Legislation

* § 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