Prohibits the commissioner of general services from leasing or granting certain property rights to any entity to lay electric transmission lines when such lines transmit energy over an electric transmission line that interconnects a location outside of the United States when the transmission does not provide access to electric generating facilities within the state.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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5175--B
Cal. No. 1011
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 10, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sens. O'MARA, AMEDORE, MURPHY, ORTT -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Investigations and Government Operations -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and
second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered
reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public lands law, in relation to the authority to
grant property rights
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 3 of the public lands law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 8 to read as follows:
3 8. (a) Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, policy, order or
4 executive action to the contrary, the commissioner of general services
5 shall not lease, or grant rights or easements to, the bed of Lake Cham-
6 plain and to the bed of the Hudson River to any individual, trustee,
7 partnership, association, corporation, company, municipality, political
8 subdivision or other legal entity for laying an electric transmission
9 line, including but not limited to a high voltage direct current elec-
10 tric transmission line, that enters commercial operation after the
11 effective date of this subdivision, if such transmission line intercon-
12 nects a location outside the territorial limits of the United States to
13 a location within the state and such transmission line: (i) is not a
14 merchant transmission line; or (ii) does not provide access within the
15 upstate region to electric generating facilities located within the
16 upstate region to transmit energy to a location within the downstate
17 region.
18 (b) For the purposes of this subdivision, a "merchant transmission
19 line" shall mean an electric transmission line and all related facili-
20 ties, including but not limited to voltage source converter stations for
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10438-05-7
S. 5175--B 2
1 a high voltage direct current transmission line, that: (i) are devel-
2 oped, financed, constructed, and operated without any reliance on cost-
3 of-service rates set by either a federal or state regulatory entity; and
4 (ii) are not included in the utility rate base, either directly or
5 through a contractual arrangement between the developer of the trans-
6 mission line and any agency, authority or other entity of the state, any
7 municipal subdivision of the state, any utility subject to cost-based
8 regulation, or any instrumentality of any of the foregoing.
9 (c) For the purposes of this subdivision, "upstate region" shall have
10 the same meaning as in paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section 6-102
11 of the energy law, and "downstate region" shall have the same meaning as
12 in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section 6-102 of the energy law.
13 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
