Rpld & add S1020-d, amd SS1020-h & 1020-f, ren SS1020-jj & 1020-kk to be SS1020-kk & 1020-ll, add S1020-jj,
Pub Auth L; amd S5, Pub Serv L; add Art 2-A SS27 - 27-e, Gen Muni L; amd S11.00, Loc Fin L
Relates to the Long Island power authority; outlines the trustees and chair; relates to proposed increases in average customer rates; amends the public authorities law, in relation to hearings of the Long Island power authority; prohibits the Long Island power authority from owning any portion of any nuclear generating facilities; requires the authority to post any and all contracts on its website; makes related provisions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7462
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 21, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. THIELE, RAIA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
McDONOUGH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations,
Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to the board of
trustees of the Long Island power authority; to amend the public
authorities law, in relation to powers granted to municipalities
concerning public utility services; to amend the public service law,
in relation to proposed increases in average customer rates; to amend
the public authorities law, in relation to hearings of the Long Island
power authority and prohibiting the Long Island power authority from
owning any portion of any nuclear generating facilities; to amend the
public authorities law, in relation to requiring the authority to post
any and all contracts on its website; to amend the general municipal
law and the local finance law, in relation to the financing of the
installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or
energy efficiency improvements; and to repeal certain provisions of
the public authorities law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds and declares
2 that:
3 1. the Long Island power authority was established because the legis-
4 lature believed that matters of state concern would best be dealt with
5 by replacing such investor owned utility with a publicly owned power
6 authority;
7 2. a public power authority is best governed by representatives of the
8 public it was established to serve;
9 3. a democratic principal of energy production must seek to ensure an
10 equitable responsibility for the production of power among the constitu-
11 ents served;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11140-01-3
A. 7462 2
1 4. in the future Long Island should seek to reformulate its energy
2 distribution methods so that the various townships will take responsi-
3 bility for producing the power necessary to match growth;
4 5. the public election of trustees to the power authority will serve
5 to better represent local interests and issues;
6 6. as a matter of public policy, relinquishing local control over
7 power production does not allow siting and technology decisions to be
8 made by the most impacted population. Therefore, through the election of
9 local trustees, the communities can work to accept the responsibility
10 for the energy production decisions necessary to accommodate their
11 needs; and
12 7. the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) was created by the state to
13 be the retail supplier of electricity and is charged with developing
14 energy policy, rate setting and financial planning for the Long Island
15 service territory. LIPA was intended to "provide safe and adequate
16 service at lower rates while facilitating the shift of investment into
17 more beneficial energy demand/energy supply management alternatives".
18 Moreover, the state intended that LIPA utilize "to the fullest extent
19 practicable, all economical means of conservation, and technologies that
20 rely on renewable energy resources, cogeneration and improvements in
21 energy efficiency which will benefit the interests of the ratepayers of
22 the service area".
23 The legislature finds that the interests set forth in this section
24 will be best served by a utility operated by an elected board of trus-
25 tees.
26 § 2. Section 1020-d of the public authorities law, as added by chapter
27 506 of the laws of 1995, is REPEALED and a new section 1020-d is added
28 to read as follows:
29 § 1020-d. Trustees. 1. Beginning January first, two thousand fourteen,
30 the authority shall consist of seventeen trustees. One trustee, who
31 shall be the chair, shall be appointed by the governor, and shall serve
32 at the pleasure of the governor. Such chair shall have experience in
33 utility management and any member appointed to a term commencing on or
34 after June thirtieth, two thousand thirteen shall have experience in one
35 or more of the following areas of expertise: utility management; elec-
36 tricity generation; electricity transmission; public administration;
37 business management; finance; or have experience in some other area of
38 activity central to the mission of the authority. Sixteen trustees
39 shall be elected with one each from each of the following political
40 subdivisions, or in the case of the county of Queens, the portion of the
41 county of Queens within the service area of the authority:
42 (a) county of Nassau:
43 (1) town of Hempstead,
44 (2) town of North Hempstead,
45 (3) town of Oyster Bay,
46 (4) city of Long Beach, and
47 (5) city of Glen Cove;
48 (b) county of Suffolk:
49 (1) town of Babylon,
50 (2) town of Brookhaven,
51 (3) town of East Hampton,
52 (4) town of Huntington,
53 (5) town of Islip,
54 (6) town of Riverhead,
55 (7) town of Shelter Island,
56 (8) town of Smithtown,
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1 (9) town of Southampton,
2 (10) town of Southold;
3 (c) that portion of the county of Queens within the authorities
4 service area. Each elected trustee shall be a resident of the political
5 subdivision from which he or she is elected. In the case of the county
6 of Queens, the trustee must also reside in the authority service area.
7 No person who is an elected or appointed official of the state or any
8 municipality, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be quali-
9 fied to serve as an elected trustee. Each trustee shall hold office for
10 a term of two years and shall be elected at the same time as the bienni-
11 al town election. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of
12 an elected trustee by death, resignation or otherwise, a successor shall
13 be chosen by the governing body of the political subdivision for the
14 unexpired term.
15 2. Such trustees shall be elected in elections conducted by the board
16 of elections pursuant to the applicable provisions of the election law.
17 No political party shall be entitled to nominate candidates for the
18 office of trustee at any such election.
19 3. Nine trustees shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conduct-
20 ing the business of the authority. The vote of the majority of the trus-
21 tees shall be required for the purpose of taking action.
22 4. No trustee shall receive a salary, but each shall be entitled to
23 reimbursement for reasonable expenses in the performance of duties
24 assigned in this section.
25 § 3. Section 1020-h of the public authorities law, as added by chapter
26 517 of the laws of 1986, is amended by adding two new subdivisions 12
27 and 13 to read as follows:
28 12. Nothing in this title shall be construed as preempting, or other-
29 wise limiting, the rights of any municipality located in whole or in
30 part in the service area from exercising any power or authority granted
31 to it by article fourteen-A of the general municipal law, including the
32 right to acquire facilities through eminent domain as set forth in
33 subdivision six of section three hundred sixty of the general municipal
34 law.
35 13. In conjunction with the exercise of the power of eminent domain
36 specifically reserved to municipalities located in whole or in part in
37 the service area, the legislative findings with respect to the appropri-
38 ate valuation of LILCO's property, as set forth in paragraphs (f)
39 through (m) of subdivision one of this section, shall be considered by
40 the court in establishing just compensation for any property taken by
41 any such municipality.
42 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 5 of the public service law is amended
43 by adding a new paragraph i to read as follows:
44 i. To the Long Island power authority and/or its subsidiaries when
45 such authority shall propose implementation of an increase in average
46 customer rates such proposed increase shall not be implemented without
47 approval of the commission following a full evidentiary hearing pursuant
48 to regulations. When petitioning the public service commission for a
49 rate increase, the Long Island power authority must prepare an economic
50 impact statement assessing the impact a rate increase would have on the
51 Long Island economy and efforts to stimulate economic growth.
52 § 5. Section 1020-f of the public authorities law, as added by chapter
53 517 of the laws of 1986, is amended by adding two new subdivisions (cc)
54 and (dd) to read as follows:
55 (cc) No fee, rate or other charge shall be established, fixed or
56 revised unless and until the authority has provided for written public
A. 7462 4
1 comment and has held a public hearing at least sixty days prior to a
2 vote to increase rates to provide the public with an opportunity to be
3 heard concerning the same with at least one such hearing to be held in
4 the county of Suffolk and at least one in the county of Nassau. Notice
5 of such shall be published by the authority not less than ten nor more
6 than twenty days before the date set therefor in a newspaper or newspa-
7 pers having general circulation in the service area. Such notice shall
8 set forth the date, time and place of such hearing and shall include a
9 brief description of the matters to be considered at such hearing. At
10 all such hearings, all interested persons shall have an opportunity to
11 be heard concerning the matters under consideration.
12 (dd) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to
13 the contrary, the authority shall not own or possess any portion of any
14 nuclear generating facilities.
15 § 6. Sections 1020-jj and 1020-kk of the public authorities law, as
16 renumbered by chapter 388 of the laws of 2011, are renumbered sections
17 1020-kk and 1020-ll and a new section 1020-jj is added to read as
18 follows:
19 § 1020-jj. Post contracts on website. The authority shall post any and
20 all contracts of the authority on its website.
21 § 7. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new article 2-A
22 to read as follows:
23 ARTICLE 2-A
24 FINANCE OF THE INSTALLATION OF
25 DISTRIBUTED GENERATION RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
26 OR ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS
27 Section 27. Legislative findings.
28 27-a. Definitions.
29 27-b. Contractual assessments.
30 27-c. Report.
31 27-d. Purchase and installation.
32 27-e. Liens.
33 § 27. Legislative findings. 1. The legislature finds that energy
34 conservation efforts, including the promotion of energy efficiency
35 improvements to residential, commercial, industrial, or other real prop-
36 erty are necessary to address the issue of global climate change.
37 2. The upfront cost of making residential, commercial, industrial, or
38 other real property more energy efficient prevents many property owners
39 from making those improvements. To make those improvements more afforda-
40 ble and to promote the installation of those improvements, it is neces-
41 sary to authorize a procedure for authorizing assessments to finance the
42 cost of energy efficiency improvements.
43 3. The legislature declares that a public purpose will be served by a
44 contractual assessment program that provides the governing body of any
45 local government with the authority to finance the installation of
46 distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy efficiency
47 improvements that are permanently fixed to residential, commercial,
48 industrial, or other real property.
49 4. This article shall not be used to finance facilities for parcels
50 which are undergoing development.
51 5. This article shall not be used to finance the purchase or installa-
52 tion of appliances that are not permanently fixed to residential,
53 commercial, industrial, or other real property.
54 6. Assessments may be levied pursuant to this article only with the
55 free and willing consent of the owner of each lot or parcel on which an
56 assessment is levied at the time the assessment is levied.
A. 7462 5
1 § 27-a. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following
2 terms shall have the following meanings:
3 1. "Local government" shall mean a city, town, village, or county.
4 2. "Governing board" shall mean the city council, town board, village
5 board, or county legislature or board of supervisors.
6 3. "Renewable energy sources and energy efficient improvements" shall
7 mean solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal,
8 geothermal ground source heat, tidal energy, wave energy, ocean thermal,
9 and fuel cells utilizing renewable fuels and improvements which result
10 in energy conservation and efficiency.
11 § 27-b. Contractual assessments. 1. The governing body of any local
12 government may also determine that it would be in the public interest to
13 designate an area within the local government, which may encompass the
14 entire local government or a lesser portion, within which authorized
15 local government officials and property owners may enter into contractu-
16 al assessments to finance the installation of distributed generation
17 renewable energy sources or energy efficiency improvements that are
18 permanently fixed to real property pursuant to this article.
19 2. The governing body shall make these determinations by adopting a
20 local law. The local law shall include a statement that the local
21 government proposes to make contractual assessment financing available
22 to property owners, shall identify the kinds of public works, distrib-
23 uted generation renewable energy sources, or energy efficiency improve-
24 ments that may be financed, shall describe the boundaries of the area
25 within which contractual assessments may be entered into, and shall
26 briefly describe the proposed arrangements for financing the program.
27 The local law shall state that it is in the public interest to finance
28 the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or
29 energy efficiency improvements, or both, pursuant to subdivision one of
30 this section, if applicable. The local law shall direct preparation of
31 a report pursuant to section twenty-seven-c of this article.
32 § 27-c. Report. The report required by section twenty-seven-b of this
33 article shall contain all of the following:
34 1. A map showing the boundaries of the territory within which contrac-
35 tual assessments are proposed to be offered;
36 2. A draft contract specifying the terms and conditions that would be
37 agreed to by a property owner within the contractual assessment area and
38 the local government;
39 3. A statement of local government policies concerning contractual
40 assessments including all of the following:
41 (a) Identification of types of facilities, distributed generation
42 renewable energy sources, or energy efficiency improvements that may be
43 financed through the use of contractual assessments;
44 (b) Identification of a local government official authorized to enter
45 into contractual assessments on behalf of the local government;
46 (c) A maximum aggregate dollar amount of contractual assessments; and
47 (d) A method for setting requests from property owners for financing
48 through contractual assessments in priority order in the event that
49 requests appear likely to exceed the authorization amount;
50 4. A plan for raising a capital amount required to pay for work
51 performed pursuant to contractual assessments. The plan may include
52 amounts to be advanced by the local government through funds available
53 to it from any source. The plan may include the sale of a bond or bonds
54 or other financing relationship. The plan shall include a statement of
55 or method for determining the interest rate and time period during which
56 contracting property owners would pay any assessment. The plan shall
A. 7462 6
1 provide for any reserve fund or funds. The plan shall provide for the
2 apportionment of all or any portion of the costs incidental to financ-
3 ing, administration, and collection of the contractual assessment
4 program among the consenting property owners and the local government;
5 and
6 5. A report concerning the additional fees, if any, that shall be
7 charged for incorporating the proposed contractual assessments into the
8 assessments of the general taxes of the local government on real proper-
9 ty, and a plan for financing the payment of such fees.
10 § 27-d. Purchase and installation. Notwithstanding any other
11 provision of this article, upon the written consent of an authorized
12 local government official, the proposed arrangements for financing the
13 program pertaining to the installation of distributed generation renewa-
14 ble energy sources or energy efficiency improvements that are permanent-
15 ly fixed to real property may authorize the property owner to purchase
16 directly the related equipment and materials for the installation of
17 distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy efficiency
18 improvements and to contract directly for the installation of distrib-
19 uted generation renewable energy sources or energy efficiency improve-
20 ments that are permanently fixed to the property owner's residential,
21 commercial, industrial, or other real property.
22 § 27-e. Liens. Assessments levied pursuant to this article, and the
23 interest and any penalties thereon shall constitute a lien against the
24 lots and parcels of land on which they are made, until such liens are
25 paid. Article eleven of the real property tax law applies to the levy
26 and collection of assessments levied pursuant to this article, insofar
27 as such provisions are not in conflict with the provisions of this arti-
28 cle, including, but not limited to, the collection of assessments in the
29 same manner and at the same time as the general taxes of the local
30 government on real property are payable and any penalties and remedies
31 and lien priorities in the event of delinquency and default.
32 § 8. Paragraph a of section 11.00 of the local finance law is amended
33 by adding a new subdivision 107 to read as follows:
34 107. Renewable energy sources or energy efficiency improvements. The
35 acquisition and installation of renewable energy sources or energy effi-
36 ciency improvements as provided for in article two-A of the general
37 municipal law, thirty years.
38 § 9. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
39 it shall have become a law.
