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News 12 Staff

317TAXINGINTERVIEW_2026-03-17-07-42-08

Well we all know it's been a very taxing winter. The rising cost of utility rates is causing major headaches for Long Islanders. So help could be on the way from Albany here. A proposal in the New York State Assembly's budget includes rebate checks for Long Islanders. And joining us now to explain how it would work is Assemblyman Steve Stern. Steve, thanks for joining us this morning. So tell us exactly who would qualify and what's the plan here. Good morning and thanks so much for having me. Yeah, this is an effort in the New York State Assembly to provide immediate relief to Long Islanders and for so many New Yorkers throughout the state that are struggling with the high cost of keeping their homes heated and keeping the lights on, particularly during these challenging times. And so the Protecting our Wallet Energy rebate, the power rebate, is An initiative here in the New York State Assembly. I'm coming to you from the chamber right now up in Albany where we're going to continue to push for this initiative to put up to $500 in the pockets of our consumers to help meet to help offset the unacceptably high rate of energy all throughout the state and particularly on Long Island. For those who make up to $150,000 it would be up to a $500 rebate and then a little bit higher as well for those earning between $150,000 and $300,000 it could go as high as $300. And so that would be an immediate effort to put cashbacks in the pockets of Long Islanders. Now Steve, just to be clear, do Long Islanders have to do anything to get this rebate, or is it just automatic? This is going to be an effort where you're going to need to go through a process in order to get the rebate, and that's a, that's a process that we're working on right now to make it as easy as possible for Long Islanders to get immediate rebates. In addition, by the way, this is not just a one shot. The power initiative that we are proposing here in the New York State Assembly. Has other initiatives as well a 2 year rate hike freeze on energy across the board and in addition an office of an Energy consumer advocate because New Yorkers, Long Islanders in particular, need someone standing up for them and not the large utility companies. Assemblyman Steve Stern of Dix Hills, thanks for joining us. We appreciate it. Thanks, Steve. Thanks so much for having me.

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The proposal would give households making less than $150,000 a $500 check.

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