Bill Text: NY S04134 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Implements the "New York State Build Public Renewables Act"; requires the New York power authority to provide only renewable energy and power to customers; requires such authority to be the sole provider of energy to all state owned and municipal properties; requires certain New York power authority projects and programs pay a prevailing wage and utilize project labor agreements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 29-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [S04134 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S04134-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4134 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 3, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sens. PARKER, ADDABBO, BAILEY, BRESLIN, BRISPORT, BROUK, CLEARE, GIANARIS, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HINCHEY, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACK- SON, KAVANAGH, KRUEGER, LIU, MAY, MYRIE, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SANDERS, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to implementing the "New York State Build Public Renewables Act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "New York State Build Public Renewables Act". 3 § 2. Section 1005 of the public authorities law is amended by adding 4 fourteen new subdivisions 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 5 41, 42, and 43 to read as follows: 6 30. (a) The authority is authorized and directed to purchase, acquire, 7 plan, design, engineer, finance, construct, operate, manage, improve 8 and/or maintain any renewable energy project. 9 (b) For the purposes of this subdivision and subdivisions thirty-one, 10 thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty- 11 seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two and 12 forty-three of this section, the following terms shall have the follow- 13 ing meanings: 14 (i) "renewable energy" shall have the same meaning as renewable energy 15 systems as set forth in section sixty-six-p of the public service law. 16 (ii) "renewable energy project" shall be defined as all infrastructure 17 which generates, stores, distributes or transmits renewable energy or 18 thermal energy as defined in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, and 19 includes the construction, installation and/or operation of ancillary 20 facilities or equipment done in connection with any such renewable ener- 21 gy generating projects, including, but not limited to, energy storage EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00338-01-3S. 4134 2 1 systems, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and offshore wind 2 support and installation vessels owned by the authority, and the 3 production, use, and sale of green hydrogen defined as hydrogen produced 4 through electrolysis powered using one hundred percent renewable energy. 5 31. Where a renewable energy site appropriate for New York state falls 6 into federal jurisdiction, the authority may participate in lease 7 auctions in an attempt to obtain ownership of that area. 8 32. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authority 9 shall, on or after January first, two thousand thirty-one, only generate 10 renewable energy and shall only purchase, acquire, plan, design, engi- 11 neer, finance, and construct generation and transmission facilities for 12 the purpose of generating, storing, distributing and transmitting renew- 13 able energy. The authority shall phase out its use of existing non-re- 14 newable generation no later than December thirtieth, two thousand thir- 15 ty-one, unless the authority provides to its trustees, and makes 16 publicly available, an attestation in writing, signed by the independent 17 system operator and a representative of the regional clean energy hub in 18 which the facility is located, identifying the existence of a reliabil- 19 ity need. The authority shall work with the New York state energy 20 research and development authority to provide any funding necessary for 21 a regional clean energy hub to meet the needs of this subdivision. The 22 authority, in consultation with the independent system operator, shall 23 ensure that the phase out of its existing non-renewable generation does 24 not lead to an increase in the delivery of out-of-state non-renewable 25 generation into the New York state electric grid. For the purposes of 26 this subdivision, a "reliability need" means an electricity system need, 27 which if unmet, would result in a violation of the electric power system 28 planning and operating policies, standards, criteria, guidelines, proce- 29 dures, and rules promulgated by the North American Electric Reliability 30 Corporation ("NERC"), Northeast Power Coordinating Council ("NPCC"), and 31 the New York State Reliability Council ("NYSRC"), as they may be amended 32 from time to time. 33 (b) The authority shall prioritize funding, siting, building, and 34 owning renewable energy projects which: (i) actively benefit disadvan- 35 taged communities as defined by the climate justice working group; (ii) 36 minimize harm to wildlife, ecosystems, public health, and public safety; 37 (iii) do not violate Indigenous rights or sovereignty; and (iv) which 38 are the most cost-effective to the state according to the best available 39 cost modeling research. The types of renewable energy projects the 40 authority builds shall be determined and prioritized in consultation 41 with affected labor unions and community organizations via the New York 42 state energy research and development authority's regional clean energy 43 hubs. 44 33. (a) Within two years of the effective date of this subdivision, 45 the authority shall make public a ten-year climate and resiliency plan. 46 Such climate and resiliency plan shall be designed to minimize costs to 47 ratepayers, while balancing the interests of employees, grid reliability 48 and resiliency, disadvantaged communities as defined by the climate 49 justice working group, and the environment. Such plan shall be developed 50 in consultation with the New York state independent system operator, 51 the New York state energy research and development authority, the 52 New York state department of public service, and climate and resiliency 53 experts, labor organizations, environmental justice communities, resi- 54 dential and small business ratepayer advocates, and community organiza- 55 tions via the New York state energy research and development authori- 56 ty's regional clean energy hubs. Such resiliency plan shall outline theS. 4134 3 1 renewable energy projects the authority plans to build, how the authori- 2 ty plans to phase out non-renewable assets and how the authority plans 3 to comply with the climate leadership and community protection act and 4 the renewable energy targets in subdivisions thirty-two and thirty-four 5 of this section, and efforts to improve energy and electric grid resili- 6 ency. The authority shall update such plan annually, after public 7 comment and a hearing. Such updated plan shall include a review of the 8 state's progress towards the renewable energy goals of the climate lead- 9 ership and community protection act. If the authority, in consultation 10 with the New York state energy research and development authority, 11 determines that the renewable energy goals of the climate leadership and 12 community protection act are not likely to be met within the timeframe 13 established by the law, the authority shall include in the updated plan 14 the renewable energy projects it plans to build to ensure the state 15 meets such goals, including the permit applications submitted, the stage 16 of each project in the development process, when such projects are 17 expected to be commissioned, and any barriers to deployment experienced 18 by the authority. If the authority has identified a reliability need to 19 maintain its existing non-renewable generation pursuant to subdivision 20 thirty-two of this section, the authority shall identify in the annual 21 report the renewable energy project, energy storage project, trans- 22 mission or distribution infrastructure, demand response, or other such 23 project or projects that the authority, or another entity, only if such 24 entity has obtained all the necessary permits and has begun 25 construction, plans to develop to meet the reliability need. 26 (b) Within two years of the effective date of this subdivision, the 27 authority shall make public a democratization plan, with a mandate to 28 implement the plan within two years of its completion. Such plan shall 29 be created in partnership with, and codesigned with, a statewide alli- 30 ance of community organizations with at least five years' history of 31 working on energy democracy and implementation issues, providing funding 32 for this alliance as necessary for their participation in the completion 33 of the plan. Such plan shall ensure that the scale up of renewable build 34 out across the state occurs in line with the principles of energy democ- 35 racy and transparency. 36 (c) The authority shall hold at least eight public hearings within two 37 years of the effective date of this subdivision related to the climate 38 and resiliency plan. The hearing shall be publicized in various forms 39 of media, including but not limited to the authority's website, local 40 newspapers and social media platforms, and shall also be accessible via 41 livestream. In advance of such hearing, the authority shall conspicu- 42 ously post written notice of such hearing in all authority facilities 43 and New York state energy research and development authority regional 44 clean energy hubs on a sign posted at each facility entrance and exit 45 used by employees, and shall provide at least two weeks advance notice 46 of such hearing to authority customers by directly communicating such 47 notice to customer phone, email and mailing lists. Hearings shall be 48 permitted between 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and the 49 authority shall provide all speakers with the option to sign up to speak 50 within those three hour windows such that no speaker shall wait longer 51 than three hours to speak. In addition to oral testimony, written 52 testimony from the public for such hearings shall be accepted by the 53 authority no less than two weeks after each hearing. Each speaker shall 54 have at least three minutes to speak, and a remote option shall be 55 provided for submitting comments via video conference, phone, including 56 short message services (SMS) text messages and/or written comment, whichS. 4134 4 1 shall be read aloud. Provisions for translation services, American sign 2 language interpretation, closed captioning, and access to accommodations 3 provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act shall be provided upon 4 request. 5 (d) The authority shall maintain all data, meeting minutes, recordings 6 and documents that do not include personal customer information, includ- 7 ing but not limited to depreciation schedules, annual financial state- 8 ments of itemized spending, environmental impact statements, cost-bene- 9 fit analyses, climate and resiliency plans, renewable energy project 10 plans, and annual reports on operations, customer service, reliability, 11 resiliency and sustainability. All such data, meeting minutes, 12 recordings and documents shall be made available on the authority's 13 website, or otherwise made accessible by the authority upon request. 14 All such records shall be maintained as business records for a minimum 15 of ten years. The state comptroller shall audit the authority at least 16 once every two years until two thousand thirty-one to ascertain whether 17 the authority is in compliance with the renewable energy targets 18 outlined in this subdivision and subdivisions thirty-two, thirty-four 19 and thirty-five of this section and whether the authority's spending and 20 operations are effectively and efficiently promoting the common good. 21 The most recent comptroller audits shall also be made available on the 22 authority's website, or otherwise made accessible by the authority upon 23 request. 24 (e) (i) The authority, in consultation with the New York state energy 25 research and development authority and the public service commission, 26 shall develop and conduct an energy efficiency and energy audit program 27 to identify public buildings most in need of retrofits and efficiency 28 measures. Such program shall provide for the installation of renewable 29 heating and cooling systems, and, when feasible, other green building 30 projects as defined in section 58-0101 of the environmental conservation 31 law, in public housing and public schools by the year two thousand thir- 32 ty-six, prioritizing first public affordable housing and public schools 33 in disadvantaged communities. The authority shall hire authority employ- 34 ees or contractors to perform energy audits, retrofits and other effi- 35 ciency programs for these buildings, and provide incentives, in conjunc- 36 tion with the New York state energy research and development authority, 37 for energy efficient appliances and induction stoves, as needed, to meet 38 the climate goals outlined in the climate leadership and community 39 protection act. If the buildings selected for this program need mold 40 remediation measures or lead abatement measures to be carried out before 41 energy efficiency measures can be safely implemented, the authority 42 shall also hire employees or contractors to perform lead abatement meas- 43 ures and/or mold remediation measures for these buildings. 44 (ii) The authority shall annually post on its website a report evalu- 45 ating the energy efficiency program, including, but not limited to, the 46 number of customers served by the efficiency program, the customer demo- 47 graphics, the number of retrofits and energy audits performed, the 48 number of jobs created and employee demographics, and the amount of 49 energy and dollars saved as a result of the program. 50 (iii) All work subject to this subdivision shall be considered public 51 work, subject to articles eight and nine of the labor law, and shall 52 utilize a project labor agreement. For purposes of this subdivision, 53 "project labor agreement" shall mean a pre-hire collective bargaining 54 agreement between the authority, or a third party on behalf of the 55 authority, and a bona fide building and construction trade labor organ- 56 ization establishing the labor organization as the collective bargainingS. 4134 5 1 representative for all persons who will perform work on a public work 2 project, and which provides that only contractors and subcontractors who 3 sign a pre-negotiated agreement with the labor organization can perform 4 project work. All contractors and subcontractors associated with this 5 work shall be required to utilize apprenticeship agreements as defined 6 by article twenty-three of the labor law. 7 (f) The authority shall submit an annual report to the governor and to 8 the legislature which shall be made available to the public. Such report 9 shall include the: 10 (A) Ten year climate and resiliency plan described in paragraph (a) of 11 this subdivision; 12 (B) Amount of energy produced by each facility; 13 (C) Energy transferred between facilities within the authority; 14 (D) Energy transferred outside of the authority for sale; 15 (E) Kilowatt-hour sales by project; 16 (F) Revenues and costs for each project facility; 17 (G) Accumulated provision for depreciation of each project facility; 18 (H) Financial and operating information of the energy efficiency 19 program; 20 (I) Enrollment in and effectiveness of renewable energy auto-enroll- 21 ment, retrofit, and energy efficient appliance programs; 22 (J) Any projected rate increase for the year; and 23 (K) An analysis of the authority's actions to ensure the state will 24 meet the renewable energy goals of the climate leadership and community 25 protection act. 26 34. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on or after January 27 first, two thousand thirty-one, the authority shall be the sole provider 28 of electricity to all state owned, leased, controlled, or operated 29 buildings and on or after January first, two thousand thirty-six, the 30 authority shall be the sole provider of electricity to all municipal 31 owned, leased, controlled, or operated buildings that use electricity. 32 A municipal owned, leased, controlled, or operated building that uses 33 electricity may elect not to receive its energy supply from the authori- 34 ty if (i) the authority's energy supply rate is higher than the energy 35 supply rate of the utility in the municipal building's service territo- 36 ry, as determined by the twelve-month average utility supply rate; (ii) 37 the municipal building is being served by a municipal electric utility 38 that shall supply only renewable energy to the building; or (iii) the 39 municipal building elects to participate in a community choice aggre- 40 gation program that shall supply only renewable energy to the building. 41 35. (a) The authority is authorized to sell or provide renewable ener- 42 gy to residential end-use customers and CCA communities. Any excess 43 renewable energy produced by the authority and not used or stored by 44 state or municipal owned or leased buildings shall be sold directly to 45 low-to-moderate income households first, prioritizing low-to-moderate 46 income households in disadvantaged communities, and at a rate that is 47 fifty percent less than the energy supply rate of the utility in the 48 customer's service territory. Any remaining excess renewable energy 49 produced by the authority shall be sold to residential end-use customers 50 or CCA's at the wholesale cost. For the purposes of this paragraph, the 51 term "low-to-moderate income households" shall mean households with 52 annual incomes at or below eighty percent of the area median income of 53 the county or metro area where they reside. 54 (b) Within three years following the effective date of this subdivi- 55 sion, the authority's trustees, in consultation with the New York state 56 energy research and development authority's regional clean energy hubs,S. 4134 6 1 shall develop a progressive rate structure based on income and energy 2 usage to be offered to end-use customers and CCA communities. 3 (c) The authority shall work with the office of temporary and disabil- 4 ity assistance to assist low-income customers to access the low income 5 home energy assistance program and other utility benefits and shall 6 offer deferred payment agreement payment plans for customers that fall 7 into arrears. 8 (d) The authority is authorized to sell up to thirty percent of the 9 electricity that it provides to residential and commercial customers to 10 customers of the long island power authority, established under title 11 one-A of this article, and the long island power authority is authorized 12 to purchase this power. 13 36. All new renewable energy projects subject to this section shall be 14 considered public work, subject to articles eight and nine of the labor 15 law and shall utilize a project labor agreement. For purposes of this 16 subdivision, "project labor agreement" shall mean a pre-hire collective 17 bargaining agreement between the authority, or a third party on behalf 18 of the authority, and a bona fide building and construction trade labor 19 organization establishing the labor organization as the collective 20 bargaining representative for all persons who will perform work on a 21 public work project, and which provides that only contractors and 22 subcontractors who sign a pre-negotiated agreement with the labor organ- 23 ization can perform project work. All contractors and subcontractors 24 associated with this work shall be required to utilize apprenticeship 25 agreements as defined by article twenty-three of the labor law. 26 37. The authority, in consultation with labor organizations, shall 27 develop a comprehensive plan to transition, train, or retrain employees 28 that are impacted by the New York state build public renewables act, and 29 shall establish and contribute to a just transition fund that shall make 30 funding available for worker transition and retraining. 31 38. The authority shall include requirements in any procurement or 32 development of a renewable energy project, as defined in subdivision 33 thirty of this section, that the components and parts shall be supplied 34 with equipment produced or made in whole or substantial part in the 35 United States, its territories or possessions. The authority's trustees, 36 in consultation with the New York state energy research and development 37 authority, may waive the procurement and development requirements set 38 forth in this subdivision if the trustees determine that: the require- 39 ments would not be in the public interest; the requirements would result 40 in unreasonable costs; obtaining such infrastructure components and 41 parts in the United States would increase the cost of a renewable energy 42 project by an unreasonable amount; or such components or parts cannot be 43 produced, made, or assembled in the United States in sufficient and 44 reasonably available quantities or of satisfactory quality. Such deter- 45 mination must be made on an annual basis no later than December thirty- 46 first after providing notice and an opportunity for public comment, and 47 be made publicly available, in writing, on the authority's website with 48 a detailed explanation of the findings leading to such determination. If 49 the authority's trustees have issued determinations for three consec- 50 utive years that no such waiver is warranted pursuant to this subdivi- 51 sion, then the authority shall no longer be required to provide the 52 annual determination required by this subdivision. 53 39. The authority shall work with existing workforce development 54 programs, union apprenticeship programs, and regional community energy 55 hubs to publish a report on the ways that the construction of renewable 56 projects can best support the development of skilled, well paid localS. 4134 7 1 workforces in the renewable energy sector, and shall provide financial 2 support through the just transition fund established pursuant to subdi- 3 vision thirty-seven of this section for pre-apprenticeship programs 4 through local community based organizations that work with disadvantaged 5 communities and union run workforce development institutions, where 6 this support is found to be necessary to the effective development of 7 this workforce according to the report. 8 40. For energy projects that the authority builds on properties of the 9 New York city housing authority, including heat pump installations, 10 retrofits, weatherization measures, and lead, mold, and asbestos remedi- 11 ation, both the authority and its contractors shall prioritize hiring 12 residents of these properties, provided that residents meet consider- 13 ations of availability, interest, skill level and training. No 14 provisions of this subdivision shall alter the status of any Section 9 15 housing. The authority shall consult the residents or occupants of all 16 public buildings where the authority is building projects to assess 17 their needs and minimize disruption, nuisance, public health risks, and 18 displacement during any remediation, retrofit, weatherization, heat pump 19 installations, or other construction the authority or its contractors 20 perform. All work subject to this subdivision shall be considered 21 public work, subject to articles eight and nine of the labor law, and 22 shall utilize a project labor agreement. For purposes of this subdivi- 23 sion, "project labor agreement" shall mean a pre-hire collective 24 bargaining agreement between the authority, or a third party on behalf 25 of the authority, and a bona fide building and construction trade labor 26 organization establishing the labor organization as the collective 27 bargaining representative for all persons who will perform work on a 28 public work project, and which provides that only contractors and 29 subcontractors who sign a pre-negotiated agreement with the labor organ- 30 ization can perform project work. All contractors and subcontractors 31 associated with this work shall be required to utilize apprenticeship 32 agreements as defined by article twenty-three of the labor law. 33 41. (a) Nothing in the New York state build public renewables act 34 shall alter the rights or benefits, and privileges, including, but not 35 limited to terms and conditions of employment, civil service status, and 36 collective bargaining unit membership, of any current employees of the 37 authority. 38 (b) Nothing in the New York state build public renewables act shall 39 result in: (i) the discharge, displacement, or loss of position, includ- 40 ing partial displacement such as a reduction in the hours of non-over- 41 time work, wages, or employment benefits; (ii) the impairment of exist- 42 ing collective bargaining agreements; (iii) the transfer of existing 43 duties and functions; or (iv) the transfer of future duties and func- 44 tions, of any currently employed worker impacted by this act who agrees 45 to be retrained. 46 42. The authority shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for 47 the operation and maintenance of a renewable energy project developed 48 pursuant to the New York state build public renewables act with a bona 49 fide labor organization of jurisdiction that is actively engaged in 50 representing transitioning employees from non-renewable generation 51 facilities. Such memorandum shall be entered into prior to the 52 completion date of a renewable energy project and shall be an ongoing 53 material condition of authorization to operate and maintain a renewable 54 energy project developed pursuant to the New York state build public 55 renewables act. The memorandum shall only apply to the employees neces- 56 sary for the maintenance and operation of such renewable energy gener-S. 4134 8 1 ation projects. Such memorandum shall contain but not be limited to 2 safety and training standards, disaster response measures, guaranteed 3 hours, staffing levels, pay rate protection and retraining programs. The 4 employees eligible for these positions shall first be selected from and 5 offered to a pool of transitioning workers who have lost their employ- 6 ment or will be losing their employment in the non-renewable energy 7 generation sector. Such list of potential employees will be provided by 8 affected unions and provided to the department of labor. The department 9 of labor shall update and provide such list to the authority ninety days 10 prior to purchase, acquisition, and/or construction of any project under 11 the New York state build public renewables act. 12 43. The authority shall comply with the objectives and goals of certi- 13 fied minority and women-owned business enterprises pursuant to article 14 fifteen-A of the executive law and certified service-disabled veteran- 15 owned businesses pursuant to article three of the veterans' services 16 law. The authority, in consultation with the commissioner of the divi- 17 sion of minority and women's business development and the director of 18 the division of service-disabled veterans' business development shall 19 make training and resources available to assist minority and women-owned 20 business enterprises and service-disabled veteran-owned business enter- 21 prises on renewable energy projects to achieve and maintain compliance 22 with prevailing wage requirements. The authority shall make such train- 23 ing and resources available online and shall afford minority and women- 24 owned business enterprises and service-disabled veteran-owned business 25 enterprises an opportunity to submit comments on such training. 26 § 3. Section 1003 of the public authorities law, as amended by chapter 27 766 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows: 28 § 1003. Trustees. 1. The authority shall consist of [seven] seventeen 29 trustees, five of whom shall serve respectively for terms of one, two, 30 three, four and five years, to be appointed by the governor, by and with 31 the advice and consent of the senate. The sixth and seventh trustees 32 shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent 33 of the senate, and shall serve initial terms of one and two years 34 respectively. All other trustees shall be appointed as follows: two by 35 the governor, four by the temporary president of the senate, and four by 36 the speaker of the assembly, and shall proportionally be selected from 37 labor union representatives that represent both employees of the author- 38 ity and employees of construction contractors of the authority, environ- 39 mental justice advocates, community renewable energy advocates, consumer 40 advocates, and building electrification and energy efficiency experts. 41 For any appointment and vacant trustee position, the New York state 42 energy research and development authority's clean energy hubs shall 43 select qualified candidates that shall be given reasonable consideration 44 for an appointment as trustee by the governor, senate, and assembly. 45 Each trustee shall hold office until a successor has been appointed and 46 qualified or until removed by a majority vote of the legislature or the 47 governor. At the expiration of the term of each trustee and of each 48 succeeding trustee [the governor shall, by and with the advice and49consent of the senate, appoint a successor, who shall hold office for a50term of five years, or until a successor has been appointed and quali-51fied. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of the trustee52by death, resignation or otherwise, the governor shall, by and with the53advice and consent of the senate, appoint a successor, who shall hold54office for the unexpired term. Four trustees shall constitute a quorum55for the purpose of organizing the authority and conducting the business56thereof.], or the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of theS. 4134 9 1 trustee by death, resignation or otherwise, the original entities who 2 appointed that trustee shall appoint a successor, after consideration of 3 clean energy hub candidates, who shall hold office for the unexpired 4 term. Nine trustees shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of organ- 5 izing the authority and conducting the business thereof. Any authority 6 trustee or board member may be terminated by either a majority vote of 7 the senate or assembly, or by the governor. Reasons for termination may 8 include, but are not limited to: failure to meet the renewable energy 9 targets outlined in this bill; conflicts of interest; failure to prior- 10 itize climate justice, environmental justice, or economic justice in the 11 authority's operations; sexual assault or harassment; or corruption. 12 2. The trustee chosen as chairman as provided in section one thousand 13 four of this title, shall receive an annual salary which shall be set by 14 the trustees of the authority, and which shall not exceed the salary 15 prescribed for the positions listed in paragraph (f) of subdivision one 16 of section one hundred sixty-nine of the executive law. [Each other17trustee shall not receive a salary or other compensation.] Each trustee 18 shall receive his or her reasonable expenses in the performance of his 19 or her duties hereunder. The trustee chosen as chairman may elect to 20 become a member of the New York state and local employees' retirement 21 system on the basis of such compensation to which he or she shall be 22 entitled as herein provided notwithstanding the provisions of any gener- 23 al, special or local law, municipal charter, or ordinance. 24 § 4. Nothing in this act shall impact the power authority of the state 25 of New York's existing recharge New York power program, existing hydro- 26 power allocations to any municipal and cooperative electric utility 27 customers, or any other power allocation program managed by such author- 28 ity. 29 § 5. Nothing in this act is intended to limit, impair, or affect the 30 legal authority of the power authority of the state of New York under 31 any other provision of title 1 of article 5 of the public authorities 32 law. 33 § 6. No section of this act or any action required to be taken under 34 this act shall be delayed or made contingent upon the completion of the 35 plan required by subdivision 33 of section 1005 of the public authori- 36 ties law, as added by section two of this act. 37 § 7. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi- 38 vision, or section of this act shall be adjudged by any court of compe- 39 tent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, 40 or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its opera- 41 tion to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or section thereof 42 directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have 43 been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature 44 that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions 45 had not been included herein. 46 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.
