New York is poised to fine energy companies billions of dollars in the name of fighting climate change under a new law that will likely make life more costly for ordinary consumers. Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Senate Bill S2129B on Thursday, enacting a law that will require energy companies to cough up $75 billion to the state over 25 years to atone for their supposed roles in causing climate change. Aside from standing on questionable legal footing, the new law essentially amounts to a state revenue grab that will ultimately increase costs for consumers if fully implemented, according to energy and legal experts. “When you dig beneath the headlines, the story here is very simple: New York State is choosing to punish industries that it doesn’t like, which power everyday activities, and use the money it’s confiscating to fund pet projects and various progressive lifestyle choices that couldn’t get funded by Bernie Sanders and Democrats in Congress,” O.H. Skinner, executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “While China and other adversaries continue to pump carbon into the atmosphere, New York liberals are using the guise of ‘fixing climate change’ to try and bankrupt companies they don’t like and unlock money for their liberal wishlist. This shakedown is horrible for everyday people.” (RELATED: Kathy Hochul Reportedly Looking To Slam The Brakes On Climate Toll After Realizing It Could Hurt Dems) Hochul’s office says that New York will take the funds it rakes in under the superfund law to pay for projects that will enhance the state’s “resiliency to dangerous climate impacts.” Examples of the projects funded by the law would include upgrades to drainage systems, “preventive health care programs,” retrofitting buildings to be more green and developing “green spaces” in urban […]
Click here to view original web page at www.themainewire.com