S06486 Summary:

BILL NOS06486D
 
SAME ASSAME AS A07389-C
 
SPONSORPARKER
 
COSPNSRMAY, ADDABBO, BIAGGI, BRISPORT, CLEARE, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN, JACKSON, KRUEGER, LIU, RAMOS, RIVERA, RYAN, SALAZAR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §19-0331, En Con L
 
Establishes a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining operations that use proof-of-work authentication methods to validate blockchain transactions; provides that such operations shall be subject to a full generic environmental impact statement review.
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S06486 Actions:

BILL NOS06486D
 
05/03/2021REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
05/25/2021AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
05/25/2021PRINT NUMBER 6486A
06/05/2021AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
06/05/2021PRINT NUMBER 6486B
06/07/2021COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
06/07/2021ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1564
06/08/2021PASSED SENATE
06/08/2021DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
06/08/2021referred to environmental conservation
01/05/2022died in assembly
01/05/2022returned to senate
01/05/2022REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
01/06/2022AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
01/06/2022PRINT NUMBER 6486C
03/21/2022AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
03/21/2022PRINT NUMBER 6486D
06/02/2022REFERENCE CHANGED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
06/02/2022COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
06/02/2022ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1923
06/02/2022SUBSTITUTED BY A7389C
 A07389 AMEND=C Kelles
 05/06/2021referred to banks
 05/20/2021reference changed to environmental conservation
 06/04/2021amend (t) and recommit to environmental conservation
 06/04/2021print number 7389a
 10/22/2021amend and recommit to environmental conservation
 10/22/2021print number 7389b
 01/05/2022referred to environmental conservation
 03/18/2022amend (t) and recommit to environmental conservation
 03/18/2022print number 7389c
 03/22/2022reported referred to ways and means
 04/25/2022reported referred to rules
 04/25/2022reported
 04/25/2022rules report cal.84
 04/25/2022ordered to third reading rules cal.84
 04/26/2022passed assembly
 04/26/2022delivered to senate
 04/26/2022REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
 06/02/2022SUBSTITUTED FOR S6486D
 06/02/20223RD READING CAL.1923
 06/02/2022PASSED SENATE
 06/02/2022RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
 11/22/2022delivered to governor
 11/22/2022signed chap.628
 11/22/2022approval memo.26
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S06486 Committee Votes:

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S06486 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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S06486 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         6486--D
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                       May 3, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens. PARKER, MAY, BIAGGI, BRISPORT, GOUNARDES, JACKSON,
          KRUEGER, RAMOS, RYAN, SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered  printed,  and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conser-
          vation  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said  committee  --  committee  discharged,
          bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as amended and recommitted to said
          committee -- recommitted to the Committee on  Environmental  Conserva-
          tion in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged,
          bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as amended and recommitted to said
          committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted  as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  environmental  conservation law, in relation to
          establishing a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining operations that use
          proof-of-work authentication methods  to  validate  blockchain  trans-
          actions;  and  to require a comprehensive generic environmental impact
          statement review
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.    Legislative  findings. The legislature hereby finds and
     2  declares that:
     3    (a) Climate change threatens the health, welfare, and economy  of  the
     4  state with increasingly severe and widespread impacts to our communities
     5  due  to  flooding,  sea level rise, heat waves, coastal erosion, erratic
     6  and unpredictable weather patterns, shifting  climatic  zones,  loss  of
     7  wildlife,  increased  harmful  algal  blooms  and  invasive species, and
     8  increased risk of disease, in part, which  leads  directly  to  loss  of
     9  life,  property  damage  and  reduction in value, ecological damage, and
    10  increased infrastructure costs;
    11    (b) It is the policy of the State of New York to conserve, improve and
    12  protect its natural resources and environment and to prevent, abate  and
    13  control  water,  land and air pollution, in order to enhance the health,

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11081-20-2

        S. 6486--D                          2
 
     1  safety and welfare of the people of the state and their overall economic
     2  and social well-being;
     3    (c)  To mitigate the current and future effects of climate change, the
     4  State of New York  implemented  the  Climate  Leadership  and  Community
     5  Protection  Act,  requiring  that  statewide greenhouse gas emissions be
     6  reduced eighty-five percent by 2050 and that  the  state  has  net  zero
     7  emissions in all sectors of the economy by that time;
     8    (d) Cryptocurrency mining operations running proof-of-work authentica-
     9  tion methods to validate blockchain transactions are an expanding indus-
    10  try in the State of New York; and
    11    (e)  The  continued  and  expanded  operation of cryptocurrency mining
    12  operations running  proof-of-work  authentication  methods  to  validate
    13  blockchain transactions will greatly increase the amount of energy usage
    14  in the state of New York, and impact compliance with the Climate Leader-
    15  ship and Community Protection Act.
    16    §  2.  The  environmental  conservation law is amended by adding a new
    17  section 19-0331 to read as follows:
    18  § 19-0331. Moratorium on air permit issuance and renewal.
    19    1. For the period commencing on the effective date of this section and
    20  ending two years after such date,  the  department,  after  consultation
    21  with  the department of public service, shall not approve a new applica-
    22  tion for or issue a new permit pursuant  to  this  article,  or  article
    23  seventy  of  this  chapter,  for  an  electric  generating facility that
    24  utilizes a carbon-based fuel and that provides, in  whole  or  in  part,
    25  behind-the-meter  electric energy consumed or utilized by cryptocurrency
    26  mining operations that use proof-of-work authentication methods to vali-
    27  date blockchain transactions.
    28    2. For the period commencing on the effective date of  this    section
    29  and  ending  two years after such date, the department shall not approve
    30  an application to renew an existing permit or  issue  a  renewal  permit
    31  pursuant  to  this  article  for  an  electric  generating facility that
    32  utilizes a carbon-based fuel and that provides, in  whole  or  in  part,
    33  behind-the-meter electric energy consumed or utilized by a cryptocurren-
    34  cy  mining  operation  that uses proof-of-work authentication methods to
    35  validate blockchain transactions if the  renewal  application  seeks  to
    36  increase  or  will allow or result in an increase in the amount of elec-
    37  tric energy consumed or utilized by a  cryptocurrency  mining  operation
    38  that  uses  proof-of-work  authentication methods to validate blockchain
    39  transactions.
    40    § 3. Generic environmental impact statement.  (a)  The  department  of
    41  environmental  conservation,  in  consultation  with  the  department of
    42  public service, shall prepare, pursuant to article eight of the environ-
    43  mental conservation law, a generic  environmental  impact  statement  on
    44  cryptocurrency  mining  operations that use proof-of-work authentication
    45  methods to validate blockchain transactions.
    46    (b) The generic environmental impact statement  shall  address,  at  a
    47  minimum:
    48    (i)  the  number  and location of existing cryptocurrency mining oper-
    49  ations that use proof-of-work authentication methods to validate  block-
    50  chain transactions in the state;
    51    (ii)  the  amount  of  electric energy consumed by each cryptocurrency
    52  mining operation that uses proof-of-work authentication methods to vali-
    53  date blockchain transactions;
    54    (iii) the sources of electric energy consumed by  each  cryptocurrency
    55  mining operation that uses proof-of-work authentication methods to vali-

        S. 6486--D                          3

     1  date  blockchain  transactions  and the type of fuel used by each energy
     2  source;
     3    (iv) the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and co-pollutants released
     4  by each energy source attributable to providing electric energy to cryp-
     5  tocurrency mining operations that use proof-of-work authentication meth-
     6  ods to validate blockchain transactions;
     7    (v)  the  anticipated increase, if any, of cryptocurrency mining oper-
     8  ations that use proof-of-work authentication methods to validate  block-
     9  chain  transactions  in the state and the anticipated expansion, if any,
    10  of existing operations;
    11    (vi) the potential impacts of electric energy consumption  by  crypto-
    12  currency mining operations that use proof-of-work authentication methods
    13  to  validate  blockchain transactions on the state's ability to meet the
    14  greenhouse gas emission reduction goals set forth  in  article  seventy-
    15  five of the environmental conservation law;
    16    (vii)  the  amount  of water usage, water quality and other ecological
    17  impacts, if any, of cooling water use  by  cryptocurrency  mining  oper-
    18  ations  that use proof-of-work authentication methods to validate block-
    19  chain transactions;
    20    (viii) the potential public health impacts, if any, due to reduced air
    21  and water quality in communities near cryptocurrency  mining  operations
    22  that  use  proof-of-work  authentication  methods to validate blockchain
    23  transactions;
    24    (ix) the potential statewide  public  health  impacts,  if  any,  from
    25  increased  greenhouse  gas  emissions  released by cryptocurrency mining
    26  operations that use proof-of-work  authentication  methods  to  validate
    27  blockchain transactions; and
    28    (x)  the social and economic costs and benefits, if any, of cryptocur-
    29  rency mining operations that use proof-of-work authentication methods to
    30  validate blockchain transactions.
    31    § 4. Any generic environmental impact statement draft shall be  posted
    32  on the department of environmental conservation's website and be subject
    33  to  120 days of public comment from the date of issuance. The department
    34  of environmental conservation shall conduct at least one public  hearing
    35  in  each  of  the  following regions of the state: western New York, the
    36  finger lakes, the southern tier, central New York,  the  Mohawk  valley,
    37  the north country, the capital region/Hudson valley, and the City of New
    38  York/Long  Island,  as  defined  by  the Empire State Development Corpo-
    39  ration, and provide meaningful opportunity for comment.
    40    § 5. The department shall issue a final generic  environmental  impact
    41  statement  after  close  of the public comment and public hearing period
    42  and no later than one year after the effective date of this act.
    43    § 6. For the purposes of this act:
    44    (a) "Cryptocurrency mining operations that use proof-of-work authenti-
    45  cation methods" shall mean the use of a consensus algorithm in a  block-
    46  chain  network  used  to  confirm and produce new blocks to the chain to
    47  validate a cryptocurrency transaction, where  competitors  complete  new
    48  blocks and where the algorithm changes the complexity of the competition
    49  in a manner that is designed to and/or results in increased energy usage
    50  for each competitor when the complexity is increased; and
    51    (b) "blockchain" shall mean a digital ledger in which transactions are
    52  recorded chronologically and publicly.
    53    §  7.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
    54  permits or renewal applications filed after such date.
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