By The Assembly Minority Conference
The disastrous Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which, so far, has amounted to little more than a list of unworkable mandates with an unlimited price tag, continues to stretch the laws of math and physics. As a result of the CLCPA, the 2023 budget included a provision demanding school districts begin purchasing zero-emission buses by 2027, and by 2035, districts will be expected to convert their entire fleet to electric vehicles. One analysis estimates the total cost of the mandate, excluding infrastructure and facility upgrades, ranges between $8 billion and $15.25 billion.
The idea that rural school districts outside New York City can even begin to find funding for these vehicles is laughable. Residents, taxpayers and voters have expressed serious concerns about the idea, and school officials have indicated these purchases are unlikely to pass when residents vote on their school district budgets; numerous school districts recently voted down new bus purchases outside this expensive mandate.
As such, the Assembly Minority Conference has consistently called for a repeal of this mandate and for a full financial analysis of the CLCPA. Last year, Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C-Corning) introduced bill A.8447 to delay the mandate until 2045 or until all state agencies have converted their own fleets. It raises the obvious question: Why are the state’s school districts required to be the guinea pigs and undertake this transition before the state does?
Additionally, Assemblyman Robert Smullen (R,C-Mohawk Valley and the Adirondacks) introduced a separate piece of legislation alongside Sen. Joseph A. Griffo (R,C-Utica) (A.2005/S.3328) allowing districts to submit an opt-out waiver to the State Education Department. Not every district will opt out, but this would be a huge help to those that cannot feasibly make this transition so soon. Both pieces of legislation speak to the same problem: the astronomical cost of this electrification is callous and entirely unreasonable.
Energy policy can be complicated, but there’s a budget reality that’s very clear: When school budgets increase, property tax hikes are never far behind. Forcing New York schools to pay $15 billion to subsidize the green dreams of left-wing policymakers will come at a steep price for every taxpayer.
We all want a better environment. This mandate, though, is asking far too much of our rural districts, especially considering there are major concerns about the safety, reliability, repair costs and infrastructure needed to electrify the state’s bus fleet. One need only look at a recent bus fire in Massachusetts to see disaster on the horizon. And what about districts whose students live further than a given bus’s battery life? It is abundantly clear this law is not rooted in any real form of economics or common sense, and the sooner it is repealed, the less time, energy and money will be wasted trying to satisfy its unrealistic demands.