1 1 BEFORE THE NEW YORK STATE SENATE FINANCE AND ASSEMBLY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEES 2 ---------------------------------------------------- 3 JOINT LEGISLATIVE HEARING In the Matter of the 4 2021-2022 EXECUTIVE BUDGET ON ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION 5 ---------------------------------------------------- 6 Virtual Hearing 7 Conducted via Zoom 8 January 27, 2021 9:37 a.m. 9 10 PRESIDING: 11 Senator Liz Krueger Chair, Senate Finance Committee 12 Assemblywoman Helene E. Weinstein 13 Chair, Assembly Ways & Means Committee 14 PRESENT: 15 Senator Thomas F. O'Mara Senate Finance Committee (RM) 16 Assemblyman Edward P. Ra 17 Assembly Ways & Means Committee (RM) 18 Senator Todd Kaminsky Chair, Senate Committee on 19 Environmental Conservation 20 Assemblyman Steve Englebright Chair, Assembly Committee on 21 Environmental Conservation 22 Senator Michelle Hinchey Chair, Senate Committee on Agriculture 23 Assemblywoman Donna A. Lupardo 24 Chair, Assembly Committee on Agriculture 2 1 2021-2022 Executive Budget Environmental Conservation 2 1-27-21 3 PRESENT: (Continued) 4 Senator José M. Serrano Chair, Senate Committee on Cultural 5 Affairs, Tourism, Arts and Recreation 6 Assemblyman Daniel J. O'Donnell Chair, Assembly Committee on 7 Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development 8 Senator Kevin Parker 9 Chair, Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications 10 Assemblyman Michael J. Cusick 11 Chair, Assembly Committee on Energy 12 Assemblyman Harvey Epstein 13 Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy 14 Assemblyman Robert Carroll 15 Senator Dan Stec 16 Assemblyman Steven Otis 17 Assemblywoman Didi Barrett 18 Senator Anna M. Kaplan 19 Assemblywoman Deborah J. Glick 20 Senator Pete Harckham 21 Assemblyman Robert Smullen 22 Senator John W. Mannion 23 Assemblyman Brian Miller 24 Assemblyman Harry B. Bronson 3 1 2021-2022 Executive Budget Environmental Conservation 2 1-27-21 3 PRESENT: (Continued) 4 Senator Brad Hoylman 5 Assemblyman Jeffrion L. Aubry 6 Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner 7 Assemblyman William Colton 8 Assemblyman Billy Jones 9 Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon 10 Assemblyman Philip A. Palmesano 11 Senator George M. Borrello 12 Assemblyman Chris Tague 13 Senator Patty Ritchie 14 Assemblyman Mark Walczyk 15 Assemblywoman Rebecca A. Seawright 16 Assemblyman Kevin M. Byrne 17 Senator Sue Serino 18 Assemblyman Chris Burdick 19 Assemblyman Angelo J. Morinello 20 Assemblywoman Karen McMahon 21 Assemblyman John Lemondes 22 Assemblyman William Conrad 23 Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas 24 Assemblyman Matthew Simpson 4 1 2021-2022 Executive Budget Environmental Conservation 2 1-27-21 3 PRESENT: (Continued) 4 Senator Rachel May 5 Assemblyman Brian Manktelow 6 Assemblyman Zohran K. Mamdani 7 Assemblywoman Vivian E. Cook 8 Senator James Tedisco 9 Assemblyman Erik M. Dilan 10 Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz 11 Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal 12 Senator Daphne Jordan 13 Assemblyman José Rivera 14 Assemblywoman Judy Griffin 15 Assemblyman Jeff Gallahan 16 Assemblyman Khaleel M. Anderson 17 Assemblywoman Anna R. Kelles 18 Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski 19 Assemblywoman Pamela J. Hunter 20 Senator James Gaughran 21 Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. 22 Assemblywoman Jaime R. Williams 23 Assemblywoman Stefani Zinerman 24 Assemblywoman Gina L. Sillitti 5 1 2021-2022 Executive Budget Environmental Conservation 2 1-27-21 3 PRESENT: (Continued) 4 Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo 5 Assemblywoman Jennifer Lunsford 6 Senator Diane J. Savino 7 Senator Jabari Brisport 8 Assemblyman Pat Burke 9 10 11 LIST OF SPEAKERS 12 STATEMENT QUESTIONS 13 Basil Seggos Commissioner 14 NYS Department of Environmental Conservation 17 24 15 Erik Kulleseid 16 Commissioner NYS Office of Parks, Recreation 17 and Historic Preservation 220 225 18 Richard A. Ball Commissioner 19 NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets 319 325 20 John B. Rhodes 21 Chair NYS Public Service Commission 22 -and- Doreen Harris 23 Acting President & CEO NYSERDA 431 442 24 6 1 2021-2022 Executive Budget Environmental Conservation 2 1-27-21 3 LIST OF SPEAKERS, Continued 4 STATEMENT QUESTIONS 5 Patrick McClellan Policy Director 6 New York League of Conservation Voters 7 -and- Erin Tobin 8 VP for Policy and Preservation Preservation League of NYS 9 -and- Stephan Edel 10 Coalition Coordinator NY Renews 11 -and- Kathy Moser 12 Chief Conservation Officer Open Space Institute 543 556 13 Peter Bauer 14 Executive Director Protect the Adirondacks 15 -and- Will Coté 16 Parks Program Director Parks & Trails New York 17 -and- Michael Barrett 18 Executive Director Adirondack Mountain Club 19 -and- Kevin Chlad 20 Director, Government Relations The Adirondack Council 21 -and- Katherine Nadeau 22 Deputy Director Catskill Mountainkeeper 565 583 23 24 7 1 2021-2022 Executive Budget Environmental Conservation 2 1-27-21 3 LIST OF SPEAKERS, Continued 4 STATEMENT QUESTIONS 5 Adrienne Esposito Executive Director 6 Citizens Campaign for the Environment 7 -and- Roger Downs 8 Conservation Director Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter 9 -and- Kate Kurera 10 Deputy Director Environmental Advocates of 11 New York -and- 12 Philip M. DeGaetano NY Commissioner and Chair 13 Interstate Environmental Commission 593 608 14 Libby Post 15 Executive Director New York State Animal Protection 16 Federation -and- 17 Mark Dunlea Chair 18 Green Education and Legal Fund 19 -and- Liz Moran 20 Environmental Policy Director NYPIRG 612 21 22 23 24 8 1 2021-2022 Executive Budget Environmental Conservation 2 1-27-21 3 LIST OF SPEAKERS, Continued 4 STATEMENT QUESTIONS 5 Stephen C. Halpern Staff Attorney 6 Western New York Law Center -and- 7 Jason Kemper Chairman 8 NYS Conservation Fund Advisory Board 9 -and- Peter Morehouse 10 Forest Rangers Director PBA of NYS 11 -and- Zachary Steinberg 12 VP of Policy Real Estate Board of 13 New York (REBNY) 622 637 14 Elizabeth Wolters Deputy Director of 15 Public Policy New York Farm Bureau 653 656 16 Jeremy Cherson 17 Legislative Advocacy Manager Riverkeeper 18 -and- Andy Bicking 19 Director of Public Policy Scenic Hudson 668 20 21 22 23 24 9 1 2021-2022 Executive Budget Environmental Conservation 2 1-27-21 3 LIST OF SPEAKERS, Continued 4 STATEMENT QUESTIONS 5 Liam Smith Director of Governmental 6 Affairs New York Youth Climate Leaders 7 -and- Merton Simpson 8 Cochair Sheridan Hollow Alliance for 9 Renewable Energy (SHARE) 675 681 10 Erin McGrath Policy Manager 11 Audubon New York -and- 12 Samantha Levy NY Policy Manager 13 American Farmland Trust 687 693 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 10 1 CHAIRWOMAN KRUEGER: Good morning. My 2 name is Liz Krueger. I'm the chair of the 3 Senate Finance Committee, and I will be, I 4 guess, MCing today's hearing. 5 Of course I'm joined by my partner 6 from the Assembly, Helene Weinstein, the 7 chair of Ways and Means. 8 This is the Environmental Conservation 9 Executive Budget hearing, Wednesday, 10 January 27th. We start now. I suspect we 11 will be going on until the evening. 12 Some brief opening remarks before we 13 get this hearing going. It is a 14 constitutional requirement that we have our 15 budget hearings after the Governor offers us 16 his Executive Budget. Today is the second of 17 13 hearings conducted by the joint fiscal 18 committees of the Legislature regarding the 19 proposed budget for fiscal year '21-'22. 20 These hearings are conducted pursuant to the 21 Constitution and Legislative Law. 22 Today the Senate Finance Committee and 23 the Assembly Ways and Means Committee will 24 hear testimony concerning the Governor's 11 1 proposed budget for four different 2 departments: The Department of Environmental 3 Conservation, the Office of Parks, Recreation 4 and Historic Preservation, the Department of 5 Agriculture and Markets, the Public Service 6 Commission and the New York State Energy 7 Research and Development Authority -- and 8 they will be co-testifying, the last two. 9 Following each testimony there will be 10 some time for questions from the chairs of 11 the fiscal committees and other relevant 12 committees for that topic. 13 I will now introduce members from the 14 Senate, and Assemblymember Helene Weinstein, 15 chair of the Assembly Ways and Means 16 Committee, will introduce members from the 17 Assembly. And in addition, Tom O'Mara, 18 ranking member of the Senate Finance 19 Committee, will introduce members from his 20 conference. 21 Let me just get back to the ongoing 22 list -- one second -- of Senators who are 23 here already. And again, we are conducting 24 Zoom virtual hearings this year, which means 12 1 everything is a little bit of an experiment 2 for us. We have Senator Anna Kaplan, we have 3 Senator José Serrano, we have Senator Todd 4 Kaminsky, we have Senator Kevin Parker, we 5 have Senator Pete Harckham, we have 6 Senator -- I'm skipping my Republican 7 colleagues. I know we have Senator Rachel 8 May, we have Senator John Mannion, we have 9 Senator Michelle Hinchey. 10 And I think I'm going to turn it over 11 first to Tom O'Mara to just welcome his 12 Senate Republicans, and then we'll go to the 13 Assembly. 14 SENATOR O'MARA: Yes, thank you, 15 Chairwoman Krueger. 16 I would just like to recognize that we 17 are joined today by Senator Dan Stec, Senator 18 Patty Ritchie, Senator Sue Serino, and 19 Senator Jim Tedisco. 20 Thank you. I think that's all of 21 them. 22 CHAIRWOMAN KRUEGER: Thank you. 23 SENATOR O'MARA: Excuse me. Senator 24 Daphne Jordan is on here as well. 13 1 SENATOR BORRELLO: You forgot me also, 2 Tom. 3 SENATOR O'MARA: And George Borrello, 4 and I'm looking right at him. 5 CHAIRWOMAN KRUEGER: Trust me, 6 audience, it's hard to do this this way. 7 And I'm going to turn it over to 8 Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein, chair of Ways 9 and Means. 10 CHAIRWOMAN WEINSTEIN: Thank you, 11 Senator Krueger.