Bill Text: NY S08179 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
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; provides funding for such program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-31 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [S08179 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S08179-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8179 IN SENATE January 31, 2022 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni- cations AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to establishing the natural carbon sequestration research program; and to amend part W of chapter 58 of the laws of 2021 authorizing the energy research and development authority to finance a portion of its research, develop- ment and demonstration, policy and planning, and Fuel NY program, as well as climate change related expenses of the department of environ- mental conservation and the department of agriculture and markets' Fuel NY program, from an assessment on gas and electric corporations, in relation to funding for 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 public authorities law is amended by adding a new 2 section 1884 to read as follows: 3 § 1884. 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. The program shall consider, but not be limited to, the following: 14 stabilizing existing carbon in the soil, increasing carbon sequestration 15 through new practices and cropping systems, purposefully amending the 16 soil with biochar and compost to boost total soil carbon and promote 17 greenhouse gas life cycle benefits, advancing direct air capture of 18 carbon dioxide in farmland and landscapes through enhanced weathering, 19 utilizing other innovative technologies, and the synergies between such EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14342-02-2S. 8179 2 1 approaches, including agroforestry and reforestation to store carbon in 2 both trees and soil while producing ancillary benefits for working 3 lands. The research program shall also demonstrate successful technolo- 4 gies in pilot locations throughout the state of New York and utilize the 5 Cornell Cooperative Extension system for knowledge transfer. 6 3. The program shall include, but not be limited to, research on the 7 following topics, consistent with New York state's climate goals: 8 (a) methods to sequester carbon in soils through nature-based 9 solutions; 10 (b) improvement or enhancement of photosynthesis in plant life and 11 delivery to soil to facilitate carbon sequestration; 12 (c) development and deployment of technologies to measure, model and 13 verify carbon storage in natural and working lands; 14 (d) research that facilitates productive agroforestry, afforestation 15 and reforestation, including research that facilitates increased 16 nature-based carbon storage in peatlands and wetlands; and 17 (e) research that quantifies total greenhouse gas benefits, including 18 but not limited to nitrous oxide, methane and carbon, to assure that 19 there are overall greenhouse gas emission benefits. 20 § 2. Section 1 of part W of chapter 58 of the laws of 2021 authorizing 21 the energy research and development authority to finance a portion of 22 its research, development and demonstration, policy and planning, and 23 Fuel NY program, as well as climate change related expenses of the 24 department of environmental conservation and the department of agricul- 25 ture and markets' Fuel NY program, from an assessment on gas and elec- 26 tric corporations is amended to read as follows: 27 Section 1. Expenditures of moneys by the New York state energy 28 research and development authority for services and expenses of the 29 energy research, development and demonstration program, including 30 grants, the energy policy and planning program, the zero emissions vehi- 31 cle and electric vehicle rebate program, and the Fuel NY program shall 32 be subject to the provisions of this section. Notwithstanding the 33 provisions of subdivision 4-a of section 18-a of the public service law, 34 all moneys committed or expended in an amount not to exceed $22,700,000 35 shall be reimbursed by assessment against gas corporations, as defined 36 in subdivision 11 of section 2 of the public service law and electric 37 corporations as defined in subdivision 13 of section 2 of the public 38 service law, where such gas corporations and electric corporations have 39 gross revenues from intrastate utility operations in excess of $500,000 40 in the preceding calendar year, and the total amount assessed shall be 41 allocated to each electric corporation and gas corporation in proportion 42 to its intrastate electricity and gas revenues in the calendar year 43 2019. Such amounts shall be excluded from the general assessment 44 provisions of subdivision 2 of section 18-a of the public service law. 45 The chair of the public service commission shall bill such gas and/or 46 electric corporations for such amounts on or before August 10, 2021 and 47 such amounts shall be paid to the New York state energy research and 48 development authority on or before September 10, 2021. Upon receipt, the 49 New York state energy research and development authority shall deposit 50 such funds in the energy research and development operating fund estab- 51 lished pursuant to section 1859 of the public authorities law. The New 52 York state energy research and development authority is authorized and 53 directed to: (1) transfer up to $4 million to the state general fund for 54 climate change related services and expenses of the department of envi- 55 ronmental conservation, $150,000 to the state general fund for services 56 and expenses of the department of agriculture and markets, [and]S. 8179 3 1 $825,000 to the University of Rochester laboratory for laser energetics, 2 and $1,000,000 to the New York State College of Agriculture and Life 3 Sciences' natural carbon sequestriation research program from the funds 4 received; and (2) commencing in 2016, provide to the chair of the public 5 service commission and the director of the budget and the chairs and 6 secretaries of the legislative fiscal committees, on or before August 7 first of each year, an itemized record, certified by the president and 8 chief executive officer of the authority, or his or her designee, 9 detailing any and all expenditures and commitments ascribable to moneys 10 received as a result of this assessment by the chair of the department 11 of public service pursuant to section 18-a of the public service law. 12 This itemized record shall include an itemized breakdown of the programs 13 being funded by this section and the amount committed to each program. 14 The authority shall not commit for any expenditure, any moneys derived 15 from the assessment provided for in this section, until the chair of 16 such authority shall have submitted, and the director of the budget 17 shall have approved, a comprehensive financial plan encompassing all 18 moneys available to and all anticipated commitments and expenditures by 19 such authority from any source for the operations of such authority. 20 Copies of the approved comprehensive financial plan shall be immediately 21 submitted by the chair to the chairs and secretaries of the legislative 22 fiscal committees. Any such amount not committed by such authority to 23 contracts or contracts to be awarded or otherwise expended by the 24 authority during the fiscal year shall be refunded by such authority on 25 a pro-rata basis to such gas and/or electric corporations, in a manner 26 to be determined by the department of public service, and any refund 27 amounts must be explicitly lined out in the itemized record described 28 above. 29 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
