Is this a case of Carl Heastie introducing common sense, or, is he reading polls which show this will be really unpopular with voters who will turn around and blame Democrats?
NY Assembly speaker throws cold water on Climate Change Superfund Act
New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie threw cold water on a bill that would require major energy companies to pay for climate change remediation, saying the measure could ultimately result in higher costs for utility ratepayers.
The Climate Change Superfund Act would require companies that contributed significantly to the buildup of greenhouse gases to pay for part of the mitigation efforts to offset climate change, including major infrastructure projects like water barriers.
The measure was approved in the state Senate, but has stalled in the Assembly.
Heastie says he’s concerned that it would result in higher utility prices, as the energy companies pass down the costs of the new requirements to ratepayers.
“I’ve never in my life seen corporations choose the ratepayer over the stockholder,” Heastie said. “Asking these companies to pay more, it’s going to be, of course, taken out on the ratepayer.”
What company decides to take an overall lower profit when the cost of doing business rises, especially when it comes to government taxes? You can damned well bet all those lawyers and other professions working as elected public servants in the NY Assembly wouldn’t take less money if the government raised their taxes. They’d pass the costs on to their clients. That’s the way life works.
There’s actually been talk in the NY assembly about adding in a requirement that companies cannot pass those taxes/fees on to consumers. What happens then? They leave the state, taking their jobs and revenue with them. What happens when energy companies do the same? That would be decidedly ugly.
An elected official in NY has a brain? This is a “black swan” event.