Bill Text: NY A09328 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Requires certain funds received by the New York state energy research and development authority that are related to renewables development on viable agricultural lands to be used for farmland protection programs; establishes the agricultural and farmland viability protection fund.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2022-06-02 - RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY [A09328 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A09328-Amended.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         9328--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 23, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Energy -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted
          as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the executive law and the state finance law, in relation
          to requiring funds received pursuant to  mitigation  payment  require-
          ments in furtherance of the major renewable energy development program
          to be used for farmland protection programs

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

     1    Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of section 94-c of the exec-
     2  utive law, as added by section 4 of part JJJ of chapter 58 of  the  laws
     3  of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (e)  (i)  To  the extent that environmental impacts are not completely
     5  addressed by uniform standards and conditions and  site-specific  permit
     6  conditions  proposed by the office, and the office determines that miti-
     7  gation of such impacts may  be  achieved  by  off-site  mitigation,  the
     8  office  may  require  payment  of a fee by the applicant to achieve such
     9  off-site mitigation. If the office determines, in consultation with  the
    10  department  of environmental conservation, that mitigation of impacts to
    11  endangered or threatened species that achieves a net conservation  bene-
    12  fit  can  be  achieved by off-site mitigation, the amount to be paid for
    13  such off-site mitigation shall be set forth in the final siting  permit.
    14  The  office  may  require  payment of funds sufficient to implement such
    15  off-site mitigation into the endangered  and  threatened  species  miti-
    16  gation  bank  fund established pursuant to section ninety-nine-hh of the
    17  state finance law.
    18    (ii) To the extent a permit to develop a major renewable energy facil-
    19  ity involves siting such a  facility  on  viable  agricultural  land  as
    20  defined in section three hundred one of the agriculture and markets law,
    21  the  office,  in  consultation  with  the  department of agriculture and
    22  markets, shall require the payment of a fee by the applicant to be  used
    23  for  farmland protection conservation easements and purchase of develop-
    24  ment rights as part of the state farmland protection program established
    25  pursuant to article twenty-five-AAA of the agriculture and markets  law.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14036-04-2
        A. 9328--A                          2

     1  Such  funds will be deposited in the agricultural and farmland viability
     2  protection fund pursuant to section ninety-nine-pp of the state  finance
     3  law.
     4    § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-pp to
     5  read as follows:
     6    §  99-pp.  Agricultural  and  farmland viability protection fund.   1.
     7  There is hereby established in the joint custody of the comptroller  and
     8  the  commissioner  of taxation and finance a special fund to be known as
     9  the "agricultural and farmland viability protection fund".
    10    2. Such fund shall consist of all revenues received  pursuant  to  the
    11  provisions  of  paragraph  (e) of section ninety-four-c of the executive
    12  law and all other moneys appropriated, credited, or transferred  thereto
    13  from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
    14    3.  All  moneys  deposited  in the agricultural and farmland viability
    15  protection  fund  shall  be  available  for  agricultural  and  farmland
    16  protection  activities  pursuant to article twenty-five-AAA of the agri-
    17  culture and markets law.
    18    4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and  warrant  of
    19  the  comptroller  on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner
    20  of agriculture and markets.
    21    § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    22  have  become  a law and shall apply to all permit applications issued on
    23  and after such date; provided that the amendments to section 94-c of the
    24  executive law made by section one of  this  act  shall  not  affect  the
    25  repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.