S 1574: Establishes the electric landscaping equipment rebate program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and reduce noise pollution by promoting the adoption of quieter, zero-emission landscaping equipment; provides for rebates at the point of sale for applicants purchasing or leasing certain equipment; provides for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1574 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, MAY, MAYER, PARKER, RAMOS, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be commit- ted to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to establishing the electric landscaping equipment rebate program; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new 2 section 1885 to read as follows: 3 § 1885. Electric landscaping equipment rebate program. 1. There is 4 hereby created within the authority an electric landscaping equipment 5 rebate program. The purpose of the program is to reduce greenhouse gas 6 emissions, improve air quality, and reduce noise pollution by promoting 7 the adoption of quieter, zero-emission landscaping equipment. 8 2. As used in this section: 9 (a) "Commercial landscaping business" shall mean a sole-proprietor- 10 ship, firm, limited liability company, partnership, corporation or other 11 business entity whose primary concern involves the care and maintenance 12 of yards, gardens, or other outdoor landscapes for clients, including, 13 but not limited to, lawn care, gardening, and the removal or pruning of 14 trees or shrubs. 15 (b) "Institutional or commercial applicant" shall mean a commercial 16 landscaping business, or a state agency, state authority, local authori- 17 ty, town, county, village, school district, private school, university, 18 not-for-profit corporation, or other nonprofit organization. 19 (c) "Eligible lawn care device" shall mean a battery-powered electric 20 lawn care device that is new, has not been used or previously owned, and 21 is purchased or leased from a storefront or online retailer. Eligible 22 lawn care device shall not include corded electric equipment, reel 23 mowers, or tractors used to pull other lawn care devices. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04498-01-5 
 S. 1574 2 1 (d) "Lawn care device" shall mean any device powered mechanically, 2 which is intended to be used or is actually used for the mowing of 3 grass, the cutting or chipping of trees, tree roots or tree branches, 4 the clearing of snow and ice, the clearing of leaves or other vegetation 5 from lawns, sidewalks, public streets or public highways, and shall 6 include, but not be limited to, such devices as walking and riding lawn 7 mowers and lawn mower attachments, lawn edgers and trimmers, hedge trim- 8 mers, leaf blowers, leaf vacuums, mulchers, chippers, chainsaws, pole 9 saws, augers, cultivators and tillers, snow blowers, and snow shovels, 10 as well as batteries, chargers, and power management equipment for such 11 devices. 12 (e) "Local authority" shall have the same meaning as in subdivision 13 two of section two of this chapter. 14 (f) "State agency" shall mean all state departments, boards, commis- 15 sions, offices or institutions. 16 (g) "State authority" shall have the same meaning as in subdivision 17 one of section two of this chapter. 18 3. The authority shall create a program, within existing appropri- 19 ations, to award rebates at the point of sale to institutional or 20 commercial applicants for eligible lawn care devices in amounts deter- 21 mined by the authority. 22 4. The authority shall determine the rebate eligibility of each appli- 23 cant in accordance with the requirements of this section and rules 24 promulgated by the authority. The total amount of rebates allocated to 25 certified applicants in each fiscal year shall not exceed the amount of 26 funds available for the program in such fiscal year. Rebates shall be 27 allocated to applicants on a first-come, first-served basis, determined 28 by the date the application is received, until all appropriated funds 29 for the fiscal year are expended or the program ends, whichever comes 30 first. The authority shall have authority to reduce eligible lawn care 31 device rebate amounts if the authority determines that funds would 32 otherwise be exhausted prior to the end of a fiscal year. 33 5. The authority shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement 34 and administer the provisions of this section no later than two hundred 35 seventy days after the effective date of this section, including rules 36 and regulations relating to the types of equipment covered under this 37 section and rebate amounts for each equipment type, the forms required 38 to claim a rebate, the required documentation and basis for establishing 39 eligibility for a rebate, procedures and guidelines for claiming a 40 rebate, the collection of economic impact data from applicants, and any 41 other requirements the authority deems necessary. In the course of 42 developing such rules and regulations, the authority shall consult with 43 relevant stakeholders, including commercial landscaping businesses and 44 retailers selling eligible lawn care devices. The authority shall 45 conduct education and outreach, with informational materials made avail- 46 able in at least English and the three most common non-English languages 47 spoken by individuals with limited-English proficiency in the state of 48 New York, based on United States census data, as necessary to inform 49 potential applicants and manufacturers and retailers of eligible lawn 50 care devices about the electric landscaping equipment rebate program. 51 6. The authority shall determine and publish on its website on an 52 ongoing basis the amount of available funding for rebates remaining in 53 each fiscal year. 54 7. No later than two years after the effective date of this section, 55 and annually thereafter on the first of January, the authority shall 56 issue a report to the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of 
 S. 1574 3 1 the assembly, the chair of the senate committee on energy and telecommu- 2 nications and the chair of the assembly committee on energy detailing 3 the status of the electric landscaping equipment rebate program. Such 4 report shall include: 5 (a) the amount of funding dedicated by the authority for the program 6 in the preceding year; 7 (b) the amount of eligible purchases for which a rebate was awarded; 8 (c) the amount and geographic distribution of rebates; and 9 (d) any other information the authority deems necessary. 10 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 11 deemed repealed January 1, 2036.