BILL NUMBER: S6883
SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the tax law and the environmental conservation law, in
relation to establishing a bivalve mollusk shell recycling tax credit
 
PURPOSE:
This bill will create an oyster shell recycling tax credit in New York
State.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends Section 210-B of the tax law by adding a new subdivi-
sion 61.
Section two amends Section 606 of the tax law by adding a new subsection
(qqq).
Section three amends Subparagraph (B) of paragraph 1 of subsection (i)
of section 606 of the tax law by adding a new clause (Iii).
Section four amends Subdivision 1 of section 3-0301 of the environmental
conservation law by adding a new paragraph (ee).
Section five sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Oysters have always been a staple of the New York Harbor, at one time
covering as many as 220,000 acres of the Hudson River estuary. Gradual-
ly, however, the oyster has become nearly extinct due to high rates of
toxicity from sewage, dredging and pollutants in the Hudson and Raritan
Rivers. While the water quality has improved, it is still by no means
suitable for the oyster species to return to normalcy.
Oysters play an integral role in the urban ecosystem. Oysters are
responsible for filtering water, providing habitats for other marine
species, and reducing wave and tidal energy. These "natural water
filters" (also called filter-feeders) remove excess nitrogen from the
water column and prevent the explosion of algae. These algae blooms can
block sunlight that underwater plants need to survive and consume
dissolved oxygen that fish need to breathe. Oysters filter the water
through their gills and digest the toxic particles. An adult oyster can
filter about 50 gallons of water per day, but there are not nearly
enough oysters to filter the New York Harbor or other similar bodies of
water.
In an effort to restore the oyster population and naturally clean the
New York Harbor, environmental organizations, such as the Billion Oyster
Project, administer a voluntary program whereby restaurants can donate
oyster shells that the Billion Oyster Project uses to grow new oysters
that are put back into New York Harbor. Over 60 restaurants voluntarily
participate in this program in New York City and hundreds of thousands
of pounds of shells are collected and put (after growing new oyster
spat) into New York Harbor each year. Each restaurant incurs time and
expense for its employees to collect and prepare the oysters shells for
donations.
This bill will provide a tax credit in an amount equal to $0.10 for each
pound of oyster shells recycled during the tax year, not to exceed
$1,000.00 per taxpayer. Other states, such as Maryland and North Caroli-
na, already have similar legislation in place to encourage more oyster
shell donations. Not only will this improve the quality of water in the
Hudson River and surrounding bodies, but it will also create a cleaner
New York Harbor for all species.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.92A - Referred to Ways & Means; S.8436 - Referred to Investi-
gations & Government Operations
2021-22: A.258 - Referred to Ways and Means; S.4741- Referred to Budget
and Revenue
2019-20: A.655-A - Referred to Ways and Means; S.4718-A - Referred to
Budget and Revenue
2017-18: A.584 - Referred to Ways and Means
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable years
beginning on or after January 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
S6883: 210-B tax law, 606 tax law, 606(i) tax law, 3-0301 environmental conservation law, 3-0301(1) environmental conservation law