Officials at Utica Mack Concerned Over NY’s Electric Mandate

NY Senator Joe Griffo, and Assembly persons Brian Miller and Marianne Buttenschon joined business and municipality leaders Friday morning to discuss the problems caused by New York's plans to aggressively move away from fossil fuels over the next 10 years. It's called the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCOPA) which passed in 2019 is already limiting the sale of large gas operated trucks (like the ones sold at Utica Mack), gas operated school busses, and even home heating and gas stoves - which are already impeding local commerce and productivity.

"Passed in 2019, the CLCPA placed the state on a path of reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions of 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2050. It also mandated significant investment in renewable energy infrastructure with the goal of making the grid 70% powered by renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2040," according to a release by senator Griffo's office.

Implementation of the Advanced Clean Truck Rule will require that medium and heavy-duty vehicles, including municipal plows, be manufactured as zero emission starting in 2025, with the goal of 100% of trucks over 8,500 pounds to be zero emission by 2045. However, groups like the New York State Automobile Dealers Association, Trucking Association of New York, New York State County Highway Association and local highway superintendents and departments and Utica Mack, Inc. have pushed back against this regulation because it would be detrimental to businesses and communities. Additionally, grid companies like National Grid say the timeline is too aggressive and technically, our grid in New York can't handle such an accelerated transition.

“Utica Mack appreciates the opportunity to host this press conference to continue to bring awareness to the challenges presented by the CARB and ACT laws that took effect on January 1, 2025,” said Tom Heiland, President of Utica Mack, Inc., HEP Leasing LLC, Marcy Hydraulics. “These regulations have created an almost insurmountable burden on businesses like Utica Mack in New York State, forcing us to sell a product that consumers do not want, and that the state's current infrastructure cannot support. These laws are not just hurting individual businesses, they are undermining our ability to operate effectively in a state already strained by overregulation. It has become nearly impossible to conduct business in New York under these conditions. We are committed to advocating for a practical solution. Please join us in welcoming Senator Griffo and Assemblymembers Buttenschon and Miller to discuss these issues and direct us all on ways move forward and potentially stop this law.”

The law requires that new school bus purchases by school districts in New York be zero-emission by 2027, and all school busses in operation be electric by 2035. In a recent interview with WIBX, Dr. Rick Timbs of the Statewide School Finance Consortium said "the infrastructure and technology is just not there yet" to require such a mandate, and furthermore, "who's going to pay for it?" Timbs says the cost of an electric school bus is nearly double the cost of current gas busses and schools would need to consider new bus garages, new mechanics, and a host of other changes that will be mandated because of the new restriction. Timbs also said while some district's bus routes might be smaller and feature fewer hills and longer routes, most of Upstate New York's schools districts are just too large, hilly, and rural for the current electric technology, as it stands.

“The CLCPA has placed an undue burden on our communities, businesses, and schools, all while failing to provide the necessary guidance or resources to achieve its lofty goals,” Assemblyman Miller said. “From costly mandates on electric school buses to regulations impacting small businesses and municipalities, the implementation of this policy is creating significant challenges for the people of New York." Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon echoed the concerns. "We must take a commonsense approach to have a balance between a productive work community and a healthy environment,” she said.

Speaking to the group gathered at Utica Mack, Senator Griffo said while we need to embrace clean energy, we need realistic and logical goals. "CLCPA is full of unaffordable mandates and unrealistic and unreasonable deadlines that hurt struggling taxpayers, families, business owners and communities. We need reasonable and realistic deadlines and expectations to reach the state’s energy goals, policies that improve the reliability and security of the grid and a diversified energy portfolio to best meet the needs of New Yorkers.”

Here are the requirements:

• The implementation of the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) Rule: The regulation would require that medium and heavy-duty vehicles, including municipal plows, be manufactured as zero emission starting in 2025, with the goal of 100% of trucks over 8,500 pounds to be zero emission by 2045. However, groups like the New York State Automobile Dealers Association, Trucking Association of New York, New York State County Highway Association and local highway superintendents and departments and Utica Mack, Inc. have pushed back against this regulation because it would be detrimental to businesses and communities. Sen. Griffo and Assemblywoman Buttenschon have introduced legislation that would delay the implementation of the ACT Rule to provide more time to fully understand the effect that this rule would have on industries and municipalities in the state. Assemblyman Miller supports the bill and plans to cosponsor it in the Assembly.
• Regulations prohibiting new products and equipment that contain hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).Banning these commonly used refrigerants will impose significant costs on New York businesses, including grocers, convenience stores and neighborhood bodegas, who will have to retrofit their facilities with new equipment in response to this mandate. Small business owners and groups representing larger businesses have warned the aggressive timetable to phase out hydrofluorocarbons could cripple businesses, icing out jobs and triggering price hikes on food items and other consumer products, as they attempt to comply with the costly mandate. The National Supermarket Association has said it could cost grocery stores between $300,000 to $1 million to eventually replace the cooling compressors that power refrigerators.
• An electric school bus mandate: As a result of a mandate passed as part of the 2022-23 state budget, all new school buses purchased in New York must be zero-emission by 2027 and all school buses in operation must be electric by 2035. However, many school districts have shared concerns and challenges they are facing regarding their ability to comply with this mandate. Some of the challenges that stakeholders have identified include utility providers being unable to provide adequate power to districts; fiscal challenges related to school buses and charging infrastructure acquisition; and zero-emission school buses not being conducive to long bus routes or cold weather, among others. To help districts, Sen. Griffo and Assemblyman Robert Smullen, R-C-Meco, have introduced legislation that would provide districts with the option of submitting an opt-out waiver that would permanently exempt them from the provisions required by the zero-emission school bus mandate.

• Gov. Kathy Hochul

• Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins

• Speaker Carl Heastie