The language he proposed earlier this year will be included in the $268 billion state budget, Ryan told syracuse.com.
The budget bills are still being finalized and have not been printed, Ryan said.
But Ryan says Senate leaders have assured him that his proposal to postpone the deadline for the switch to electric will be in the final version.
Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli’s office staff also confirmed the language is in this year’s budget.
The change means school districts would have five more years, until 2032, before they must stop buying buses with combustion engines. Originally, the deadline was set for 2027, though lawmakers last year gave districts the option to postpone that date by two years.
The deadline for converting entire bus fleets to all-electric would also change, Ryan says. Currently that deadline is 2035. Under the new plan, districts would have until 2040.
“I’m happy to lead the effort to delay it,” said Ryan, a first-term senator from Geddes. “School districts need more time to prepare.”
The effort to convert tens of thousands of fuel-powered buses to rechargeable vehicles is part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s ambitious efforts to get New Yorkers to cut back on emissions and boost renewable energy use.
But some school superintendents have criticized the change, which they argued could cost more and create challenges on long bus routes during cold winters.
Local voters, who approve borrowing for buses during school elections, also pushed back by rejecting e-bus purchases at the polls.
Republicans in Albany, who are in the minority in both houses, led early efforts to repeal the e-bus plan. Those failed.
Ryan says this plan from the Democrats is different, in that it delays the e-bus mandate rather than repealing it altogether.
The budget was due on April 1. Hochul announced a framework agreement last week with Senate and Assembly leaders, though very few details have been released. The latest budget extender expires Thursday.
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