NIAGARA — Members of the Senate and Assembly Republican Conferences today held a listening session with stakeholders across various industries to discuss the potential impacts of the Climate and Community Investment Act (CCIA), a proposal being advanced by Albany Democrats that could increase the cost of gas by as much as fifty-five cents per gallon and increase home heating costs by more than twenty-five percent.

Another listening session was held earlier this month in Albany.

The legislation would impose a carbon tax of $55 per ton of fossil fuel emissions in order to reach renewable energy mandates under the CCIA, passed by the Legislature in 2019.

The session was led by Senator Dan Stec and Assemblyman Robert Smullen, ranking members of the Senate and Assembly Environmental Conservation Committees, and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano, ranking member of the Assembly Energy Committee. Discussions revolved around the potential impacts on small businesses, farms, and various sectors of the energy industry. The session provided an opportunity for lawmakers to listen to testimony directly from stakeholders from across those industries.

“The CCIA is another example of how the Legislature’s current leadership consistently puts its politically-driven agenda ahead of the interests of hardworking, middle class New Yorkers,” said state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay. “In my district, and upstate New York as a whole, public transit options are extremely limited, meaning that residents would be forced to cut deeper into their budgets to afford the crippling increases in the price of gas and home heating fuel this proposal would create. Just as devastating would be the impact on our small businesses, farms and manufacturers who would see their operating costs skyrocket, hurting their ability to grow and create jobs. Inflicting such damage on New York’s economy, for a proposal that won’t even move the needle when it comes to carbon emissions, would be extremely reckless and drive even more New Yorkers to other states. I hope the valuable information shared today encourages the advocates and legislators pushing this effort to rethink their position and consider other alternatives.”

According to the Tax Foundation, New York currently has the 7th highest gas tax in the country, at 43.12 cents per gallon with California currently the highest at 62.47 cents per gallon. This legislation would raise New York’s tax to 98.12 cents per gallon, an increase of more than 127% and would make New York’s gas tax more than 57% higher than any other state. New York state has repeatedly been named one of the worst business tax climates in the nation by the Tax Foundation.

“The proposal by Democrats to raise gas taxes by an estimated 55 cents a gallon has a terribly disproportionate impact on rural upstate New York, where residents must rely on personal vehicles to commute to work, get groceries or take their children to daycare or other activities,” said Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown. “At the same time they are proposing a huge tax increase on those who drive their own vehicles, the Democrats are more than happy to subsidize the New York City subway system by over $3 billion annually to avoid even a modest increase in subway fares needed to cover the actual costs of the system. It is grossly unfair that rural residents, who pay for all the costs of owning, maintaining, insuring and operating their own cars, should face such a huge tax increase while their urban neighbors receive a huge transportation subsidy. In addition, by increasing upstate heating costs by an estimated 25%, the Democrat proposal would constitute a huge financial burden on our senior citizens, retirees, families and the working poor. We need to make New York state more affordable for our residents, not provide a tremendous financial incentive to relocate to Florida or other states during the winter. Our objective should be to minimize overall greenhouse gas emissions by implementing a thoughtful, balanced approach, not by maximizing the loss of businesses, industries and residents to other states which have much lower taxes and much better business environments,” said Assemblyman Andrew Goodell.