I am pleased that the Senate has passed the Green Jobs/Green New York legislation, which was approved by the Assembly with strong bipartisan support earlier this year. By funding energy efficiency improvements in homes and small businesses, the Green Jobs/Green New York program will advance important environmental and economic goals for our state and benefit all New Yorkers. I want to commend Assembly Energy Committee Chair Kevin Cahill and Assembly Environmental Conservation Chair Bob Sweeney for their hard work on this legislation.

Our aging and inefficient building stock is one of the leading contributors to climate change and high utility costs. Many households, not-for-profits and small businesses do not have the resources to make the upfront investments in common sense energy efficiency measures to immediately cut energy bills and reduce carbon pollution. The Green Jobs/Green New York Program is designed to provide access to capital and to develop the workforce needed to get the job done.