S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6523
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 14, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. PARKER, HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the general municipal  law,  in  relation  to  municipal
   sustainable energy loan programs
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 119-ff of the general municipal law,  as  added  by
 chapter 497 of the laws of 2009, subdivision 6 as amended by chapter 320
 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   § 119-ff. Definitions. For purposes of this article:
   1.  "Authority"  means the New York state energy research and develop-
 ment authority, as  defined  by  subdivision  two  of  section  eighteen
 hundred fifty-one of the public authorities law, or its successor.
   2.  "Credit support" means and includes direct loans, letters of cred-
 it, loan guarantees, and insurance products;  and  the  purchase  of  or
 commitment  to  purchase,  or  the  sale  of or commitment to sell, debt
 instruments, including subordinated securities.
   3. "Energy audit" means a formal evaluation of the energy  consumption
 of  a  permanent  building  or  structural improvement to real property,
 conducted by a contractor certified by the authority, or certified by  a
 certifying  entity  approved by the authority for purposes of this arti-
 cle, for  the  purpose  of  identifying  appropriate  energy  efficiency
 improvements that could be made to OR INCORPORATED INTO THE CONSTRUCTION
 OF  the property. A municipal corporation may, by local law, provide for
 the certification of such contractors based upon criteria  at  least  as
 stringent  as  the  state-wide criteria for certification adopted by the
 authority for purposes of this article.
   4. "Energy efficiency improvement" means [and includes]  any  IMPROVE-
 MENT TO REAL PROPERTY, WHETHER AS A COMPONENT OF THE NEW CONSTRUCTION OF
 A  BUILDING  OR  AS  THE  renovation  or retrofitting of [a] AN EXISTING
 building to reduce energy consumption, such as window and door  replace-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD11333-03-9

 S. 6523                             2
 
 ment, lighting, caulking, weatherstripping, air sealing, insulation, and
 heating  and  cooling  system upgrades, ENERGY CONTROLS, ENERGY RECOVERY
 SYSTEMS and similar improvements, determined to be cost-effective pursu-
 ant to criteria established by the authority. However, "energy efficien-
 cy  improvement"  shall  not  include  [lighting  measures or] household
 appliances AND OTHER ITEMS OR EQUIPMENT that are not  permanently  fixed
 to real property.
   5. "Municipal corporation" means a county, town, city or village.
   6.  "REAL  PROPERTY" MEANS ANY PROPERTY, AN INTEREST IN WHICH IS OR IS
 ELIGIBLE TO BE  RECORDED  OR  REGISTERED  ON  MUNICIPAL  LAND  OWNERSHIP
 RECORDS BY THE POSSESSOR OF SUCH INTEREST.
   7. "Renewable energy system" means an energy generating system for the
 generation  of  electric or thermal energy, to be used primarily at such
 property, except when the owner of real property is a commercial entity,
 by means of solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, anaero-
 bic digester gas-to-electricity  systems,  fuel  cell  technologies,  or
 other  renewable energy technology approved by the authority not includ-
 ing the combustion or pyrolysis of solid waste.
   [7.] 8. "Renewable energy system feasibility study"  means  a  written
 study,  conducted  by a contractor certified by the authority, or certi-
 fied by a certifying entity approved by the authority  for  purposes  of
 this article, for the purpose of determining the feasibility of install-
 ing  a  renewable  energy  system. A municipal corporation may, by local
 law, provide for the certification of such contractors based upon crite-
 ria at least as stringent as the state-wide criteria  for  certification
 adopted by the authority for purposes of this article.
   §  2. Section 119-gg of the general municipal law, as added by chapter
 497 of the laws of 2009, subdivisions 1 and 6 as amended by chapter  320
 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   §  119-gg. Sustainable energy loan program. 1. The legislative body of
 any municipal corporation may, by local  law,  establish  a  sustainable
 energy  loan  program  using  federal grant assistance or federal credit
 support or monies from the state of New York or any state  authority  as
 defined  by section two of the public authorities law available for this
 purpose.
   2. Such program may [make] PROVIDE loans to the owners of real proper-
 ty located within the municipal corporation to finance the  installation
 of  renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements, related
 energy audits and renewable energy system feasibility studies,  and  the
 verification  of  the  installation of such systems and improvements. No
 [municipal corporation] PROGRAM shall [make] PROVIDE such a loan  to  an
 owner  of property that has [received] BEEN PROVIDED a loan from another
 [municipal corporation pursuant to this article]  PROGRAM  IN  THE  SAME
 MUNICIPALITY.
   3.  Each  such  local law establishing [the] A sustainable energy loan
 program shall provide for the criteria for making  such  loans  and  the
 terms  and conditions for repayment of such loans.  [The] EACH sustaina-
 ble energy loan program shall use such lists of  cost  effective  energy
 efficiency  improvements for different building types as are approved by
 the authority.
   4. The municipal corporation shall verify and report on the  installa-
 tion  and  performance of renewable energy systems and energy efficiency
 improvements financed by the loan program in such form and manner as the
 authority may [establish] REQUIRE.
   5. Every loan made under the sustainable energy loan program shall  be
 repaid over a term not to exceed the weighted average of the useful life

 S. 6523                             3
 
 of  such  systems and improvements as determined by the municipal corpo-
 ration. The municipal corporation shall [set] REQUIRE THAT EACH  PROGRAM
 LOAN  HAVE  a  fixed rate of interest for the repayment of the principal
 amount of each loan at the time the loan is made.
   6.  a.  [For loans made to an owner of real property that is a commer-
 cial entity, not-for-profit organization, or entity other than an  indi-
 vidual]  EXCEPT  AS  SET  FORTH  IN PARAGRAPH B OF THIS SUBDIVISION, the
 municipal corporation shall have the authority to impose requirements on
 the maximum amount that may be borrowed through  such  loan,  which  may
 consider  factors  including  but  not  limited  to  the property value,
 projected savings, project cost, and existing  indebtedness  secured  by
 such property.
   b.  For loans made to [an owner of real property who is an individual]
 A PERSON FOR A RESIDENTIAL BUILDING WITH TWO UNITS OR LESS, the  princi-
 pal  amount  of each such loan, excluding interest, shall not exceed the
 lesser of ten percent of the appraised real property value WHICH, IN THE
 CASE OF NEW CONSTRUCTION, MAY BE BASED ON THE  APPRAISED  REAL  PROPERTY
 VALUE  OF  THE REAL PROPERTY AS IT IS TO BE IMPROVED, or the actual cost
 of installing the renewable energy system and energy efficiency improve-
 ments, including the costs of necessary equipment, materials, and labor,
 the costs of each related  energy  audit  and  renewable  energy  system
 feasibility study, and the cost of verification of such renewable energy
 system and energy efficiency improvements.
   7.  No  such  loan  shall  be  made for energy efficiency improvements
 unless determined to be appropriate through an energy audit, and no such
 loan shall be made for a renewable energy system unless determined to be
 feasible through a renewable energy system feasibility study.
   8. The loan made under  the  sustainable  energy  loan  program  shall
 constitute a lien upon the real property benefitted by such loan.
   9.  The  municipal  corporation  may  require  the loan made under the
 sustainable energy loan program to  be  repaid  by  the  property  owner
 through  a  charge  on  the  real property benefitted by such loan. Such
 charge shall be on the real property and shall be levied  and  collected
 at the same time and in the same manner as municipal taxes, OR AS OTHER-
 WISE  provided [that such] BY LOCAL LAW. SUCH charge shall be separately
 listed on the tax bill, and [provided further that  in  the  event  such
 charge should not be] IF NOT paid in a timely manner, no other municipal
 corporation  shall  be  required  to  credit  or otherwise guarantee the
 amount of such unpaid charge to the municipal corporation which  author-
 ized the loan, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.