The Hochul administration has circulated a memo essentially making the case for changes to the state’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, tying the law to rising energy costs and the potential for significant household impacts. Hochul has been rumored for weeks to be poised to ask a reluctant state Legislature to sign off on changes as part of budget talks.

The existence of the document, produced by the New York state Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA), was first reported by City & State, and it was shared with Spectrum News.

“If fully implemented with regulations to meet the 2030 targets, CLCPA’s original design — differing accounting standards from the internationally accepted approach and inflexible near-term targets — would combine to yield high costs to New York households and businesses,” it reads. “Addressing this cost escalation is essential to deliver a policy that supports affordability and economic competitiveness and is necessary to ensure continued progress on decarbonization policy.”

Memo reads like a big reversal to biz community: while identifying adverse cost effect on biz, but doesn’t get into 5+ years of public $$ & state regulation encouraging renewable energy companies to invest in NYS — NYSERDA/Hochul have been champions of law & ramping up changes.

— Bernadette Hogan (@bern_hogan) February 26, 2026

The memo, addressed to Director of State Operations Jackie Bray from NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen Harris, outlines what those costs could be.

“Current estimates indicate that the most impacted households — upstate, two-car households that rely on heating oil — would likely experience gross cost impacts in excess of $4,100 annually. Even after affordability benefits, this amount remains above $2,400,” it says.

Near the top of the memo, titled “Likely Costs of CLCPA is a bolded passage detailing the potential impact at the pump.

“Absent changes, by 2031, the impact of CLCPA on the price of gasoline could reach or exceed $2.23 per gallon on top of current prices at that time; the cost for an MMBtu of natural gas $16.96; and comparable increases to other fuels. Upstate oil and natural gas households would see costs in excess of $4,000 a year, and New York City natural gas households could anticipate annual gross costs of $2,300. Only a portion of these costs could be offset by current policy design.”

Last week, Ken Lovett, Hochul’s communications director, told Spectrum News 1 that the absence of any changes in the governor’s 30-day amendments to the executive budget proposal did not mean the idea was dead, saying Hochul “looks forward to continuing those discussions with the Legislature during the budget negotiations.”

This week, Hochul’s budget director went even further, acknowledging that while absent from the 30-day amendments, more discussion is forthcoming and directly tying the law to the administration’s concerns over rising energy costs.

“I think with appropriate engagement with the policymakers that created these laws in the first place, I think that you could get to a place where reasonable people can agree that no New Yorker should be faced with thousands of dollars in new costs because of a mandate that cannot be met,” he said Wednesday.

While it’s an open secret that Hochul will likely push for some sort of changes in the budget as she unsuccessfully did in 2023, the governor didn’t elaborate Thursday on how exactly they would play into negotiations. It also remains unclear what the Legislature could theoretically receive for budging on its thus-far firm resistance to rollbacks.

“The world has changed dramatically since 2019 — I wish it hadn’t,” Hochul said, blaming the pandemic, the federal government and inflation for pushing climate goals out of reach. “I’m not going to telegraph what we’re talking about in our negotiations, but I think everybody knows that we have a real problem on our hands.”

Last year, Hochul infuriated legislative leaders by introducing policy discussions late in the budget process, including changing the way lieutenant governors are elected — a move she was able to use to her advantage in choosing 2026 running mate Adrienne Adams. The Legislature reciprocated with policy proposals of their own, ultimately pushing the budget to its latest adoption in 15 years.

While the governor has long said she is more concerned with the substance of the budget than hitting the April 1 deadline, many in Albany have been banking on a relatively early budget deal given that Hochul and the entire state Legislature are up for reelection.

As of Tuesday, it was clear state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins didn’t think rollbacks were the solution to the problem, indicating that another stalemate may be looming.

“That’s not a conversation that we’ve had, no,” she said. “We’re not closed to anybody’s suggestions. I think we look at whatever is out there.”

After Washington’s comments this week, environmental advocates immediately sounded the alarm over the potential for changes to the landmark law.

“New Yorkers are currently facing record-high energy bills, and one in four families can’t afford to pay them,” said Liz Moran, New York policy advocate for Earthjustice. “The main driver of those increases is the cost of gas and gas pipes — not our climate law. Failing to address gas as the problem is the actual ‘own goal.’ With the federal government decimating science-based climate protections every day, now is not the time for New York to do the same to our nation-leading climate law.”

The memo’s circulation prompted immediate “I told you so’s” from Republicans in the state Legislature who have long railed against the climate law and its purported cost implications.

“The memo sent by NYSERDA today confirms exactly what members of the Assembly Minority Conference have said for years,” said Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra. “Energy costs are climbing, and we need to immediately move away from illogical and unrealistic mandates that simply do not match current market capacity. While the cost estimates from NYSERDA may have surprised some, they pale in comparison to the sticker shock energy consumers are feeling every month.”