Bill Text: NY S01103 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to creating the hospital and multiple dwelling energy loan program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS [S01103 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S01103-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1103

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 10, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations,  Authorities
          and Commissions

        AN ACT to amend the New York state urban development corporation act, in
          relation  to  creating  the hospital and multiple dwelling energy loan
          fund

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

     1    Section  1. The legislature hereby finds and declares that the state's
     2  high energy costs are considered a significant burden on  hospitals  and
     3  multiple dwellings. Therefore, the legislature seeks to provide funds to
     4  reduce  high  energy  costs,  via  a  zero or low interest loan, or loan
     5  interest rate  reduction  program  for  energy  efficiency  projects  to
     6  provide  fiscal relief for hospitals and multiple dwellings in the state
     7  of New York.
     8    § 2. Section 1 of chapter 174 of the laws of  1968,  constituting  the
     9  New York state urban development corporation act, is amended by adding a
    10  new section 16-bb to read as follows:
    11    § 16-bb. Hospital and multiple dwelling energy loan program. 1.  Defi-
    12  nitions. For the purpose of this section:
    13    (a)  "Authority"  shall  mean  the  New York state energy research and
    14  development authority as defined in section one thousand  eight  hundred
    15  fifty-one of the public authorities law.
    16    (b)  "Economically distressed areas" shall mean areas as determined by
    17  the corporation,  meeting  criteria  indicative  of  economic  distress,
    18  including consideration of unemployment rate; rate of employment change;
    19  numbers and percentages of low-income persons; per capita income and per
    20  capita  real  property  wealth; such other indicators of distress as the
    21  corporation shall determine. Economically distressed areas  may  include
    22  designations  such as cities, municipalities, block numbering areas, and
    23  census tracts.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01961-02-3

        S. 1103                             2

     1    (c) "Loan fund" shall mean the hospital and multiple  dwelling  energy
     2  loan fund established pursuant to this section.
     3    (d)  "Hospital" shall have the same meaning as provided in subdivision
     4  one of section two thousand eight hundred one of the public health law.
     5    (e) "Multiple dwelling" shall have the same  meaning  as  provided  in
     6  subdivision seven of section four of the multiple dwelling law and shall
     7  include multiple dwellings located in New York state.
     8    2.  (a)  The  corporation, with the assistance of the authority, shall
     9  establish a hospital and multiple dwelling energy loan fund  to  provide
    10  zero  or  low interest loans and loan interest rate reductions to hospi-
    11  tals and multiple dwellings in both economically  distressed  areas  and
    12  non-economically   distressed  areas  statewide  for  energy  efficiency
    13  projects and advanced energy technologies.
    14    (b) In order to be eligible  to  participate  in  this  loan  program,
    15  hospitals  and  multiple dwellings in both economically distressed areas
    16  and non-economically distressed areas  statewide  must  have  an  energy
    17  audit  provided  through the authority's energy audit program that makes
    18  informed electrical energy decisions  and  implement  energy  efficiency
    19  strategies.  Technologies identified in such audit shall become eligible
    20  technologies for which monies for the loan fund may be available.
    21    3. (a) The corporation shall, within available appropriations, provide
    22  financial assistance from the loan fund to eligible hospitals and multi-
    23  ple dwellings in both economically distressed areas and non-economically
    24  distressed areas statewide.
    25    (b)  The  corporation  is  authorized  to provide zero or low interest
    26  loans from the loan fund for eligible improvements. To be  eligible  for
    27  such  loans,  a  hospital  and multiple dwelling in both an economically
    28  distressed area and non-economically  distressed  area  statewide  shall
    29  identify  an eligible improvement project and provide necessary documen-
    30  tation.  Hospitals  and  multiple  dwellings   based   in   economically
    31  distressed  areas  statewide shall receive at least sixty percent of the
    32  total dollar amount of loans provided  to  all  hospitals  and  multiple
    33  dwellings in a given year from the hospital and multiple dwelling energy
    34  loan fund.
    35    (c)(i)  The  corporation  is  authorized to provide loan interest rate
    36  reductions from the loan fund for eligible improvements. To be  eligible
    37  for an interest rate reduction, a hospital and multiple dwelling in both
    38  an  economically  distressed  area  and non-economically distressed area
    39  statewide shall:
    40    (1) identify an eligible improvement  project  and  provide  necessary
    41  documentation,  and  (2)  receive a loan commitment from a participating
    42  lender, including banks, credit unions, community development  financial
    43  institutions, and farm credit associations.
    44    (ii) The corporation is authorized to buy down the participating lend-
    45  er's  interest  rate  by up to four hundred basis points or four percent
    46  through the loan fund. Such interest rate reductions shall be  available
    47  for the lesser of ten years or the life of the loan.
    48    (d)  Loans  provided  by  the corporation or issued by a participating
    49  lender shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars.
    50    4. Energy efficiency improvements eligible for zero  or  low  interest
    51  loans  or  loan  interest  rate  reductions  through the loan fund shall
    52  include, but not be limited to:
    53    (a) Pre-qualified measures that are proven cost effective  investments
    54  which reduce energy use;
    55    (b)  Custom  measures  that  pay  for  themselves in ten years through
    56  reduced energy use;

        S. 1103                             3

     1    (c) Process improvement measures that reduce manufacturing energy  use
     2  on a cost-per-unit basis; and
     3    (d)  Renewable technologies that use the sun, wind, water or ground to
     4  generate heat or power.
     5    5. Applications for assistance  pursuant  to  this  section  shall  be
     6  reviewed  and  evaluated  by  the  corporation  in  cooperation with the
     7  authority pursuant to eligibility requirements and criteria set forth in
     8  the rules and regulations promulgated by the corporation.
     9    6. The corporation and the authority shall submit  an  annual  written
    10  report to the speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the
    11  senate  identifying  the  number  of  hospitals  and  multiple dwellings
    12  assisted through the loan fund program, and the  types  of  improvements
    13  implemented and energy cost savings realized by the hospitals and multi-
    14  ple dwellings assisted by this program.
    15    §  3.  Paragraph  (m) of subdivision 1 of section 16-m of section 1 of
    16  chapter 174 of the laws of 1968, constituting the New York  state  urban
    17  development  corporation  act,  as  added  by chapter 467 of the laws of
    18  2011, is amended and a new paragraph (p) is added to read as follows:
    19    (m) Assistance to businesses that conduct basic, applied  or  transla-
    20  tional  research  that leads to the development of products that improve
    21  human health or agriculture and that require  approval  by  the  federal
    22  food  and  drug administration, in order to create or expand facilities,
    23  in accordance with good manufacturing practice  regulations,  that  will
    24  create  or  retain more than fifty jobs. For purposes of this paragraph,
    25  good manufacturing practice  regulations  refers  to  those  regulations
    26  promulgated  by the United States Food and Drug Administration under the
    27  authority of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act[.];
    28    (p) Loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidy grants and direct  grants
    29  to hospitals and multiple dwellings under section sixteen-bb of this act
    30  for energy efficiency projects and advanced energy technologies.
    31    §  4.  This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
    32  the amendments to section 16-m of the New York state  urban  development
    33  corporation  act  made by section three of this act shall not affect the
    34  expiration of such section and shall expire and be deemed repealed ther-
    35  ewith.
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