Guests in attendance at a recent event at Pine Valley Elementary School looked under the hood of an electric school bus from the Gates Chili Central School District. P-J file photo by Braden Carmen

Republicans in both houses of the state Legislature are pushing to have the state pay more of the transition to electric school buses.

In early December, state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, wrote a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul asking her to rescind the electric bus mandate for public schools or commit to fully funding the conversion. The electric bus mandates were passed in the 2022-23 state budget to help the state meet the lower emissions targets of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The requirements are that new school bus purchases be zero emission by 2027 and all school buses in operation be zero emission by 2035.

“School officials in my district are all sounding the alarm about the state’s unfunded electric bus mandate and the crushing financial costs it will mean for districts. With the first deadline in just three short years, school officials are deeply concerned about their ability to afford the electric buses and infrastructure upgrades that will be necessary,” said Sen. Borrello.

Last week, 29 Assembly Republicans signed on to legislation (A.8447) sponsored by Assemblyman Phil Palmesano, R-Corning, that would delay statewide implementation of the zero-emission school bus mandate until 2045 or until all state agencies convert their fleets and sets other benchmarks that the state Education Department and other state agencies must meet in relation to the full implementation of the mandate. While the bill could be taken up when the state legislative session begins, it is unlikely to proceed out of committee.

Republicans want to give the state education commissioner the ability, in consultation with the state Independent System Operator, utilities and the state Department of Public Service, to override the mandate if it is determined that zero-emission school buses are not feasible for a particular application. Palmesano’s bill also would require all components and parts used or supplied in zero-emission school buses or related infrastructure be made in whole or substantial part in the United States; and directs the state education commissioner to complete a cost-benefit analysis for each school district that considers the costs necessary to comply with the zero-emission school bus mandate and provide an extension to such schools if necessary.

Palmesano’s bill would also amend the Public Authorities Law to direct NYSERDA to consult with the Office of Fire Prevention and Control to develop appropriate fire suppression and safety procedures related to lithium and hydrogen-based fires which NYSERDA must transmit to school districts as part of the technical assistance requirements of the zero-emission school bus mandate.

“The zero-emission school bus mandate that was implemented in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Enacted Budget has placed an onerous mandate on school districts which must be adopted on an aggressive timeline,” Palmesano wrote in his legislative justification. “It is still to be determined if the mandate is feasible according to the established

timeline, especially for upstate and rural school districts which face vastly different constraints from their downstate peers. Further, school districts should not have to navigate the complexities, or face the significant expenses, of converting their bus fleets until all state agencies fully transitioned their medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to zero-emission vehicles.”

The transition to electric buses has been a topic at many local school board meetings, with Frewsburg Central School eyeing creation of a transportation reserve fund to begin setting money aside to purchase a fleet of electric buses and the related infrastructure for the new buses. Pine Valley and Lake Shore central schools have ordered their first electric buses over the summer while the Jamestown Public Schools District is planning to install a charging station outside Strider Field for buses from visiting schools and has been in talks with the city Board of Public Utilities to update the district’s bus garage to handle an all-electric fleet. The district is also looking for grants from NYSERDA to study the conversion to electric buses.

“This legislation attempts to remedy these issues by instituting common sense reforms to the mandate that will provide school districts with the flexibility and guidance they need to adapt to these new requirements,” Palmesano wrote.