Assembly Bill A11303

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   11303
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 11, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Simon) --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Energy
 
 AN ACT to amend the energy law, the environmental conservation  law  and
   the  public  authorities law, in relation to requiring publicly funded
   ferries to be zero-emission and directing the New  York  state  energy
   research  and  development  authority  to  conduct a feasibility study
   related to transitioning certain workboats to be zero-emission
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. The energy law is amended by adding a new section 5-109 to
 read as follows:
   § 5-109. PURCHASE OF ZERO-EMISSION FERRIES. THE PRESIDENT OF  THE  NEW
 YORK  STATE  ENERGY  RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY SHALL PROMULGATE
 RULES AND REGULATIONS WHICH SHALL REQUIRE THAT ALL FERRIES PURCHASED  BY
 OR  FOR  THE  STATE  OR  ANY  AGENCY OR PUBLIC AUTHORITY THEREOF, IN ANY
 FISCAL YEAR WHICH COMMENCES ON OR AFTER APRIL FIRST, TWO THOUSAND  TWEN-
 TY-EIGHT,  PRODUCE  ZERO  EMISSIONS.  PRIVATELY  LICENSED  FERRIES  THAT
 RECEIVE FUNDING FROM THE STATE OR ANY AGENCY OR PUBLIC AUTHORITY  THERE-
 OF,  WHERE  SUCH  FUNDS  ARE  PROVIDED  TO SUBSIDIZE A PARTICULAR ROUTE,
 SHALL, IN ANY FISCAL YEAR WHICH COMMENCES ON OR AFTER APRIL  FIRST,  TWO
 THOUSAND  TWENTY-EIGHT,  PURCHASE  ZERO OR NEAR-ZERO EMISSION FERRIES TO
 SERVICE THAT PARTICULAR ROUTE.
   § 2. The environmental conservation law is amended  by  adding  a  new
 section 19-0306-c to read as follows:
 § 19-0306-C. FERRY EMISSIONS REGULATIONS.
   1. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS WHICH SHALL
 REQUIRE  THAT ALL FERRIES PURCHASED BY OR FOR THE STATE OR ANY AGENCY OR
 PUBLIC AUTHORITY, AND PRIVATELY LICENSED FERRIES  THAT  RECEIVE  FUNDING
 FROM  THE  STATE  OR  ANY AGENCY OR PUBLIC AUTHORITY THEREOF, WHERE SUCH
 FUNDS ARE PROVIDED TO SUBSIDIZE A PARTICULAR  ROUTE,  OPERATING  IN  THE
 NAVIGABLE  WATERS OF THE STATE SHALL PRODUCE ZERO EMISSIONS BY TWO THOU-
 SAND FORTY-TWO. SUCH FERRIES MAY ONLY UTILIZE FOSSIL FUEL-BASED  ENGINES
 AS RANGE EXTENDERS.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15766-01-6
              

 A. 11303                            2
 
   2.  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO COMMERCIAL OR
 SPORTS FISHING BOATS, OCEAN-GOING SHIPS OR  OTHER  VESSELS  TRANSPORTING
 GOODS THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES.
   3.  FOR  PURPOSES  OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE
 FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A) "ZERO EMISSIONS" SHALL MEAN ZERO EXHAUST EMISSIONS OF  ANY  GREEN-
 HOUSE  GAS,  CRITERIA POLLUTANT, OR PRECURSOR POLLUTANT FROM THE ONBOARD
 POWER SOURCE UNDER ANY OPERATIONAL MODES OR CONDITIONS.
   (B) "NEAR-ZERO EMISSION" SHALL MEAN  TECHNOLOGIES  THAT  SIGNIFICANTLY
 REDUCE  GREENHOUSE  GAS, CRITERIA POLLUTANT, OR PRECURSOR POLLUTANT FROM
 THE ONBOARD POWER SOURCE UNDER ANY OPERATIONAL MODES OR  CONDITIONS  AND
 PROVIDE A PATHWAY TO ZERO-EMISSION OPERATIONS.
   (C)  "NAVIGABLE WATERS OF THE STATE" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS IN
 SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION TWO OF THE NAVIGATION LAW.
   (D) "FOSSIL FUEL" SHALL MEAN COAL, PETROLEUM PRODUCTS AND FUEL GASES.
   (E) "RANGE EXTENDER" SHALL MEAN A FUEL-BASED AUXILIARY POWER UNIT THAT
 EXTENDS THE RANGE OF AN ELECTRIC VESSEL BY PROVIDING POWER TO  AN  ELEC-
 TRIC  GENERATOR THAT CHARGES THE VESSEL'S BATTERY, WITHOUT BEING USED AS
 THE MAIN PROPULSION SYSTEM.
   § 3. The public authorities law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
 1886 to read as follows:
   §  1886.  STUDY  ON ZERO-EMISSION TUGBOATS AND OTHER WORKBOATS. 1. THE
 AUTHORITY IS HEREBY AUTHORIZED AND DIRECTED TO CONDUCT  A  COMPREHENSIVE
 STUDY  TO  ANALYZE THE NEED FOR CHARGING STATIONS ALONG THE HUDSON RIVER
 AND THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  CANAL  SYSTEM  TO  ACCOMMODATE  ZERO-EMISSION
 TUGBOATS AND OTHER WORKBOATS. DEPENDING ON APPLICABLE DUTY CYCLES, THESE
 VESSELS MAY INCLUDE RANGE EXTENDERS.
   2. SUCH STUDY SHALL EXAMINE, AT A MINIMUM:
   (A)  THE  CURRENT ZERO-EMISSION TUGBOAT AND OTHER WORKBOAT INFRASTRUC-
 TURE, INCLUDING AN EVALUATION OF REVENUE ALLOCATION OPTIONS TO ASSIST IN
 AN EXPANSION OF SUCH INFRASTRUCTURE;
   (B) THE CURRENT AND PROJECTED FUTURE VOLUME OF COMMERCIAL GOODS  MOVE-
 MENT  AND  OTHER MARINE SERVICES, INCLUDING AN ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF
 CHARGING STATIONS NECESSARY TO SUPPLY SUCH OPERATIONS UPON A  TRANSITION
 OF TUGBOATS AND OTHER WORKBOATS TO BE ZERO-EMISSION;
   (C) ANY SAFETY IMPLICATIONS CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELECTRIC
 VESSEL INFRASTRUCTURE; AND
   (D)  ANY  NEGATIVE  IMPACTS  THAT  MAY RESULT FROM THE INSTALLATION OF
 CHARGING STATIONS.
   3. THE AUTHORITY SHALL REPORT ITS FINDINGS AND ANY RECOMMENDATIONS  TO
 THE  GOVERNOR,  THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF
 THE ASSEMBLY NO LATER THAN TWO YEARS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE  DATE  OF  THIS
 SECTION.
   4.  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO COMMERCIAL OR
 SPORTS FISHING BOATS, OCEAN-GOING SHIPS OR OTHER PUBLIC  VESSELS  TRANS-
 PORTING GOODS THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES.
   5.  FOR  PURPOSES  OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE
 FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A) "WORKBOATS" SHALL MEAN NON-OCEAN-GOING VESSELS USED IN  COMMERCIAL
 TRANSPORTATION  OF GOODS AND SUPPORT PORT, CONSTRUCTION, OR OTHER MARINE
 SERVICE OPERATIONS AND SHALL  INCLUDE  TUGBOATS,  TOWBOATS,  BARGES  AND
 DREDGES.
   (B)  "ZERO-EMISSION" SHALL MEAN ZERO EXHAUST EMISSIONS OF ANY CRITERIA
 POLLUTANT OR GREENHOUSE GAS FROM THE ONBOARD SOURCE OF POWER  UNDER  ANY
 POSSIBLE OPERATIONAL MODES OR CONDITIONS.
 A. 11303                            3
 
   §  4.  Severability.  If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision,
 section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of  competent
 jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or
 invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation
 to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof
 directly  involved  in the controversy in which such judgment shall have
 been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature
 that this act would have been enacted even if  such  invalid  provisions
 had not been included herein.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.