New York's all-electric buildings law faces its next test next week

And who's on the ballot in four special elections for the state Legislature — and who's favored to win them.

Good afternoon — It’s Friday and Pie Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• The “All-Electric Buildings Act,” which prohibits fossil fuel equipment in new buildings, will soon be tested.

• Four special elections for seats in the state Senate and Assembly start tomorrow with early voting. Who might come out on top?

• Here’s what’s up at the state Capitol next week, including budget hearings.

• A new bill seeks to prohibit schools from using “timeout” boxes after at least one district was found to have used them last year.

• Housing leaders in the state Legislature want to boost Hochul’s proposed $50 million for the Housing Access Voucher Program.

• A clarification on redistricting from Jeff Wice.

• This Week in New York History: The first woman to earn a medical degree and Duke Ellington in NYC.

Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Carl E. Heastie, Erik Bottcher, Charlotte Friedman, Harvey Epstein, Keith Powers, Joseph Foley, Zohran Mamdani, Diana Moreno, Rana Abdelhamid, Mary Jobaida, Sean Ryan, Jeremy Zellner, Jonathan Rivera, Dan Gagliardo, Alan Hevesi, Nicole Malliotakis, Jeffrey M. Wice, Brian Kavanagh, Donald J. Trump, Linda B. Rosenthal, Devin Lander, Lauren Lyons, Elizabeth Blackwell, Duke Ellington

---

🚨 Event with Gov. Kathy Hochul: We’re hosting a live conversation with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Feb. 2 next month in the Albany area. If you’re a paid subscriber to CapCon, you can find the link to RSVP below in today’s newsletter.

---

The State Assembly (Lori Van Buren/Times Union)

⚡ The ‘All-Electric Buildings Act’ faces its second test in New York next week

There’s a conflict brewing between Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature on New York’s energy transition but part of it could become moot based on what happens next week.

Many Democrats in the state Legislature were stunned when the Hochul administration agreed to pause the “All-Electric Buildings Act” in November.

That law was set to take effect this month and, in its first phase, would have prohibited fossil fuel equipment in newly constructed buildings with seven stories or fewer. It wouldn’t apply to larger buildings until 2029.

In 2023, fossil fuel and construction trade groups sued New York to have the law struck down. But a federal judge rejected the case and upheld the law last year.

The law’s opponents appealed that ruling to the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. But because of the law’s impending implementation, they asked that the state be enjoined from enforcing it until the case is decided by the Second Circuit.

Instead of waiting for a ruling on that request, New York voluntarily agreed to suspend the law’s implementation pending the outcome of the appeal.

The law is seen by many Democrats in the state Legislature as a key part of the state’s strategy to reduce its emissions from fossil fuels as mandated by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019.

Hochul has already signaled to lawmakers that she wants to renegotiate that law’s requirements and re-upped that request recently, according to legislative sources. The state already isn’t expecting to meet some of the big mandates.

Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie told me this week that there likely isn’t appetite among Democrats in his conference for that conversation.

“I believe the conference is committed to the elements of the CLCPA,” Heastie said.

But they might not have much of a choice depending on what happens next week.