Requires the office of renewable energy siting and electric transmission to promptly publish applications for permits to site a major renewable energy facility or to site a major electric transmission facility.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10134
IN ASSEMBLY
February 3, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Energy
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring the
office of renewable energy siting and electric transmission to prompt-
ly publish applications for permits to site a major renewable energy
facility or to site a major electric transmission facility
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 138 of the public service law is amended by adding
2 a new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
3 6. ORES shall promptly publish and regularly update on its website any
4 application for a permit to site a major renewable energy facility
5 pursuant to this section, along with supporting documentation and any
6 responsive documents by ORES or other interested parties. Prior to post-
7 ing but within ten days of receiving such application and supporting and
8 responsive documents, ORES shall review any claim that the application
9 or document is exempt from disclosure under subdivision two of section
10 eighty-seven of the public officers law. Such application or document
11 may only be redacted to the minimum extent necessary to comply with the
12 requirements of the freedom of information law or to keep confidential
13 the location of threatened or endangered species or other sensitive
14 environmental information that could prove harmful if disclosed to the
15 public. Any claim by an applicant that the disclosure of specific infor-
16 mation would violate paragraph (d) of subdivision two of section eight-
17 y-seven of the public officers law shall be examined by ORES to deter-
18 mine if there is a particularized and specific justification for the
19 redaction of such information from the public record. Such information
20 shall only be redacted from the public record if ORES is satisfied that
21 the disclosure of a particular item of information would cause substan-
22 tial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise.
23 § 2. Section 139 of the public service law is amended by adding a new
24 subdivision 7 to read as follows:
25 7. ORES shall promptly publish and regularly update on its website any
26 application for a permit to site a major electric transmission facility
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14672-01-6
A. 10134 2
1 pursuant to this section, along with supporting documentation and any
2 responsive documents by ORES or other interested parties. Prior to post-
3 ing but within ten days of receiving such application and supporting and
4 responsive documents, ORES shall review any claim that the application
5 or document is exempt from disclosure under subdivision two of section
6 eighty-seven of the public officers law. Such application or document
7 may only be redacted to the minimum extent necessary to comply with the
8 requirements of the freedom of information law or to keep confidential
9 the location of threatened or endangered species or other sensitive
10 environmental information that could prove harmful if disclosed to the
11 public. Any claim by an applicant that the disclosure of specific infor-
12 mation would violate paragraph (d) of subdivision two of section eight-
13 y-seven of the public officers law shall be examined by ORES to deter-
14 mine if there is a particularized and specific justification for the
15 redaction of such information from the public record. Such information
16 shall only be redacted from the public record if ORES is satisfied that
17 the disclosure of a particular item of information would cause substan-
18 tial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise.
19 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
20 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to section 138
21 of the public service law made by section one of this act and section
22 139 of such law made by section two of this act shall not affect the
23 expiration and repeal of such sections and shall be deemed repealed
24 therewith.
