S 8696: Requires the state university of New York to install solar canopies on its campuses.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8696  IN SENATE January 7, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring the state university of New York to install solar canopies on its campuses The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 355 of the education law is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 22 to read as follows: 3 22. a. The state university trustees shall adopt rules requiring each 4 institution of the state university of New York, to calculate, in a 5 manner to be developed by the state university of New York, the total 6 amount of square kilometers occupied by parking facilities suitable for 7 solar canopy development within one year of the effective date of this 8 subdivision. 9 b. The state university trustees shall utilize the data from each 10 institution, calculated pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision, to 11 create a distributed solar energy goal for each institution to use no 12 less than seventy-five percent of eligible parking facility space for 13 solar canopies by two thousand forty. 14 c. Beginning one year after the effective date of this subdivision, 15 any construction project undertaken by the state university of New York 16 on a campus of an institution where the scope of such project includes a 17 parking garage, open parking lot or other parking facility that offers 18 parking spaces for the purposes of public use, state employee use or 19 pay-per-usage or includes a parking garage, open parking lot or other 20 parking facility constructed by a private entity using state capital 21 funding, shall install solar canopies in such facilities, unless such 22 institution has already reached the seventy-five percent goal estab- 23 lished pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision. 24 d. As used in this subdivision, the following terms shall have the 25 following meanings: 26 (1) "Parking facility" shall mean a parking garage, open parking lot 27 or other parking facility owned and/or operated by the state university EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD14077-01-5 
 S. 8696 2 1 of New York, that offers parking spaces for the purposes of public use, 2 faculty and staff use, student use, or pay-per-usage. 3 (2) "Solar canopy" shall mean a system designed to capture solar radi- 4 ation for the purpose of producing usable energy. 5 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.