KINGSTON, N.Y. — More than 110 elected officials from across the state, including several from Ulster and Dutchess counties, sent a letter to the state Legislature urging lawmakers to reject Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed rollback of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
The letter, dated April 16 and signed by mayors, council members and county officials from across the state, comes amid Hochul’s “last-minute bid to force a rollback of climate regulations into the budget under the guise of ‘affordability,’” according to a news release from the New Yorkers for Clean Power.
“Last month, the governor revealed her plan to gut New York’s Climate Law and maintain the fossil fuel status quo in the name of ‘affordability’ – even though New Yorkers’ high energy bills are being caused by skyrocketing gas prices,” the release said. “Already, 1 in 4 New Yorkers cannot afford their energy bills, and the Governor herself has admitted that gutting the CLCPA will do nothing to lower energy bills.”
“Instead of investing in renewable energy to actually lower energy bills, the Governor is now trying to force state lawmakers to accept a proposal to change how the State accounts for methane so it appears our emissions have declined when they have not,” the release said.
The matter is part of budget talks that have delayed the adoption of a 2026-2027 budget, which was originally due on April 1. That budget deadline has been extended several times since. Hochul is a Democrat. The state Legislature is controlled by her party.
“Her proposal would delay requirements to implement regulations under the law until December 31, 2030, pushing climate obligations and delaying renewable investments by years,” the release stated.
In the letter, local elected officials warn that weakening the CLCPA would undermine the state’s progress on delivering affordable energy, writing, “The most straightforward argument for staying the course is economic.” The letter continues, “Renewable energy is affordable energy, and its costs continue to fall. Fossil fuel prices, by contrast, are volatile and subject to global disruption. … Every dollar we delay investing in clean energy is a dollar our residents will spend on increasingly expensive fossil fuels.”
The letter stated, “Delaying action does not reduce cost; it shifts it – to future taxpayers, to emergency responders, and to the most vulnerable residents in every community we serve,” adding that any rollback will, “delay critical community investments, and leave our residents exposed to the mounting costs of both fossil fuel dependence and climate inaction.”
The local signatories include Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger; Ulster County Legislature Chairman Peter Criswell; Ulster County Legislators Joseph Donaldson, Greg McCollough and Ann Peters; Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck; Dutchess County Legislators Lisa Kaul and Kristofer Munn; Hurley Supervisor Mike Boms; Woodstock Town Supervisor Anula Courtis; New Paltz Supervisor Tim Rogers; Village of New Paltz Mayor Alexandria Wojcik; Shandaken Deputy Supervisor Robert Drake; New Paltz town Councilmember Kristin Brown; Rosendale Councilmember Marc Cassidy; Gardiner Councilmember Roberta Clements; Marbletown Councilmember Daisy B. Foote; Kingston Common Council Majority Leader Michele Hirsch and city lawmakers Michael Tierney and Marissa Marvelli.
“Climate policy is local policy. The investments enabled by the CLCPA — and especially by the Cap and Invest program — directly benefit the people and places we represent,” the letter stated.
New Yorkers for Clean Power said in the press release that, “The Governor’s push follows a series of contradictory and misleading excuses for why she is seeking to renege on New York’s climate commitments, all while trying to portray herself as a climate champion. In recent weeks, she has pointed to a memo from her own administration that suggested enacting the CLCPA will lead to higher energy bills – a claim that lawmakers in her own party have rejected.”
In February, a memo by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority said that implementing the state’s aggressive climate laws could cost the average Upstate household more than $4,100 annually.
Among the climate law mandates are a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels and 70% renewable energy generation by 2030; 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040; and 85% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
In a statement in March, Hochul said times have changed since the law was adopted.
“So much has radically changed since the Climate Act was enacted, necessitating common-sense adjustments that keep us on our path to a greener future in a way that is affordable for New Yorkers,” said Houchul, who added that much of the climate change plan has been met.
Hochul’s plan has already been met with opposition from Mid-Hudson Valley environmental groups like Scenic Hudson and Catskill Mountainkeeper, along with local Democrats.
Republicans, meanwhile, have said Hochul’s move is a recognition of the law’s flaws.
Two regional state Republicans — Assemblymembers Brain Maher, R-Walden, and Chris Tague, R-Schoharie — pointed to the NYSERDA memo as strong evidence against the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. “There seems to be no limit to how far Albany’s left-wing leadership will go in the name of climate extremism,” Tague has said. “Since the CLCPA was pushed through in 2019, they’ve been hell-bent on dismantling our reliable energy system without a shred of concern for the families who depend on it.”