N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1886: Electric landscaping equipment rebate program

* § 1886. Electric landscaping equipment rebate program. 1. There is

hereby created within the authority an electric landscaping equipment

rebate program. The purpose of the program is to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions, improve air quality, and reduce noise pollution by promoting

the adoption of quieter, zero-emission landscaping equipment.

2. As used in this section:

(a) "Commercial landscaping business" shall mean a

sole-proprietorship, firm, limited liability company, partnership,

corporation or other business entity whose primary concern involves the

care and maintenance of yards, gardens, or other outdoor landscapes for

clients, including, but not limited to, lawn care, gardening, and the

removal or pruning of trees or shrubs.

(b) "Institutional or commercial applicant" shall mean a commercial

landscaping business, or a state agency, state authority, local

authority, town, county, village, school district, private school,

university, not-for-profit corporation, or other nonprofit organization.

(c) "Eligible lawn care device" shall mean a battery-powered electric

lawn care device that is new, has not been used or previously owned, and

is purchased or leased from a storefront or online retailer. Eligible

lawn care device shall not include corded electric equipment, reel

mowers, or tractors used to pull other lawn care devices.

(d) "Lawn care device" shall mean any device powered mechanically,

which is intended to be used or is actually used for the mowing of

grass, the cutting or chipping of trees, tree roots or tree branches,

the clearing of snow and ice, the clearing of leaves or other vegetation

from lawns, sidewalks, public streets or public highways, and shall

include, but not be limited to, such devices as walking and riding lawn

mowers and lawn mower attachments, lawn edgers and trimmers, hedge

trimmers, leaf blowers, leaf vacuums, mulchers, chippers, chainsaws,

pole saws, augers, cultivators and tillers, snow blowers, and snow

shovels, as well as batteries, chargers, and power management equipment

for such devices.

(e) "Local authority" shall have the same meaning as in subdivision

two of section two of this chapter.

(f) "State agency" shall mean all state departments, boards,

commissions, offices or institutions.

(g) "State authority" shall have the same meaning as in subdivision

one of section two of this chapter.

3. The authority shall create a program, within existing

appropriations, to award rebates at the point of sale to institutional

or commercial applicants for eligible lawn care devices in amounts

determined by the authority.

4. The authority shall determine the rebate eligibility of each

applicant in accordance with the requirements of this section and rules

promulgated by the authority. The total amount of rebates allocated to

certified applicants in each fiscal year shall not exceed the amount of

funds available for the program in such fiscal year. Rebates shall be

allocated to applicants on a first-come, first-served basis, determined

by the date the application is received, until all appropriated funds

for the fiscal year are expended or the program ends, whichever comes

first. The authority shall have authority to reduce eligible lawn care

device rebate amounts if the authority determines that funds would

otherwise be exhausted prior to the end of a fiscal year.

5. The authority shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement

and administer the provisions of this section no later than two hundred

seventy days after the effective date of this section, including rules

and regulations relating to the types of equipment covered under this

section and rebate amounts for each equipment type, the forms required

to claim a rebate, the required documentation and basis for establishing

eligibility for a rebate, procedures and guidelines for claiming a

rebate, the collection of economic impact data from applicants, and any

other requirements the authority deems necessary. In the course of

developing such rules and regulations, the authority shall consult with

relevant stakeholders, including commercial landscaping businesses and

retailers selling eligible lawn care devices. The authority shall

conduct education and outreach, with informational materials made

available in at least English and the three most common non-English

languages spoken by individuals with limited-English proficiency in the

state of New York, based on United States census data, as necessary to

inform potential applicants and manufacturers and retailers of eligible

lawn care devices about the electric landscaping equipment rebate

program.

6. The authority shall determine and publish on its website on an

ongoing basis the amount of available funding for rebates remaining in

each fiscal year.

7. No later than two years after the effective date of this section,

and annually thereafter on the first of January, the authority shall

issue a report to the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of

the assembly, the chair of the senate committee on energy and

telecommunications and the chair of the assembly committee on energy

detailing the status of the electric landscaping equipment rebate

program. Such report shall include:

(a) the amount of funding dedicated by the authority for the program

in the preceding year;

(b) the amount of eligible purchases for which a rebate was awarded;

(c) the amount and geographic distribution of rebates; and

(d) any other information the authority deems necessary.

* NB Repealed January 1, 2036