NYS residents could get rebates up to $200 to offset energy costs under Albany plan

ALBANY — State lawmakers are nearing a deal to send rebate checks to qualified New Yorkers to offset rising energy costs this fall, according to legislation being drafted at the State Capitol.

The rebate would range between $100 and $200, based on household income and would not be available to high incomes. The checks could be mailed as early as September, ahead of the November elections.

The rebate would be part of a state budget agreement, which Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Democratic-led State Legislature are trying to finalize, nearly seven weeks after it was due. 

The Senate and Assembly were hoping for an actual budget agreement, not just an aspirational one, and perhaps begin voting on budget bills as soon as Wednesday because the governor now is pushing to "close down" a spending plan, a source with knowledge of the discussion said.

The houses could begin voting on noncontroversial spending items this week, pause for the holiday weekend and return to Albany after Memorial Day to finish, under this scenario.

Energy costs and rebates have become a top issue in Albany -- as lawmakers prepare for statewide and legislative elections. Adding fuel to the issue: the state has stockpiled more than $2 billion in tax revenue and surcharges for "green" energy projects but has not earmarked funds for any imminent developments.

Rank-and-file Republicans proposed rebates in February, and the idea gained traction when the State Assembly proposed a rebate plan in its budget bill, approved in March.

The State Senate, in its version of the budget, included language saying the state should return about $1 billion to ratepayers but didn’t specify how.

Now, lawmakers are reviewing terms that would call for issuing $200 rebates to joint filers and surviving spouses who earned less than $150,000 in 2024; $150 rebates to joint filers and surviving spouses who earned between $150,000 and $300,000; and $100 to single filers and others who earned $150,000 or less.

The total outlay would cost the state $1 billion. About 8.2 million taxpayers would received the rebates, with checks mailed from September through December.

Assembly Republicans, the bloc to first propose energy rebate checks, called the plan a small step forward.

"It's less of a step than we proposed but utility bills are the No. 1 issue constituents are concerned with," Assembly Minority Leader Edward Ra (R-Garden City South) told Newsday in an email.

In February, he had proposed $400 rebates. He added that Democrats should roll back green energy goals that aren't attainable in the near future and "revisit" the state's overall energy plan.

Notably, Hochul and all 213 state legislative seats are up for election in November.

Hochul’s Republican opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, has sought to make rising energy costs a campaign issue. He’s also promised to end what he calls the "green energy scam."

Hochul on May 7 announced she’d reached a "general agreement" with Senate and Assembly leaders on a $268 billion budget — but that’s proved elusive.

House leaders immediately contradicted the governor, saying there was no deal and many issues were unresolved. Since then, lawmakers have been grinding through, issue by issue, with many predicting a budget won’t actually be passed by the legislature until after Memorial Day — at the earliest.

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy