Bill Text: NY A04224 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the natural carbon sequestration research program to develop innovative science-based solutions to facilitate sequestration of carbon in New York's natural and working lands.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to energy [A04224 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04224-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4224

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. KELLES -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Energy

        AN  ACT  to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to estab-
          lishing the natural carbon sequestration research program

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new
     2  section 151-j to read as follows:
     3    § 151-j. Natural carbon sequestration research program.  1.  There  is
     4  hereby  established  the  natural carbon sequestration research program.
     5  The purpose of  the  program  is  to  develop  innovative  science-based
     6  solutions  to  facilitate  sequestration of carbon in New York's natural
     7  and working lands in ways that decrease total greenhouse gas  emissions.
     8  In developing the program, the New York state college of agriculture and
     9  life sciences as named pursuant to section fifty-seven hundred twelve of
    10  the  education  law shall conduct, support, and develop technologies and
    11  management strategies, along with verification systems to facilitate the
    12  natural drawdown of carbon from the atmosphere and storage underground.
    13    2. Subject to available appropriations, the  program  shall  consider,
    14  but  not  be  limited to, the following:  stabilizing existing carbon in
    15  the soil, increasing carbon  sequestration  through  new  practices  and
    16  cropping  systems,  purposefully  amending  the  soil  with  biochar and
    17  compost to boost total soil carbon and promote greenhouse gas life cycle
    18  benefits, advancing direct air capture of carbon dioxide in farmland and
    19  landscapes through enhanced weathering, utilizing other innovative tech-
    20  nologies, and the synergies between such approaches, including  agrofor-
    21  estry  and  reforestation  to  store carbon in both trees and soil while
    22  producing ancillary benefits for working lands.   The  research  program
    23  shall  also  demonstrate  successful  technologies  in  pilot  locations
    24  throughout the state of New York, utilize the Cornell Cooperative Exten-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03424-05-3
        A. 4224                             2

     1  sion system for knowledge transfer, and  prepare  annual  reports  which
     2  shall be publicly disseminated.
     3    3.  The  program shall include, but not be limited to, research on the
     4  following topics, consistent with New York state's climate goals:
     5    (a)  methods  to  sequester  carbon  in  soils  through   nature-based
     6  solutions;
     7    (b)  improvement  or  enhancement  of photosynthesis in plant life and
     8  delivery to soil to facilitate carbon sequestration;
     9    (c) development and deployment of technologies to measure,  model  and
    10  verify carbon storage in natural and working lands;
    11    (d)  research  that facilitates productive agroforestry, afforestation
    12  and  reforestation,  including  research  that   facilitates   increased
    13  nature-based carbon storage in peatlands and wetlands; and
    14    (e)  research that quantifies total greenhouse gas benefits, including
    15  but not limited to nitrous oxide, methane and  carbon,  to  assure  that
    16  there are overall greenhouse gas emission benefits.
    17    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.