Ever since the state’s top energy agency determined that implementing the state’s climate law could bump New Yorkers’ utility prices up by thousands, Republicans have all but shouted from the rooftops, “I told you so.” But several Republicans voted in favor of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in 2019, including ones who became the Assembly minority leader and a member of Congress.
New York made history when legislators passed and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the CLCPA in the first year after Democrats regained control of the state Senate. In the upper chamber, two Republicans joined with Democrats to support the law, though neither is still in office. A couple of the Republicans who voted for it in the Assembly, however, went on to bigger and better things.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island backed the climate law as a member of the Assembly in 2019. At the time, she did not explain her vote, and she did not immediately return a request for comment for her past support Thursday. During her time in Congress, Malliotakis has largely opposed sweeping climate measures backed by Democrats. And she has slammed Gov. Kathy Hochul for her “woke green new deal” over reported costs of climate mandates.
Assembly Member Ed Ra, who stepped into the leadership role for his conference earlier this year, voted in “yes” in 2019. That may be surprising given his comments this month. “The state’s energy authority has finally acknowledged what New Yorkers have felt and Republicans have said for years – Democrats’ green dreams are creating a nightmare for families and businesses across this state,” he said. “It’s time for an immediate course correction.” He left unmentioned his own past support for those “green dreams.”
Ra’s remarks followed the release of a memo from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority – first reported by City & State – that estimated the climate law could cost average New Yorkers over $4,000 a year by 2031. Gov. Kathy Hochul has in recent weeks used the findings to begin pushing to roll back parts of the CLCPA and delay certain impending emissions reduction deadlines. But Republicans quickly jumped on the memo as well to criticize New York’s clean energy goals, as many Democrats in the state Legislature remain resistant to any changes.
“Supporting goals doesn’t mean endorsing an unworkable strategy,” Ra said in a statement to City & State. “After seven years, New York still lacks a realistic roadmap for the two most important energy priorities: affordability and reliability. The entire landscape has shifted since 2019, and current energy mandates do not reflect the cost, demand, and capacity realities we face today.” Ra has additionally voted against a number of climate-related bills since 2019, including the Climate Superfund Act and the repeal of a gas hookup subsidy.
State Sen. Anthony Palumbo was a member of the Assembly in 2019 when he voted in favor of the climate law, one of six Republicans in the chamber to do so, including Ra. He acknowledged his support seven years ago, but said it was “universally understood” state leaders would revisit the law to modify it as needed for “reasonable, reliable and responsible” implementation. “It has now become quite clear that the timelines are much too short , the cost of implementation has become prohibitive and the technology has not kept pace, so we must delay the timelines and regroup,” Palumbo said in a text to City & State.
Both Ra and Palumbo are from Long Island, where Republicans have historically expressed more support for certain environmental and climate measures due to persistent water quality issues impacting residents. For example, former Assembly Member Mike LiPetri of Long Island said on the floor he “want(s) to love this bill,” before ultimately voting against it in 2019. Every other Republican lawmaker that voted for the CLCPA was from Long Island apart from Malliotakis.
