May 25, 2024
Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C-Corning) is blasting Assembly Democrats for holding his bill in committee, which would delay the implementation of the statewide electric school bus mandate until 2045 or until all state agencies convert their medium and heavy-duty fleets to fully electric (A.8447). By holding this bill in committee, Democrats are effectively rejecting it and preventing it from coming to the floor for a vote this year by the full Assembly. Palmesano argues this is just another example of how completely out of touch Albany Democrats are as they continue to move forward with a radical, costly and unreliable climate/energy agenda for all New Yorkers.
Palmesano’s bill would do the following:
• Repeals the requirement that all school bus fleets in operation must be zero-emission by July 1, 2035;
• Delays the requirement that all new bus purchases or leases must be zero-emission from July 1, 2027, until July 1, 2045, or until all state agencies have transitioned 100% of their medium- and heavy-duty fleets to zero-emission vehicles, whichever is later;
• Authorizes the commissioner of education, in consultation with the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), utilities and the Department of Public Service to override the mandate on a statewide basis if they determine that zero-emission school buses are not feasible for a particular application;
• Requires that all components and parts used or supplied in zero-emission buses or related infrastructure be made in whole or substantial part in the U.S.;
• Directs the commissioner of education to complete a cost-benefit analysis for each school district that considers the costs necessary to comply with the zero-emission school bus mandate and provide an extension to schools if necessary; and
• Directs NYSERDA to consult with the Office of Fire Prevention and Control to develop appropriate fire suppression and safety procedures related to lithium and hydrogen-based fires which NYSERDA must transmit to school districts.
“The consequences seem to get worse by the day while Albany Democrats keep rushing to implement unreasonable and unworkable energy mandates on all New York state citizens, businesses, communities, manufacturers, farmers, schools and others. This is especially true for local school districts, local economies and local property taxpayers if Gov. Hochul and Albany Democrats keep pushing to meet the current timeline to transition to all-electric school bus fleets. School districts are facing one of the most expensive mandates they have ever faced. This state is forcing school districts to move, at breakneck speed, to implement a misguided, politically driven climate policy and the state itself has no idea if it is affordable, feasible or reliable. If we do not revise this timeline and significantly delay the implementation of the current mandate until we have more information, the benefit of experience and more efficient and less expensive technology, we are putting our schools, students and their families at serious risk and we are breaking the backs of local property taxpayers across this state at the worst possible time. We need to put a stop to this madness and reassess and reexamine this policy with common sense, expertise and a full cost-benefit, feasibility and safety analysis. Our bill would have done these things and I am disappointed but unfortunately not surprised Assembly Democrats voted to reject it,” said Palmesano.
Currently, under the state mandate, school districts are being forced to begin purchasing electric buses in 2027 and to convert their entire fleet by 2035 even if it is not feasible. The state is not required to convert their heavy-duty fleet until 2040, a full 5 years later, but the state does allow a pause for its conversion if it’s deemed not feasible. “This is the pinnacle of hypocrisy by Albany Democrats,” said Palmesano. “Why should our school districts be the guinea pigs for this costly and unproven experiment? The state should be required to convert their entire fleet first, before mandating school districts and property taxpayers purchase their first electric school bus. This will be an unbelievably costly mandate with the estimated cost to school districts running between $8 and $15.25 billion more than the cost of replacing them with near zero emission diesel buses. This does not take into account the burdensome costs for charging infrastructure and costly grid improvements that will be paid for by school property taxpayers in order to provide the needed power to the schools,” added Palmesano.
“The governor and other Democrats in Albany like to point to the fact that there is $500 million in the state’s Environmental Bond Act to help fund EV school bus purchases. They also like to promote federal funding that is available as well. However, the fact of the matter is, with all the state and federal funding available for EV school bus purchases it is only enough to purchase about 3,000 school buses, according to Doreen Harris, President of NYS Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA), who testified at a budget hearing earlier this year. The current bus fleet in New York state is nearly 50,000 school buses, so the state and federal funding is woefully inadequate and will have to be borne by the property taxpayers of New York school districts,” said Palmesano.
At a press conference earlier this year on the EV School bus mandate Horseheads School District Superintendent Tom Douglas stated, “Superintendents across the state are not against electric busing, a well-intentioned initiative. However, this initiative is one of the biggest unfunded mandates for schools passed on by the governor and PSC. Districts across the state need an immediate pause of this initiative because of the projected costs and timeline as well as the failure of this technology to meet the demands of school districts’ daily transportation and athletic/extracurricular needs. In Horseheads, we have more than 80 daily bus runs in both the a.m. and p.m. hours. From our initial review, a dozen of those runs simply cannot be executed with electronic busing. This number increases substantially as the weather turns colder. In addition, school districts will have to construct their own power substations within transportation centers to handle the new electrical demands of EV busing. Buses will also cost at least four times as much as our current buses and may also need batteries replaced prior to the vehicles’ end of service life at a cost of $150,000 plus per vehicle. In Horseheads, this will likely amount to asking our residents to approve annual bus propositions of more than $4.5 million per year, when currently these propositions are roughly $1.7 million for the same number of buses, and that is without the additional battery costs. This substantial increase also does not include the construction of the power substation, the high-end chargers needed to run these buses daily and for emergencies, as well as all the additional supporting construction technology needed to utilize EV buses. The total cost will ultimately be borne by the local tax base because this is really an unfunded mandate. The sad fact is that there is no guarantee that this technology will work predictably in Northeastern winters. All the governor and PSC need to do is look to the Midwest this past winter to see electric vehicles and chargers not being able to run in frigid temperatures. We cannot risk that with our children. Put simply, the state must pump the brakes on electric busing.”
Palmesano also recently had a bill (A.8271) rejected by Assembly Democrats in committee that would have provided true transparency and accountability. The legislation would require any rules or regulations proposed by the Department of Environmental Conservation involving the implementation of the state’s Cap and Invest Program, which is expected to increase fees and assessments that could increase gas prices at the pump and home heating and energy costs for New York Families and businesses, to be subject to a vote by the state Legislature in order to take effect. Albany Democrats rejected this measure that would have required elected members of the Legislature to stand by their policies and be truly accountable and transparent to New York taxpayers and ratepayers.
“As Albany Democrats continue their path toward a radical, costly and unreliable energy/climate agenda, it remains important that the Legislature do our job and provide oversight on the various departments involved to make sure unelected bureaucrats are not making choices that will harm New Yorkers. As elected officials, we have a responsibility to our constituents to look out for their best interests. All this bill would do is make sure we can act on that responsibility and make sure a majority of elected officials approve of the proposals. This shouldn’t be controversial, it certainly is not political, it simply makes sure the Legislature has a voice when actions that affect everyday New Yorkers are taken. It is disappointing, but not at all surprising, that Albany Democrats would rather let unelected bureaucrats run wild instead of allowing a common-sense proposal to provide true transparency and accountability to all New York families, seniors, farmers, small businesses and manufacturers to come to the floor for an up or down vote,” concluded Palmesano.
