Landmark legislation that would put fossil fuel producers on the hook for climate change got held up by the Assembly in the last days of the lame-duck session.
The bill, which was advanced by a Senate committee last week, was poised to pass on the Senate floor. But leadership is holding the bill because it didn’t make it out of committee in the Assembly — despite more than half of the chamber’s members co-sponsoring the bill.
The bill known as the Climate Superfund Act would require fossil fuel extractors to contribute $50 billion to a fund that would go toward paying for climate resiliency projects.
“It’s not a matter of if billions of dollars have to be expended as we pivot [to climate resiliency]. It’s a matter of who will help the taxpayer pay for it,” said bill sponsor Sen. John McKeon during a committee hearing. “This isn’t about anything being punitive to anyone other than keeping our state affordable.”
