Establishes the state all-electric building plan to require the office of general services to transition all buildings owned by the state to be all-electric buildings.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A208
SPONSOR: Pirozzolo TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing the state
all-electric building plan
PURPOSE:
To order the Office of General Services, in conjunction with other State
entities, to transition all State-owned buildings to all-electric build-
ings in the next five years.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends the Executive Law by adding a new section
201-b that sets forth a definition for "all-electric building"; orders
OGS, in coordination with NYSERDA and DEC, to, in part, transition all
State-owned buildings to all-electric buildings within five years from
the effective date of this section and also remove all non-renewable
energy infrastructure; orders the State Fire Prevention and Building
Code Council to promulgate guidelines for such buildings; orders OGS, in
coordination with NYSERDA and DEC, to report to the Governor and the
Legislature on or before a year from the effective date of this section
setting forth OGS's transition strategy, assessments of existing infras-
tructure and available technology, and a determination of the number of
all-electric-transition-ready State-owned buildings equipped with the
necessary capacity.
Section 2 of the bill sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Back in 2019, New York State enacted the Climate Leadership and Communi-
ty Protection Act ("CLCPA") establishing, in part, a mandate of reducing
statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 85% over 1990 levels and a
reduction beyond 85% over 1990 levels to net-zero emissions by the year
2050. It also mandates a 40% reduction in emissions by the year 2030.
To meet the goals of the CLCPA, the State intends to transform its ener-
gy infrastructure, including the rapid and significant deployment of
clean and renewable energy. Converting 100% of State-owned buildings to
said energy will assist in meeting CLCPA goals, while positioning New
York State as a leader in the hopes that it can provide a transition
model for the rest of the nation, as well as for the private sector.
Section 7 of the CLCPA requires state agencies, offices, authorities,
and divisions in their administrative approvals and decisions and
contracts to consider whether such decisions will interfere with the
attainment of the law's statewide GHG limits.
Given that the State seeks 100% zero-emission electricity by the year
2040, it is prudent that State-owned facilities lead by example in
resolving potential difficulties of troubleshooting electrification
feasibility, considering their access to resources above and beyond
those available to single-family homeowners and small businesspeople,
given that the State expects 85% of homes and commercial buildings
statewide to be electrified by the year 2050 using energy-efficient heat
pumps and thermal energy networks, according to the Climate Action Coun-
cil's Final Scoping Plan.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
02/27/2023 referred to governmental operations
05/09/2023 held for consideration in governmental operations
01/03/2024 referred to governmental operations
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act should take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
208
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PIROZZOLO, E. BROWN, BENDETT, DeSTEFANO, MAHER,
PALMESANO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental
Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing the state
all-electric building plan
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 201-b
2 to read as follows:
3 § 201-b. State all-electric building plan. 1. For purposes of this
4 section, "all-electric building" means a building which has the capacity
5 to run on one hundred percent electricity through the use of solar
6 power, wind or other sources of zero-carbon electricity, and does not
7 require nor contain infrastructure, building systems or equipment used
8 for the combustion of fossil fuels such as oil, petroleum, natural gas,
9 nuclear energy, uranium or coal.
10 2. The office of general services, in coordination with the New York
11 state energy research and development authority and the department of
12 environmental conservation, shall transition all buildings owned by the
13 state to all-electric buildings within five years from the effective
14 date of this section. Such transition of buildings shall include ensur-
15 ing that all such buildings contain sufficient space, drainage, elec-
16 trical conductors or raceways, bus bar capacity, and overcurrent protec-
17 tive devices in order to safely and efficiently run on one hundred
18 percent electricity and shall also include the removal of all non-renew-
19 able energy infrastructure.
20 3. The state fire prevention and building code council shall promul-
21 gate guidelines for all-electric buildings in conjunction with the
22 provisions of this section.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00698-01-5
A. 208 2
1 4. (a) The office of general services, in coordination with the New
2 York state energy research and development authority and the department
3 of environmental conservation, shall issue a report to the governor and
4 the legislature on or before one year from the effective date of this
5 section setting forth the office of general services' strategy for tran-
6 sitioning all buildings owned by the state to all-electric buildings.
7 (b) Such report shall include, at a minimum, a description of the
8 state's strategies to transition all buildings owned by the state to
9 all-electric buildings including a specific plan to procure and install
10 necessary infrastructure for the transition to all-electric buildings.
11 Such strategies shall include the expeditious review of policies and
12 procedures identified as barriers to the transition of all buildings
13 owned by the state to all-electric buildings and the revision of such
14 policies and procedures as appropriate. The report shall also assess
15 existing infrastructure, determine what changes are necessary to support
16 a transition of all buildings owned by the state to all-electric build-
17 ings and recommend how best to implement such changes. The report shall
18 assess factors including but not limited to the following: the avail-
19 ability and viability of existing or developing technology, public
20 outreach and safety training, and insurance and liability consider-
21 ations. The report shall also determine the number of state-owned
22 buildings which are equipped with the necessary capacity to transition
23 to an all-electric building immediately.
24 (c) Immediately after submission of the report required by this subdi-
25 vision, the office of general services shall begin the process to imple-
26 ment the recommendations and strategies of such report.
27 5. The state fire prevention and building code council may permit any
28 building which has transitioned to an all-electric building to contain
29 systems for emergency back-up power, or may exempt certain state-owned
30 buildings which are specifically designated for occupancy by a commer-
31 cial food establishment, laboratory, laundromat, hospital, or crematori-
32 um from the provisions of this section, but in doing so shall seek to
33 minimize emissions and maximize health, safety, and fire-protection.
34 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
