Bill Text: NY A01513 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires the commissioner of environmental conservation to establish standards for and a program of inspection and certification of green roofs prior to and after installation, including standards for environmentally acceptable chemical fertilizers and the testing of runoff water for evidence of such fertilizers; further establishes a green roof installation tax credit in the amount of fifty-five percent of qualified expenditures with a credit maximum of five thousand dollars.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to environmental conservation [A01513 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A01513-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1513

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, BENEDETTO, PAULIN, L. ROSENTHAL, GALEF,
          LUPARDO,  HEVESI,  ENGLEBRIGHT, QUART, STIRPE, OTIS, ABINANTI, COLTON,
          FAHY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.  ABBATE,  J. M. GIGLIO,  GOTT-
          FRIED,  GUNTHER,  McDONOUGH,  PEOPLES-STOKES,  THIELE -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation

        AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to  pre-
          installation  review and certification of green roof materials; and to
          amend the tax law, in relation to establishing a green roof  installa-
          tion credit

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

     1    Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by  adding  a
     2  new section 3-0308 to read as follows:
     3  § 3-0308. Green roof program, inspection and certification.
     4    1.  The  commissioner  shall  develop  standards for the construction,
     5  installation and certification of green roofs that can be  eligible  for
     6  the  green  roof  installation  personal  income  tax credit pursuant to
     7  subsection (w) of section six hundred six of the tax law.   Such  stand-
     8  ards  shall  include  criteria for inspection and certification of green
     9  roof plans prior to installation and inspection after such installation.
    10  Such pre-installation criteria for certification may include, but not be
    11  limited to:  plant growth rate and drought tolerance,  appropriate  root
    12  systems  for such green roofs, appropriate plant irrigation, nutritional
    13  and maintenance requirements, potential generation of allergens and  the
    14  possible  need  for  remedial  indoor  air filtration to the subject and
    15  adjacent buildings.  Inspection and certification after installation may
    16  include, in addition to pre-installation criteria, the testing of runoff
    17  water for environmentally unacceptable levels of pollutants.
    18    2. The commissioner may delegate to municipal building inspectors  the
    19  duties  to review and approve plans and issue the certification required
    20  in subdivision one of this section.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05325-01-1

        A. 1513                             2

     1    3. For purposes of this section:
     2    a.  "Green  roof" means roofing on an eligible building that covers at
     3  least fifty percent  of  such  building's  eligible  rooftop  space  and
     4  includes (1) a weatherproof and waterproof roofing membrane layer, (2) a
     5  root  barrier  layer,  (3)  if  appropriate,  an  insulation  layer that
     6  complies with the state energy conservation  construction  code,  (4)  a
     7  drainage  layer that complies with the state uniform fire prevention and
     8  building code and is  designed  so  the  drains  can  be  inspected  and
     9  cleaned,  (5) a growth medium, including natural or simulated soil, with
    10  a depth of at least two inches, (6) if the depth of the growth medium is
    11  less than three inches, an  independent  water  holding  layer  that  is
    12  designed to prevent the rapid drying out of such medium may be required,
    13  unless  the  green  roof  contains  a  sufficient  percentage of drought
    14  resistant plants to survive, and (7) a vegetation layer covered by  live
    15  plants  such  as  (i) sedum or equally drought resistant and hardy plant
    16  species, (ii) native plant  species,  and/or  (iii)  agricultural  plant
    17  species.
    18    b.  "Eligible  building"  means  a  residential  building or mixed-use
    19  building with residential units.
    20    c. "Eligible rooftop space" means the  total  space  available  on  an
    21  eligible building to support a green roof.
    22    §  2. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection
    23  (w) to read as follows:
    24    (w) Green roof installation credit. (1) General. An individual taxpay-
    25  er shall be allowed a credit for taxable years  beginning  on  or  after
    26  January first, two thousand twenty-three against the tax imposed by this
    27  article  for  the  installation  of  a qualified green roof as certified
    28  pursuant to section 3-0308 of the environmental  conservation  law.  The
    29  amount of the credit shall be fifty-five percent of qualified green roof
    30  installation  expenditures,  but  shall not exceed the maximum credit of
    31  five thousand dollars.
    32    (2) Qualified green  roof  installation  expenditures.  (A)  The  term
    33  "qualified  green roof installation expenditures" means expenditures for
    34  the purchase, construction and installation of a certified  green  roof,
    35  as  provided  in  section  3-0308 of the environmental conservation law,
    36  which is installed in connection with residential property or  mixed-use
    37  property, which is (i) located in this state; (ii) which is owned by the
    38  taxpayer;  and (iii) which is used by the taxpayer as his or her princi-
    39  pal residence.
    40    (B) Such qualified expenditures shall include expenditures  for  plant
    41  material,  natural  or  simulated  soil irrigation and drainage systems,
    42  establishment of root systems and the labor costs properly allocable  to
    43  on-site  preparation,  assembly and original installation, architectural
    44  and engineering services, pre-installation criteria for installation and
    45  designs and plans directly related to the construction  or  installation
    46  of the qualified green roof.
    47    (C)  Such  qualified  expenditures shall not include interest or other
    48  finance charges.
    49    (3) Green roof pre-installation criteria. The term  "green  roof  pre-
    50  installation criteria" may include, but not be limited to, criteria such
    51  as  growth  rate  and  drought tolerance of selected plants, appropriate
    52  plant irrigation, nutritional and maintenance  requirements,  generation
    53  of  allergens  and  the possible need for remedial air filtration to the
    54  subject and adjacent buildings as prescribed in accordance with  section
    55  3-0308 of the environmental conservation law.

        A. 1513                             3

     1    (4)  Condominium/cooperative  housing. Where a qualified green roof is
     2  installed by a condominium management association or a cooperative hous-
     3  ing corporation, a taxpayer who is a member of such association or is  a
     4  tenant-stockholder  may  for  the  purpose  of  this  subsection claim a
     5  proportionate  share  of  the  total  expenses  as  expenditure  for the
     6  purposes of the credit attributable to his or her principal residence.
     7    (5) Multiple taxpayers. Where a qualified green roof is purchased  and
     8  installed  in a principal residence shared by two or more taxpayers, the
     9  amount of the credit allowable  under  this  subsection  for  each  such
    10  taxpayer  shall  be  prorated  according  to the percentage of the total
    11  expenditure for such roof contributed by each taxpayer.
    12    (6) Grants. For purposes of determining the amount of the  expenditure
    13  incurred  in purchasing and installing the green roof, the amount of any
    14  federal, state or local grant received by the taxpayer, which  was  used
    15  for  the  purchase  and/or  installation  of such roof and which was not
    16  included in the federal gross income  of  the  taxpayer,  shall  not  be
    17  included in the amount of such expenditures.
    18    (7)  When  credit  allowed. The credit provided for in this subsection
    19  shall be allowed with respect to  the  taxable  year,  commencing  after
    20  January  first,  two  thousand  twenty-three, in which the green roof is
    21  installed.
    22    (8) Carryover of credit. If the amount of the credit,  and  carryovers
    23  of  such  credit,  allowable  under this subsection for any taxable year
    24  shall exceed the taxpayer's tax for such year, such excess amount may be
    25  carried over to the five taxable years next following the  taxable  year
    26  with respect to which the credit is allowed and may be deducted from the
    27  taxpayer's tax for such year or years.
    28    §  3. This act shall take effect immediately provided that section one
    29  of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after  it
    30  shall  have become a law and that section two of this act shall apply to
    31  taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2023; provided, however,
    32  that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
    33  rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act  on  its
    34  effective  date  are authorized and directed to be made and completed on
    35  or before such effective date.
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