Gas tax, electric car bills pushed
Two plans to help state hit carbon-reduction targets have both drawn criticism
Debates over New York’s future transportation landscape went into high gear Wednesday as supporters of two environmental bills worked to jump-start their ideas before the state legislative session ends on June 10.
Both ideas — a new tax on fossil fuels, and expanding the sale of direct-to-consumer electric vehicles — are being fueled by the state’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The legislation sets carbon-reduction goals across the state’s economy, and transportation is a major piece.
The two proposals also offer a glimpse into how the state may reach and pay for those goals. And they reveal the competing interests involved.
“New York’s largest share of carbon emissions emanate from our transportation sector and accounts for 37 percent of all emissions statewide.”
— State Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy
Sponsored by Brooklyn Democratic Sen. Kevin Parker and Kingston Democratic Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, the proposed Climate and Community Investment Act would levy a charge of $55 per ton on fossil fuel emissions from all sources including the industrial and transportation sectors.
“We think this is absolutely critical,” Parker said during a teleconference to rally support for the bill. “This is actually the next logical step in implementing the CLCPA,” he said.
Supporters, including a variety of environmental and social justice groups, said the money from such a levy could fund 160,000 jobs over the next decade, including those needed to build out a new green infrastructure.
That bill, however, is opposed by business interests including the New York State Business Council and Republicans who said the levy would amount to a 55-cent-per gallon gas tax on New York motorists. The higher fossil fuel fees would also drive a 26 percent increase in the cost of residential natural gas, say opponents. These costs would also be subject to automatic increases.
“The numbers from our point of view don’t add up,” said Ken Pokalsky, vice president of the Business Council of New York State. He noted that a variety of institutions including schools and hospitals, as well as power plants and factories, would have to pay the fees and some would likely go out of business.
For lawmakers who would have to vote on the measure, though, the gas tax may be the most visible aspect, especially for those in car-dependent suburban or rural districts.
Many, although not all, of those speaking for the bill on Wednesday were from New York City-based groups. That points to a reality that plays out in almost any New York public policy debate, which is the upstate/downstate divide.
Many New York City residents don’t own cars or they use public transit for their day-to-day needs, and a gas tax isn’t as much of a problem for them. But for suburbanites or rural New Yorkers, the tax adds to their daily living expenses.
Parker and other supporters noted that the bill includes a rebate of up to $1,100 toward energy or commuting costs or even cash vouchers for moderate and low-income people. He added that the bill could be amended before final passage and he was open to compromises.
Motorists who drive plug-in electric vehicles or hybrids don’t worry as much about gas. Perhaps with that in mind, two other legislators on Wednesday were also making a late push for a bill they say would help get more zero emission electric vehicles, or EVS, on the road.
“New York’s future will run on electric vehicles,” said Long Island Democratic Sen. Todd Kaminsky, who is sponsoring the bill along with Albany Democratic Assemblywoman Pat Fahy.
“New York’s largest share of carbon emissions emanate from our transportation sector and accounts for 37 percent of all emissions statewide,” said Fahy.
New York has long mandated that new cars have to be sold through franchise dealerships, who typically buy their cars from manufacturers such as Ford or Toyota and sell them to consumers.
But a few years ago Tesla Motors, which sells its EVS directly to consumers, got an exception allowing them five stores statewide.
Now, Fahy and Kaminsky want to lift that cap of five stores, making it easier for Tesla and other EV makers to get their cars to market.
Franchise auto dealers have pushed back. They say they maintain jobs in their communities and offer car buyers a local spot for repairs.
“Some want to give certain companies special treatment in this very competitive market by allowing them to operate outside of the state’s automobile distribution laws,” said John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents major automakers.
Since Tesla came on the scene, other EV manufacturers such as Rivian trucks and Lucid Motors say they want to sell directly to consumers too.
The fossil fuel tax and EV bills are both in committee. And they have different appeals for lawmakers pursuing a green agenda.
The EV measure appears to have drawn suburban lawmakers who see it as an enhancement of drivers’ choice rather than a new tax, such as a fossil fuels charge.
The fossil fuel tax may have more appeal to those who see a need for more funding of environmental infrastructure and environmental justice projects.
The bills aren’t mutually exclusive but there may have been a bit of jockeying on Wednesday, since press conferences on both measures took place at the same time of day, a bit unusual for members of the same Democratic conference.