COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY
MINUTES: JANUARY 23, 2006
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Chair: Abinanti – Legislators: Kaplowitz, LaMotte, Maisano, Myers, Rogowsky, Stewart-Cousins, Alvarado
IN ATTENDANCE: BOL STAFF: Tara Bernard, Sue Mauro CEO: Bill Randolph
TOPIC: Committee Organization
DISCUSSION:
At 3:19pm Chair Abinanti called the meeting to order.
The Legislators met for an organizational meeting to establish the following: a quorum to meet, a quorum to vote, and a regular meeting date and time.
Legislator Abinanti made a motion to set quorum to meet at 4 Committee members, to vote at 5 Committee members, and to set a regular meeting date and time for Mondays at 3 pm – or at other times as the Chairman deems necessary; seconded by legislator Rogowsky, all in favor –aye (9-0).
Chair Abinanti then asked about other business, specifically what the Committee’s agenda should be for the year. Legislator LaMotte suggested INFORM as an environmental group to invite and present their ideas.
Chair Abinanti then moved to discuss pending legislation: the Healthy Air Task Force legislation (Healthy Air Bills), as well as a discussion of power outages. In reference to the public hearing with Con Edison and NYSEG, Legislator Kaplowitz mentioned writing to the Public Service Commission (PSC) in reference to NYSEG’s frequent outages this past fall, in what has been a sustained effort. Chair Abinanti reiterated that Con Edison is a monopoly, and residents do not have the option of going somewhere else. Legislator Kaplowitz then asserted that the PSC must be pressed to, in turn, press utilities, otherwise productive change cannot be elicited.
Chair Abinanti then asked that fellow Committee members please refer any of their ideas to the Committee for action as soon as possible. He mentioned as a general point, that if members want action to be taken regarding a particular issue, they should please follow the rules of the Board in submitting a “sponsor’s memo,” along with appropriate legislation.
Legislator Maisano suggested a potential issue for the Committee to address: a constituent of Legislator Maisano’s is interested in different municipalities and how they receive their water – the different rates, services, etc. Perhaps, according to Legislator Maisano, it would be interesting to have an expert provide a detailed reply to the question.
Legislator Rogowsky explained that much of the water for Westchester County comes from New York City, and then municipalities proceed from there in making their respective decisions.
Legislator Maisano then restated his interest in discussing further the water supply issue, and Chair Abinanti advised Legislator Rogowsky to let him know if he could suggest a contact to be invited into Committee.
At 3:43pm, Legislator Alvarado made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Legislator Myers – all in favor, aye.
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