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A5526 • 2025

Creates a religious exemption to the ban on fossil fuel equipment and systems

Creates a religious exemption to the ban on fossil fuel equipment and systems

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Karl Brabenec
Last action
2026-05-11
Official status
In Assembly Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Creates a religious exemption to the ban on fossil fuel equipment and systems

Creates a religious exemption to the ban on fossil fuel equipment and systems Provides an exemption for the purposes of allowing the installation and use of fossil-fuel equipment and building systems where such are installed and used in a building or part of a building that is owned or occupied by a person who holds genuine and sincere religious beliefs and whose health and safety will be jeopardized due to the prohibition of the installation of fossil-fuel equipment and building systems because of such genuine and sincere religious beliefs.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a religious exemption to the ban on fossil fuel equipment and systems Provides an exemption for the purposes of allowing the installation and use of fossil-fuel equipment and building systems where such are installed and used in a building or part of a building that is owned or occupied by a person who holds genuine and sincere religious beliefs and whose health and safety will be jeopardized due to the prohibition of the installation of fossil-fuel equipment and building systems because of such genuine and sincere religious beliefs.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-11 Assembly

    HELD FOR CONSIDERATION IN ENERGY

  2. 2026-01-07 Assembly

    REFERRED TO ENERGY

  3. 2025-02-14 Assembly

    REFERRED TO ENERGY

Official Summary Text

Creates a religious exemption to the ban on fossil fuel equipment and systems
Provides an exemption for the purposes of allowing the installation and use of fossil-fuel equipment and building systems where such are installed and used in a building or part of a building that is owned or occupied by a person who holds genuine and sincere religious beliefs and whose health and safety will be jeopardized due to the prohibition of the installation of fossil-fuel equipment and building systems because of such genuine and sincere religious beliefs.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5526

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                                  I N  A S S E M B L Y

                                    February 14, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. BRABENEC -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Energy

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the energy law and the executive law, in relation to
          creating a religious exemption to the ban on fossil fuel equipment and
          systems

          THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
        BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

     1    Section  1.  Paragraph  (b)  of subdivision 7 of section 11-104 of the
     2  energy law, as added by section 1 of part RR of chapter 56 of  the  laws
     3  of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (b) In addition, in effectuating the provisions set forth in paragraph
     5  (b) of subdivision six of this section the code shall include exemptions
     6  for  the  purposes  of  allowing the installation and use of fossil-fuel
     7  equipment and building systems where such are installed and used:
     8    (i) for generation  of  emergency  back-up  power  and  standby  power
     9  systems;
    10    (ii) in a manufactured home as defined in subdivision seven of section
    11  six hundred one of the executive law; [or]
    12    (iii)  in  a building or part of a building that is used as a manufac-
    13  turing facility, commercial food establishment,  laboratory,  car  wash,
    14  laundromat,  hospital,  other medical facility, critical infrastructure,
    15  including but not limited to emergency management facilities, wastewater
    16  treatment facilities, and water treatment and pumping facilities,  agri-
    17  cultural  building,  fuel cell system, or crematorium, as such terms are
    18  defined by the code council; OR
    19    (IV) IN A BUILDING OR PART OF A BUILDING THAT IS OWNED OR OCCUPIED  BY
    20  A  PERSON  WHO  HOLDS  GENUINE  AND  SINCERE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND WHOSE
    21  HEALTH AND SAFETY WILL BE JEOPARDIZED DUE  TO  THE  PROHIBITION  OF  THE
    22  INSTALLATION  OF  FOSSIL-FUEL  EQUIPMENT AND BUILDING SYSTEMS BECAUSE OF
    23  SUCH GENUINE AND SINCERE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03479-01-5
        A. 5526                             2

     1    § 2. Paragraph c of subdivision 19 of section  378  of  the  executive
     2  law, as added by section 3 of part RR of chapter 56 of the laws of 2023,
     3  is amended to read as follows:
     4    c.  In addition, in effectuating the provisions set forth in paragraph
     5  a of this subdivision the code shall include exemptions for the purposes
     6  of allowing the installation and use of fossil-fuel equipment and build-
     7  ing systems where such systems are installed and used:
     8    (i) for generation  of  emergency  back-up  power  and  standby  power
     9  systems;
    10    (ii) in a manufactured home as defined in subdivision seven of section
    11  six hundred one of [the executive law] THIS CHAPTER; [or]
    12    (iii)  in  a building or part of a building that is used as a manufac-
    13  turing facility, commercial food establishment,  laboratory,  car  wash,
    14  laundromat,  hospital,  other medical facility, critical infrastructure,
    15  including but not limited to emergency management facilities, wastewater
    16  treatment facilities, and water treatment and pumping facilities,  agri-
    17  cultural  building,  fuel cell system, or crematorium, as such terms are
    18  defined by the code council; OR
    19    (IV) IN A BUILDING OR PART OF A BUILDING THAT IS OWNED OR OCCUPIED  BY
    20  A  PERSON  WHO  HOLDS  GENUINE  AND  SINCERE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND WHOSE
    21  HEALTH AND SAFETY WILL BE JEOPARDIZED DUE  TO  THE  PROHIBITION  OF  THE
    22  INSTALLATION  OF  FOSSIL-FUEL  EQUIPMENT AND BUILDING SYSTEMS BECAUSE OF
    23  SUCH GENUINE AND SINCERE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.
    24    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.