WITH THE HUNDRED-FOOT RULE.

BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, ANY NEW CONSTRUCTION, ANY NEW PIPE REPLACEMENT, THERE'S AN AUTOMATIC GAS PIPE REPLACEMENT WITHIN 100 FEET, AND IT'S THE CURRENT RATEPAYERS WHO PICK UP THAT COST, WHICH IS ESTIMATED, AGAIN, TO BE ABOUT $200 MILLION.

WE WANT TO STOP THAT, END THIS AUTOPILOT ON THIS 100-FOOT RULE, AND SAY THE PSC NOW HAS THE AUTHORITY TO TELL UTILITIES AND OTHERS THAT YOU NEED TO LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE MEASURES, WHERE THEY'RE AFFORDABLE AND RELIABLE, AND MAYBE LOOK TO, LIKE, GEOTHERMAL INSTEAD OF A GAS PIPELINE.

THEY CAN STILL DO A GAS PIPELINE WHERE IT'S CONSIDERED MORE AFFORDABLE.

AND THERE HAS BEEN SOME CRITICISM OF THIS BILL FROM LABOR LEADERS AND LAWMAKERS AND THE LABOR COMMITTEE WHO FEEL THAT, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT POTENTIALLY TAKE AWAY JOBS.

SO WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TO THAT TYPE OF CRITICISM?

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING THAT BECAUSE I HAVE A PRETTY STRONG TRACK RECORD.

I'M IN MY 12th YEAR IN OFFICE, AND ANYBODY WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS I'M OBSESSED WITH GROWING JOBS.

IT'S ALL ABOUT JOBS, ESPECIALLY IN THE UPSTATE ECONOMY.

I ALSO CAME OUT OF THE LABOR DEPARTMENT AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND AT THE STATE LEVEL.

SO AS PART OF -- WE'VE BEEN VERY VOCAL AT ALBANY PORT TO MAKE SURE WE GET THE 500 JOBS THAT WE HAVE BEEN PLANNING FOR FOR YEARS WITH WIND TURBINE AND ASSEMBLING OF WIND TURBINES, ANOTHER KEY COMPONENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY.

SO I'M ALL ABOUT JOBS.

THE PREMISE OF THIS BILL IS ACTUALLY TO SEEK THOSE INVESTMENTS, ESPECIALLY FEDERAL DOLLARS, SO THAT WE GROW JOBS WITH TRANSITIONING OUR ECONOMY.

ONE EXAMPLE, FOR INSTANCE -- NOW IT WILL TAKE SOME RETRAINING -- BUT IF YOU ARE A PIPEFITTER AND YOU'RE PUTTING GAS PIPES IN THE GROUND, WE WANT YOU RETRAINED AND WE WANT YOU DOING GEOTHERMAL PIPES, THERE ARE ACTUALLY MORE PIPES THAT NEED TO GO IN THE GROUND FOR THAT.

I'VE ACTUALLY SAID TO LABOR, ANYBODY WHO WILL LISTEN, LET'S PUT IN THE DISPLACEMENT LANGUAGE.

I'M ALL IN ON LABOR PROTECTIONS ON THIS BECAUSE I BELIEVE THIS IS GOING TO SERIOUSLY GROW JOBS.

CERTAINLY NOT TAKE AWAY JOBS.

THERE MAY BE SOME RETRAINING, BUT I'M FULLY SUPPORTIVE OF ALL LABOR PROTECTIONS AND ALL LABOR TRAINING THAT WOULD BE NEEDED.

I SEE THIS AS A SERIOUS GROWTH POTENTIAL.

WE'RE ALSO PROMOTING WHAT'S CALLED UPGRADE NEW YORK.

WE DID IT AT SUNY ALBANY LAST YEAR, NOW WE'RE PUSHING IT FOR SUNY BUFFALO AND SUNY PURCHASE.

IT'S CALLED UPGRADE NEW YORK, WHERE WE BEGIN TO TRANSITION THE STATE-OWNED PROPERTIES AND MOVE THEM TOWARD RENEWABLE ENERGY.

BIG INVESTMENTS, BUT AGAIN WE'LL GROW SERIOUS JOBS.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.

AND AT THE TIME THAT WE'RE FILMING THIS, THE GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATIVE LEADERS ARE, OF COURSE, IN THE MIDST OF BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS.

SO WHAT ARE YOU HEARING ABOUT THE STATUS OF POTENTIALLY GETTING THIS INTO THE FINAL ENACTED BUDGET?

OH, BOY, AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE -- WE ARE AT A BIT OF A STALEMATE RIGHT NOW ON A COUPLE OF UNRELATED ISSUES IN THE BUDGET.

THE GOOD NEWS IS, IT'S A THREE WAY NEGOTIATIONS.

THE SENATE HAS ALREADY PASSED THIS LEGISLATION TWICE, ACTUALLY.

THE GOVERNOR, WE ARE SO PLEASED, SHE PUT IN THE 100-FOOT RULE AND A COUPLE OF OTHER RELATED PROVISIONS.

IN THE ASSEMBLY, I'VE HAD THIS BILL FOR A FEW DIFFERENT YEARS.

AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET AS MANY PROVISIONS OF THIS LEGISLATION, THE HEAT LEGISLATION, AS MANY PROVISIONS AS POSSIBLE.

WE HAVE TREMENDOUS MOMENTUM BEHIND US.

AS YOU YOURSELF MENTIONED, WE RAN INTO SOME OPPOSITION FROM LABOR GROUPS.

I FEEL LIKE WE'RE ADDRESSING THAT NOW, HAD GOOD CONVERSATIONS LAST WEEK.

GOING TO ADD IN THE LANGUAGE TO -- HOPEFULLY ADD IN THE LANGUAGE TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS SEEN AS A JOB GROWTH INITIATIVE, NOT A NEGATIVE JOB INITIATIVE.

SO WE REMAIN OPTIMISTIC, BUT CERTAINLY EVERYTHING IS UP IN THE AIR RIGHT NOW SINCE WE DON'T HAVE SOME OF THE BIG ISSUES SETTLED ON THE BUDGET AND THOSE INCLUDE HOUSING, SOME EDUCATION FUNDING, AND OF COURSE MEDICAID SPENDING.

SO AS I'M TOLD, WE'RE THAT NEXT TIER, BUT WE'RE DOING THE WORK ON THIS EVERY DAY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SPEAK WITH US TODAY.

UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S ALL THE TIME WE HAVE TODAY.

AND WE WERE SPEAKING WITH ASSEMBLYMEMBER PATRICIA FAHY.

AND AS THE ASSEMBLY MEMBER UNDERSCORED, IT'S UNCLEAR WHETHER OR NOT THE ENTIRETY OF THE NEW YORK HEAT ACT WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE FINAL ENACTED BUDGET AT THIS TIME.

BUT WE'LL LET YOU KNOW HOW IT ALL TURNS OUT IN THE COMING WEEKS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEW YORK HEAT ACT, YOU CAN VISIT OUR WEBSITE.

THAT'S AT NYNOW.ORG.