BILL NUMBER: S5853A
SPONSOR: KRUEGER
TITLE OF BILL:
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
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the bill is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve
air quality, and reduce noise pollution by promoting the adoption of
electric landscaping equipment.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends the Public Authorities Law by adding a new section
1885.
Subdivision 1: Creates the Electric Landscaping Equipment Rebate Program
within the New York State Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Subdivision 2: Definitions
Subdivision 3: Requires the creation of a rebate program at the point of
sale. Caps annual rebates at no more than $15,000 for an institutional
or commercial applicant and $300 for an individual applicant.
Subdivision 4: Authorizes NYSERDA to determine rebate eligibility, allo-
cate rebates on a first-come first-served basis, and to reduce rebate
amounts if it is determined that funds would otherwise be exhausted
prior to the end of a fiscal year.
Subdivision 5: Requires NYSERDA, after consultation with stakeholders,
to promulgate rules and regulations and conduct education and outreach
in multiple languages.
Subdivision 6: Requires NYSERDA to publish on its website on an ongoing
basis the amount of available funding remaining.
Subdivision 7: Establishes rebates for eligible lawn care devices on the
following schedule:
-edger, trimmer, hedge trimmers, chainsaw, or pole saw: up to 70% of the
purchase price, but no more than $200 per device.
-leaf blower or leaf vacuum: up to 70% of the purchase price, but no
more than $200 per device.
-walk-behind mower: up to 70% of the purchase price, but no more than
$500 per device.
-ride-on or stand-ride mower: up to 70% of the purchase price, but no
more than $5,000 per device.
-additional batteries and chargers for an eligible lawn care device: a
rebate of 100% of the purchase price for up to two batteries and one
charger per eligible lawn care device purchased.
Subdivision 8: Requires NYSERDA to issue an annual report on the status
of the program.
Section 2: Immediate effective date, deemed repealed January 1, 2032.
JUSTIFICATION:
Gas-powered snow removal and lawn care equipment, such as leaf blowers,
electric shovels, weed whackers, and lawn mowers, have a significant
negative impact on workers, communities, and the environment. Electric
equipment, on the other hand, is lighter, quieter, has lower maintenance
costs, a significantly smaller environmental footprint, and is better
for workers' health. This bill will encourage the adoption of electric
lawn-care equipment through point-of-sale rebates.
Gas-powered snow removal and lawn care equipment has a large environ-
mental footprint, emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases and harm-
ful, smog-forming pollution. According to NYSDEC, gas-powered lawn care
equipment emits hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide
(CO), and fine particulate matter (PM). The California Air Resources
Board (CARB) has reported that operating a gas-powered lawn mower for
one hour creates as much smog-forming pollution as driving an average
car 300 miles, the distance from New York City to Portland, ME. Operat-
ing a gas-powered leaf blower for one hour creates as much smog-forming
pollution as driving a car 1,100 miles, or from New York City to Tampa,
FL. According to CARB, early in this decade the total smog-forming emis-
sions from small off-road engines, the vast majority of which are resi-
dential and commercial lawn and garden equipment, will exceed those from
passenger cars in the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Noise is also a significant negative impact from gas-powered lawn care
equipment. According to a 2018 report in the Journal of Environmental
and Toxicological Studies, sound levels at distances of 100 to 400 feet
were up to 22 decibels louder for gas-powered leaf blowers than their
battery-electric equivalents (the decibel scale is logarithmic, so each
increase of 10 represents a noise ten times louder).
The report goes on to say, "the measured GLB
GAS-POWERED LEAF BLOWER
sound spectrum had a markedly greater low frequency component compared
with the BLB
BATTERY-ELECTRIC LEAF BLOWER sound spectrum, allowing it
to transmit and remain audible over longer distances and have greater
adverse impact on the surrounding community. Further, the low frequency
component of GLBs enabled their sound to transmit more readily through
windows and glass doors of homes. Application of a measure of loudness
as perceived by the human ear suggests that GLBs can often be heard up
to several times louder than BLBs in outdoor and indoor settings. In
actual settings, the routine use of multiple GLBs and other noisy equip-
ment for hours a day exposes not only workers but large numbers of
people in the community to harmful levels of noise and threatens not
only worker health, but public. health, particularly of children,
seniors, and other vulnerable populations."
NYSDEC has.found that a gas-powered leaf blower rated at 70 dB at 50
feet may reach noise levels over 105 dB at the operator's ears, which is
a noise level equivalent to a table saw.
The Journal of Environmental and Toxicological Studies report found that
in 2018, 170 communities in the US had enacted restrictions on the use
of gas-powered leaf blowers. Nearly two dozen cities, towns, and
villages in New York State have bans on gas-powered leaf blowers during
certain times of year.
The rebate program created by this bill, based on numerous successful
local programs in place in California, will incentivize individuals,
commercial landscapers, and institutions to transition to electric lawn
care equipment, with lasting benefits for workers, communities, and our
shared environment.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE:
Program funding would be provided through existing NYSERDA funding
streams.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed on January 1, 2030.