S3590A

The New York State Senate passed S3590A, legislation establishing an Office of Resilience to address climate-related challenges, by a vote of 51-9 on March 4. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Harckham, faced a floor challenge when Sen. Walczyk proposed an amendment to repeal the state's cap-and-invest program, which he argued would save New Yorkers $12 billion annually in energy costs. The President ruled the amendment nongermane, and an appeal by Sen. Lanza was rejected 21 in favor of overruling the chair. Supporters of the bill, including Sen. Harckham and Sen. Krueger, argued that climate change poses real economic costs to taxpayers, citing $800 billion in annual U.S. storm damage and specific infrastructure projects in New York requiring climate resilience investments. Opponents, including Sens. Borrello, Lanza, and Martins, contended the bill creates unnecessary bureaucracy and that high energy costs stem from state policy rather than climate mandates. Nine Republicans voted against the bill: Borrello, Griffo, Lanza, O'Mara, Ortt, Stec, Walczyk, Oberacker, and Weik. The bill was restored to the noncontroversial calendar before passage.