New York Locks In a Tighter Carbon Cap for Power Plants; Texas Closes the Door on New Workers' Comp Self-Insurance Groups

The bottom line today

2,347,982. That is how many tons of carbon allowances New York will issue to its power plants in 2037, down from 21,914,493 in 2027, under the rule the Department of Environmental Conservation finalized and the State Register published today [1]. The state’s own modeling says wholesale electricity will cost more because of it, and that customers come out slightly ahead only after the auction money is spent well [1]. That is a bet on state spending, and large power users are the ones holding it. In Texas, the Department of Insurance put a 2025 law into its rulebook: no new workers’ compensation self-insurance groups [4, 5]. The good news of the day is also from Texas, where the workers’ comp division is cutting a duplicate subscription before its price goes up [6].

NY New York 6 NYCRR Part 242: the RGGI carbon cap tightens from 2027

What it does. The rule amends New York’s CO2 Budget Trading Program to carry out the Third Program Review of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which the participating states announced on July 3, 2025 [1, 2]. The regional cap drops to about 69.8 million tons in 2027 and falls to about 9 million tons by 2037, a decline the department puts at roughly 88% from the existing 2027 cap of 75 million tons [1].

The price mechanics change as well. The emissions containment reserve is eliminated, and the minimum reserve price rises to its old trigger level: $9.00 in 2027, increasing 7% a year [1]. The cost containment reserve gets a second tier. Each tier holds about 11.75 million allowances regionally, with trigger prices of $19.50 and $29.25 in 2027, both also rising 7% a year [1]. NYSERDA, which runs the auctions, amends 21 NYCRR Part 507 to match [1].

Two eligibility changes reach outside the power sector. The rule removes the one remaining offset project type in New York, avoided methane from agricultural manure management, although offsets awarded before January 1, 2027 stay valid [1]. It also removes eligible biomass, so no budget source can lower its compliance obligation by burning it [1].

Where it stands. Filed July 21, published August 5, effective January 1, 2027 [1]. The department and NYSERDA received 67 written and video comments from 25 commenters; the only changes from the proposal were nonsubstantial edits to section 200.9, the list of referenced material [1].

Pratt’s read. The supporters’ case is in the record. The participating states say auction proceeds have gone to energy efficiency, renewable energy and bill assistance, and that the new tiers “bolster price protection for consumers” [2]. Some commenters told the department that program investments to date are expected to save ratepayers almost $12 billion over their lifetimes [1].

Now the cost side, from the department’s own impact statement. Wholesale electricity in New York is projected to cost between $2.05 and $6.20 per megawatt-hour more in 2037 than without the change [1]. The modeled bill savings for a representative industrial customer, $35.50 to $82.67 a month, appear only “when accounting for the benefits associated with the re-investment of proceeds” [1]. A manufacturer pays the wholesale increase on every kilowatt-hour. It sees the reinvestment benefit only if a program happens to fund its project. The department also leans on indexed renewable energy credits to get to net savings [1], the same contract structure this release noted on July 30 is still an estimate.

To be fair, the second reserve tier adds supply when prices spike, which is the right kind of relief valve [1]. But the floor price now climbs every year whether or not the market needs it to.

The offset change deserves a sentence for agriculture. Manure digesters were the last way a New York farm could earn an allowance [1]. The department notes that no potential offset project owners commented [1]. That closes a revenue option nobody was using, and also one nobody can use later.

NY New York PERB rules: new procedures for private employers outside the NLRA and for farms

What it does. The Public Employment Relations Board proposes amendments to its rules under the State Employment Relations Act and the Farm Laborers’ Fair Labor Practices Act [3]. The rules cover private employers and employees in New York who are not subject to the National Labor Relations Act, including agricultural employers and farm laborers [3]. The main changes:

• Electronic signatures are allowed on a showing of interest, with standards those signatures must meet [3].
• Employers may file petitions under section 705.3 of the act raising a question concerning representation [3].
• An unfair labor practice charge must be filed within one year of when the charging party knew, or reasonably should have known, of the conduct [3].
• A hearing officer may extend a farm employer’s deadline for its statement of position by up to 5 days, and further on a showing of extraordinary circumstances [3].
• New, more detailed rules govern misconduct before the board [3].

Where it stands. Proposed in today’s Register. Comments are due by October 4 [3].

Pratt’s read. Mostly a fair package, and the board itself says some of the changes were sought by the parties who practice before it [3]. A one-year limitations period gives employers a date after which an old dispute is closed. An employer petition puts the representation question to an election instead of leaving it open. The extra days for farm employers matter during harvest, when the person who would draft a response is in the field.

The other side of the ledger is the electronic showing of interest. The board calls it a change in technology that may reduce paperwork [3]. It also makes a union card drive faster and cheaper to run. The board says the rules are cost-neutral and add no fees [3]. For a dairy or orchard, the practical effect is that the clock on an organizing campaign runs faster in both directions.

TX Texas S.B. 264 rules: no new workers’ comp self-insurance groups

What it does. The Department of Insurance proposes amendments to its group self-insurance rules to implement S.B. 264 from 2025 [4]. A group is an association or business trust of five or more private employers in the same or similar business that pool their workers’ compensation liability, posting security equal to the greater of $300,000 or 25% of incurred liabilities [4]. Under the statute, the commissioner “may not issue a certificate of approval to a proposed group on or after September 1, 2025” but may amend a certificate already issued [5]. S.B. 264 also directs the board of the Texas self-insurance group guaranty fund to wind down and dissolve the fund and trust fund, with remaining money distributed to qualified groups [5].

Where it stands. S.B. 264 passed the Senate 31-0 and the House 141-0 [5]. The department filed its rule on July 14; the hearing is August 25 under Docket No. 2869, and comments are due August 31 [4].

Pratt’s read. The rule adds nothing to the law, and the department says so: it imposes no requirement beyond the statute and so no cost of its own [4]. The cost was set in 2025. Pooling let small employers in one trade buy workers’ comp the way a large employer does. That door is now shut for anyone who did not walk through it before September 1, 2025, and the record this release draws on gives no figure for what that option was worth. The groups already approved keep operating, and the guaranty fund’s money goes back to them [5]. The bill drew no recorded opposition in either chamber [5].

TX Texas 28 TAC §137.10: one guideline subscription instead of two

What it does. The Division of Workers’ Compensation proposes to replace the Medical Disability Advisor, now MDGuidelines, with the disability duration values in ODG by MCG as the system’s return-to-work guidelines [6]. Carriers, providers and employers would use them for return-to-work determinations made on or after October 1, 2026 [6].

Where it stands. Hearing August 24; comments due August 31 [6].

Pratt’s read. Credit where due. Designated doctors already pay for ODG by MCG’s treatment guidelines, which include return-to-work values, but had to buy MDGuidelines too [6]. The division says MDGuidelines will “raise its rates substantially” on October 1 and that the two sets of values have been “substantively equivalent” across most Texas claims [6]. Dropping the duplicate subscription before the increase is the cheap, quiet kind of fix workers’ comp needs more of.

On the calendar

Texas holds its return-to-work guidelines hearing August 24 and its self-insurance hearing August 25; comments on both close August 31 [4, 6]. The new guidelines would apply from October 1 [6]. New York’s labor board takes comments through October 4 [3]. The RGGI changes take effect January 1, 2027 [1].