New York Law Blog

Earlier this year, New York governor David Patterson enlarged the law on what is known as “net metering”, or the selling of homemade electricity back to the grid. New York was the first state that allowed this practice back in 1997, there were very few entities who were allowed to do so. Individuals who provide their own electricity through a number of means such as windmills and solar panels, had the capabilities to sell their excess power back to the grid, but it was illegal. Now through the state’s Renewable Energy Task Force, any customer in the state is now allowed to net meter.

The Network for New Energy Choices (NNEC) has issued its 2008 report cards grading state policies that allow farmers, homeowners, and small business owners who generate renewable energy to connect to the grid and receive credit for the electricity they produce, provisions known as net metering.  With net metering, when electric customers with wind or solar systems produce more energy than they use, their electric meters spin backward, providing them with a net gain.

“This year’s Freeing the Grid report has a number of bright spots that are particularly welcome given the declining economy, Americans’ desire for energy independence, and widespread concern about climate change,” said NNEC’s James Rose, a principal author of the report. “Chief among these is New York, singled out for praise in the report’s ‘Best Practices’ section for two new laws that vastly expand the ability of New Yorkers to net meter.”

Other states to take iniative on net metering laws along with New York include Arkansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont.

Some retired New York state educators were using a loophole in the law to collect a paycheck for returning to fill holes in the employment roster as well as receiving their pensions. The governor of the state has said no more and on Friday will be signing a bill that will close up the ability to partake in such a practice. Wanting those who have experience to fill the employment openings has lead to a gross overexpendature.

The new law requires school districts and public agencies to wait a year before hiring a retired worker into the same or similar position. Previously, there was no waiting period, although some New York City agencies like the Administration for Children’s Services had adopted a one-year waiting period on their own. In addition, school districts and agencies will now be required to show more extensive documentation that they tried to recruit nonretirees for the positions.

State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, whose investigations into pension fraud in school districts led to the new law, said school superintendents and others had routinely abused the pension system this way. “This was a great game of taxpayer abuse for many years,” he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday, “and if you follow the money, you end up at the state pension fund.”

The new law has some educators concerned that they may have an even tougher time hiring competent talent to fill empty positions. Robert Lowry, the deputy director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents had these suggestions on how to make the law work best for everyone:

Mr. Lowry said school districts often have little choice but to hire retirees, and can even save money because they do not have to make pension contributions for retirees, and may not have to pay health benefits, either. He suggested a narrower approach, such as applying the one-year waiting period only to a retiree’s last district, limiting interim appointments to one year and requiring school districts to show that hiring a retiree saved money.

This week New York state governor David Patterson signed a slew of bills into law on a myriad of subjects spanning agriculture, business, consumer protection, criminal justice, education, energy and environment, healthy, housing and property, judiciary, labor, veterans, local bills, and retroactive property tax exemptions. Here are a few of the highlights from the lengthy list:

• S.8297-A Fuschillo / A.11316-A Pheffer, Children’s Product Safety and Recall Effectiveness Act of 2008
• S.8673 Fuschillo / A.2140-D Paulin, which authorizes pharmacists to administer immunizing agents to adults. (more on that here)
• A.3520 Nolan / S.5874-A Sabini - Authorizes the Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets to revoke the license of a slaughterhouse that fails three consecutive inspections
• S.7330 Fuschillo / A.11613 Rules Gottfried - Requires hotels that furnish drinking glasses, silverware or flatware in individual rooms to provide that such items are fully sanitized
• A.10622 Eddington / S.3680 Trunzo - Provides that the patients rights notification required to be given by hospitals include notice patient cannot be discriminated against because of age
• A.10741 Silver / S.8181 Padavan - Extends for an additional two years, the establishment of certain water charges for hospitals and charities in New York City

The entire list can be viewed on the state of New York website, linked above.