What Hochul's DEC nominee said to the Senate ahead of her confirmation

And several bills, including top environmental items, are moving in the Legislature this week.

Good afternoon — it’s Tuesday and Sunscreen Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Hochul’s nominee to lead the Department of Environmental Conservation was grilled by lawmakers Tuesday on the state’s energy future.

• The Legislature is moving several interesting bills this week, including some key environmental priorities as the end of this year’s session quickly approaches.

• A few of the bills tracked in today’s CapCon include a repeal of tax exemptions for luxury yachts, new lobbying filing requirements and the packaging reduction bill.

• The Senate is hearing testimony from one of Hochul’s nominees to lead a state agency this week.

• A new bill to further restrict the practice of live entertainment ticket resellers has been introduced.

Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Amanda Lefton, Peter Harckham, James Skoufis, Joe Percoco, Denise Miranda, Nily Rozic, Steve Otis

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Acting DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton (Will Waldron/Times Union)

🗣️ What Hochul’s DEC nominee told the Senate Tuesday

It’s been three months since Gov. Kathy Hochul nominated Amanda Lefton to be the next commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Lefton, who’s the acting commissioner, finally got her shot Tuesday to pitch her nomination to members of the state Senate as they prepared for the annual series of confirmations they’ll consider before leaving Albany next month.

New York has a lot riding on the Department of Environmental Conservation. It’s one of three agencies at the forefront of the state’s increasingly out-of-reach energy and emissions mandates.

But environmental advocates have questioned the agency’s commitment to those mandates in recent years, saying the state is moving too slow in its energy transition.

Take cap-and-invest, a state program that’s expected to place a statewide limit on carbon emissions and charge companies for the amount they contribute. The regulations for that program are being developed on a slower timeline than advocates and lawmakers expected.

That’s why Lefton’s answer to a question from Senate Environmental Conservation Chair Peter Harckham on the state’s commitment to its climate goals was of particular interest to advocates Tuesday.

Lefton recounted some of the agency’s most significant actions in recent months — including movement on cap-and-invest regulations — but also called out a contrast.

“The (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) announced with pride that they were rolling back 31 different regulatory programs, which is shameful,” Lefton said, specifically naming a federal measure on emissions.

“The point is, we’re not backing down,” Lefton said. “We’re going to continue to focus on making progress and we must continue to fight climate here in New York and be that national leader.”

I wish I could tell you that the rest of her testimony was more interesting but that’s what a lot of it boiled down to.

Lefton also committed to working with her counterparts in nearby states on the impact of their emissions, the continued threat of harmful algal blooms and the need for infrastructure that’s more resistant to extreme weather.

But there was one line of questioning during the hearing that turned tense, with one Democrat saying his support for her confirmation was unclear.