skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Government shutdown looms after Trump-backed bill fails; Environmental groups sue CA Air Resources Board over biogas credits; NY elected officials work to electrify municipal buildings; Need a mental health boost? Talking hot dog is here.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President-elect Trump repeats his threats to jail Jan. 6th committee members, while also putting a stop-gap spending plan in jeopardy. A court removes Fani Willis from Trump's Georgia election interference case. The FAA restricts drones in New Jersey, and a Federal Reserve rate cut shakes markets.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

Cuomo's $41 Million Funding Raid Could Have Big Consequences for State Climate Program

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 9, 2015   

NEW YORK - State environmental watchdogs are crying foul over Governor Andrew Cuomo's decision to pull $41 million from the state's cap-and-trade program, and placing it in the general fund.

Environmental Advocates of New York says money from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is supposed to pay for pollution reduction projects. They claim Cuomo is planning to use more than a quarter of the money to fund other work, such as tax relief.

Peter Iwanowicz, the organization's director, says the move could give ammunition to industry associations that oppose the program.

"By raiding the funds, the governor and the Legislature are inviting yet another legal challenge to the RGGI program," he says. "The big concern we have is the governor's climate raid could lead to successful litigation that could throw the whole program out."

The RGGI program took in about $150 million in 2014, and Cuomo's budget for this year would use some of the money to pay for energy tax credits, among other measures. Cuomo's office has defended it as a legitimate use of the funds.

In 2011, the conservative group Americans For Prosperity went to court to try to bar New York from adopting the RGGI program, calling it an illegal cap-and-trade tax. A judge dismissed the suit, but Iwanowicz says Cuomo's budget makes the program vulnerable again.

"When you take a big chunk of the RGGI proceeds and move them into the general fund, those groups are likely to challenge it and challenge it on the grounds that it is an unauthorized tax," says Iwanowicz. "The Legislature is the only one that can approve the collection of proceeds, and this budget language doesn't do that."

Nine states in the Northeast participate in RGGI, which limits carbon emissions and requires power plants to pay for pollution that goes beyond those limits. It took effect in 2008, and has generated more than $700 million in climate change funds in New York.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A survey from the American Heart Association revealed 79% of respondents neglect their health during the holidays. Many say they find this time of year more stressful than income tax season.
(deagreez/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Holiday travel is in full swing and for many, so is the stress. The American Heart Association of Missouri has health tips for anyone with heart …


Health and Wellness

play sound

By Amy Felegy for Arts Midwest.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Minnesota News Connection reporting for the Arts Midwest-Public News Service Collabo…

Health and Wellness

play sound

With Christmas less than a week away, experts are giving advice on how seniors and the community can fight against social isolation. A United Health …


A new University of Miami study has found buildings in Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside have been sinking by 2-8 centimeters between 2016 and 2023. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

When the Champlain Towers South collapsed in Surfside in 2021 taking 98 lives, it sent shock waves across South Florida. The tragedy has left …

Environment

play sound

Rural communities across Massachusetts are benefiting from state grants aimed at strengthening the local food supply and building climate resilience…

Dairy digesters remove methane from liquified animal waste. The gas can then be used to generate power. (Lance Cheung/USDA)

Environment

play sound

Three environmental nonprofits filed suit Wednesday against the California Air Resources Board to oppose the expansion of a program allowing oil and g…

Social Issues

play sound

North Dakota is expected to rejoin the debate over whether all school children, regardless of their family income, should have access to no-cost …

Social Issues

play sound

This month, an Arizona grand jury indicted two out-of-state residents for cheating the state's Empowerment Scholarship Account program out of more …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021