Bill Text: NY S04707 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a tax credit for farmers who maximize carbon sequestration potential through a "carbon farming" land management strategy; directs DEC to develop regulations related to certifying the amount of carbon sequestered or emissions reduced.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-05-31 - referred to agriculture [S04707 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S04707-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4707 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 9, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, the tax law and the environmental conservation law, in relation to enacting the carbon farming act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "carbon 2 farming act". 3 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and declares 4 that soil and vegetation management can significantly enhance soil and 5 carbon sequestration, resulting in a wide range of environmental and 6 agricultural benefits to New York farmers and residents, including: 7 increased yields; soil health; improved water quality; and reductions in 8 greenhouse gases. The legislature further declares that enhancing carbon 9 sequestration, the long term storage of carbon in plants, soils, geolog- 10 ic formations and the ocean, through farming is in the best interest of 11 New Yorkers. It is therefore the intent of the legislature and the 12 purpose of this act to encourage farmers to further sequester and miti- 13 gate carbon in this state by establishing a carbon farming tax credit to 14 reward and incentivize farmers to maintain or adopt practices that help 15 maximize New York's carbon sequestration potential. 16 § 3. Section 150 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by 17 adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows: 18 5. "Carbon farming" means the implementation of a land management 19 strategy for the purposes of reducing, sequestering, and mitigating 20 greenhouse gas emissions on land used in support of a farm operation and 21 quantifying those greenhouse gas benefits using the United States 22 Department of Agriculture's COMET-Planner, COMET-Farm, and other quanti- 23 fication tools. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05200-01-1S. 4707 2 1 § 4. Section 210-B of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivi- 2 sion 55 to read as follows: 3 55. Carbon farming credit. (a) Allowance of credit. A taxpayer that is 4 an agricultural business that produces farm products shall be allowed a 5 credit against the tax imposed by this article for the practice of 6 carbon farming. 7 (b) Definitions. For purposes of this section the following terms 8 shall have the following meanings: 9 (i) "carbon farming" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 10 subdivision five of section one hundred fifty of the agriculture and 11 markets law; 12 (ii) "farm products" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 13 subdivision five of section two of the agriculture and markets law; and 14 (iii) "carbon sequestration" shall mean the long term storage of 15 carbon in plants and soils. 16 (c) Such credit shall be calculated based on the economic value of 17 carbon farming as determined by the commissioner of environmental 18 conservation, in consultation with the commissioner of agriculture and 19 markets and the commissioner pursuant to paragraph ccc of subdivision 20 two of section 3-0301 of the environmental conservation law. 21 (d) The taxpayer shall attach to its tax return its final certificate 22 of eligibility issued by the commissioner of environmental conservation 23 pursuant to section 19-0309 of the environmental conservation law. In no 24 event shall the taxpayer be allowed a credit greater than the amount of 25 the credit listed on the final certificate verifying the emissions 26 reductions to be credited to the taxpayer. 27 (e) If the amount of the credit allowable under this subdivision for 28 any taxable year shall exceed the taxpayer's tax for such year, any 29 amount of credit not deductible in such taxable year may be carried over 30 to the following three years, and may be deducted for the taxpayer for 31 such year. 32 § 5. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection 33 (kkk) to read as follows: 34 (kkk) Carbon farming credit. (1) Allowance of credit. A taxpayer who 35 provides farm products and who practices carbon farming shall be allowed 36 a credit against the tax imposed by this article. 37 (2) Definitions. For the purposes of this subsection, the following 38 definitions shall apply: 39 (A) "Farm products" shall have the same meaning as set forth in subdi- 40 vision five of section two of the agriculture and markets law. 41 (B) "Carbon farming" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 42 subdivision five of section one hundred fifty of the agriculture and 43 markets law. 44 (3) Application of credit. Such credit shall be calculated based on 45 the economic value of carbon farming as determined by the commissioner 46 of environmental conservation, in consultation with the commissioner of 47 agriculture and markets pursuant to paragraph ccc of subdivision two of 48 section 3-0301 of the environmental conservation law. 49 (4) Certification required. The taxpayer shall attach to its tax 50 return its final certificate of eligibility issued by the commissioner 51 of environmental conservation pursuant to section 19-0309 of the envi- 52 ronmental conservation law. In no event shall the taxpayer be allowed a 53 credit greater than the amount of the credit listed on the final certif- 54 icate verifying the emissions reductions to be credited to the taxpayer. 55 (5) Carryover of credit. If the amount of the credit allowable under 56 this subsection for any taxable year shall exceed the taxpayer's tax forS. 4707 3 1 such year, any amount of credit not deductible in such taxable year may 2 be carried over to the following three years, and may be deducted for 3 the taxpayer for such year. 4 § 6. Subdivision 2 of section 3-0301 of the environmental conservation 5 law is amended by adding a new paragraph ccc to read as follows: 6 ccc. Cooperate with the department of agriculture and markets to 7 develop educational materials to promote and encourage carbon farming. 8 Such materials shall promote farming practices which reduce, sequester 9 and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions through the implementation of 10 carbon farming strategies and on land used in support of a farm opera- 11 tion; and develop and codify a metric to quantify the storage of carbon 12 using the United States Department of Agriculture's COMET-Planner, 13 COMET-Farm, and other quantification tools. The department shall develop 14 and distribute an application and certification procedure which verifies 15 the carbon stored to be credited to each farm. The department may 16 promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement this section. 17 § 7. Subdivision 1 of section 19-0309 of the environmental conserva- 18 tion law, as amended by chapter 817 of the laws of 1987, is amended to 19 read as follows: 20 1. For the purposes of sections 208, 210, 606 and 612 of the Tax Law, 21 the commissioner or his designated representative is hereby authorized 22 to issue certificates of compliance concerning air pollution control 23 facilities [and], air pollution controlled process facilities and carbon 24 farming as defined in such law. No such certificate shall be issued 25 unless the facility to which it is applicable is in compliance with 26 applicable provisions of titles 1 to 11, inclusive, and title 19 of 27 article 17, article 19, and title 1 of article 27 of this chapter; of 28 the Public Health Law; of the state sanitary code and of codes, rules, 29 regulations, permits or orders issued pursuant thereto. 30 § 8. Section 16 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by 31 adding a new subdivision 52 to read as follow: 32 52. Cooperate with the department of environmental conservation to 33 develop educational materials to encourage carbon farming and how to 34 use the United States Department of Agriculture's COMET-Planner, COMET- 35 Farm, and other carbon quantification tools. The program shall promote 36 farming practices which reduce, sequester and mitigate greenhouse gas 37 emissions on land used in support of a farm operation. The department 38 shall promote the carbon farming tax credit provided in sections two 39 hundred ten-B and six hundred six of the tax law. 40 § 9. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 41 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment, 42 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation 43 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 44 completed on or before such effective date.