Bill Text: NY A00839 | 2023-2024 | 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; 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: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-2)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to environmental conservation [A00839 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00839-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           839

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, BENEDETTO, PAULIN, L. ROSENTHAL, LUPAR-
          DO,  HEVESI, STIRPE, OTIS, COLTON, FAHY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of
          A.  J. M. GIGLIO, 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.
    21    3. For purposes of this section:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00705-01-3

        A. 839                              2

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

        A. 839                              3

     1  ing corporation, a taxpayer who is a member of such association or is  a
     2  tenant-stockholder  may  for  the  purpose  of  this  subsection claim a
     3  proportionate share  of  the  total  expenses  as  expenditure  for  the
     4  purposes of the credit attributable to his or her principal residence.
     5    (5)  Multiple taxpayers. Where a qualified green roof is purchased and
     6  installed in a principal residence shared by two or more taxpayers,  the
     7  amount  of  the  credit  allowable  under  this subsection for each such
     8  taxpayer shall be prorated according to  the  percentage  of  the  total
     9  expenditure for such roof contributed by each taxpayer.
    10    (6)  Grants. For purposes of determining the amount of the expenditure
    11  incurred in purchasing and installing the green roof, the amount of  any
    12  federal,  state  or local grant received by the taxpayer, which was used
    13  for the purchase and/or installation of such  roof  and  which  was  not
    14  included  in  the  federal  gross  income  of the taxpayer, shall not be
    15  included in the amount of such expenditures.
    16    (7) When credit allowed. The credit provided for  in  this  subsection
    17  shall  be  allowed  with  respect  to the taxable year, commencing after
    18  January first, two thousand twenty-five, in  which  the  green  roof  is
    19  installed.
    20    (8)  Carryover  of credit. If the amount of the credit, and carryovers
    21  of such credit, allowable under this subsection  for  any  taxable  year
    22  shall exceed the taxpayer's tax for such year, such excess amount may be
    23  carried  over  to the five taxable years next following the taxable year
    24  with respect to which the credit is allowed and may be deducted from the
    25  taxpayer's tax for such year or years.
    26    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that section one
    27  of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after  it
    28  shall  have become a law and that section two of this act shall apply to
    29  taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2025.   Effective  imme-
    30  diately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
    31  necessary  for  the implementation of this act on its effective date are
    32  authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
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