STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6754
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 29, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FAHY -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law and the tax law, in relation to allow-
ing for reimbursement of school districts for the purchase or lease of
electric school buses
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative Findings. The Legislature hereby finds that New
2 York State has an interest in lessening the effects of climate change,
3 as demonstrated by the passage of the Climate Leadership and Community
4 Protection Act (CLCPA). The Legislature finds that fuel combustion in
5 the transportation sector is the largest contributor (36%) of greenhouse
6 gas emissions in the state. The Legislature further finds that most
7 school buses in use today emit harmful diesel exhaust, contributing to
8 air pollution and its resulting health effects. The Legislature finds
9 that often, the effects of these emissions are felt disproportionately
10 by disadvantaged communities. The Legislature further finds that there
11 are over 300 school districts using bus contractors across the state to
12 transport students. The Legislature further finds that New York school
13 bus contractors transport over two million children a day. The Legisla-
14 ture further finds that the operating and maintenance costs of electric
15 buses are much lower than diesel buses--potentially saving schools thou-
16 sands of dollars per year. The Legislature hereby declares that there is
17 an interest in electrifying school transportation to garner the many
18 widespread benefits of such action, including local diesel emission
19 reductions, reduced operating and maintenance costs for schools, and the
20 overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as required by law and to
21 fight against climate change.
22 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 3623-a of the education law is amended
23 by adding a new paragraph g to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04911-01-1
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1 g. All costs incurred as related to the installation of electric vehi-
2 cle charging stations, including the cost of acquiring such electric
3 vehicle charging infrastructure, and the costs of electricity for charg-
4 ing electric vehicles used for the aidable transportation of pupils.
5 § 3. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph b of subdivision 7 of section 3602 of
6 the education law, as amended by section 17 of part B of chapter 57 of
7 the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
8 (1) For the purposes of this apportionment, approved transportation
9 operating expense shall be the actual expenditure incurred by a school
10 district and approved by the commissioner (i) for those items of trans-
11 portation operating expense allowable under subdivision one of section
12 thirty-six hundred twenty-three-a of this article for regular aidable
13 transportation of pupils as such terms are defined in sections thirty-
14 six hundred twenty-one and thirty-six hundred twenty-two-a of this arti-
15 cle, except that for those items related to the installation of electric
16 vehicle charging stations as set out in paragraph g of subdivision one
17 of section thirty-six hundred twenty-three-a, a school district may
18 apply to the New York state energy research and development authority
19 (NYSERDA) for grants to cover such costs, following rules promulgated by
20 NYSERDA, any such grant money shall not be used for any deduction
21 related to apportionment under this subdivision, and (ii) for those
22 items of transportation operating expense allowable under subdivision
23 one of section thirty-six hundred twenty-three-a of this article for the
24 transportation required or authorized pursuant to article eighty-nine of
25 this chapter, and (iii) for providing monitors on school buses for
26 students with disabilities, and (iv) for transportation operating
27 expenses allowable under section thirty-six hundred twenty-three-a of
28 this article for the transportation of homeless children authorized by
29 paragraph c of subdivision four of section thirty-two hundred nine of
30 this chapter, provided that the total approved cost of such transporta-
31 tion shall not exceed the amount of the total cost of the most cost-ef-
32 fective mode of transportation.
33 § 4. Subdivision 7 of section 3602 of the education law is amended by
34 adding a new paragraph f to read as follows:
35 f. In addition to any other apportionment under this subdivision, for
36 the two thousand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two school year and
37 every school year thereafter through the two thousand thirty school
38 year, a school district shall be eligible for an incentive apportionment
39 for the purchase or lease of one or more electric school buses or
40 contract with a provider to use electric school buses for transportation
41 of such school district's students. The amount of such incentive appor-
42 tionment under this paragraph shall be equal to: (i) ten percent of the
43 actual cost for each electric school bus, whether purchased, leased or
44 contracted, for a school district which receives between twenty percent
45 and thirty-five percent of its total revenue from state aid as reported
46 in the most recent fiscal profile produced by the commissioner; (ii)
47 fifteen percent of the actual cost for each electric school bus, whether
48 purchased, leased or contracted, for a school district which receives
49 between thirty-five and sixty percent of its total revenue from state
50 aid as reported in the most recent fiscal profile produced by the
51 commissioner; and (iii) twenty percent of the actual cost for each elec-
52 tric school bus, whether purchased, leased or contracted, for a school
53 district which receives between sixty and ninety percent of its total
54 revenue from state aid as reported in the most recent fiscal profile
55 produced by the commissioner. For the purposes of this subdivision,
56 electric school bus shall mean a school bus that is propelled by elec-
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1 tric motor and associated power electronics which provide acceleration
2 torque to the drive wheels during normal vehicle operations, and that
3 draws electricity from a hydrogen fuel cell or battery.
4 § 5. Subdivision (a) of section 1115 of the tax law is amended by
5 adding a new paragraph 46 to read as follows:
6 (46) Omnibuses, as such term is defined in article one of the vehicle
7 and traffic law that are propelled by an electric motor and associated
8 power electronics which provide acceleration torque to the drive wheels
9 during normal vehicle operations, and that draws electricity from a
10 hydrogen fuel cell or battery provided such omnibuses are outfitted in
11 accordance with subdivision twenty of section three hundred seventy-five
12 of the vehicle and traffic law, and are used to transport school chil-
13 dren by a carrier contracted by a New York state school district or
14 operating pursuant to a certificate of authority issued by the New
15 York state commissioner of transportation or by an appropriate agency
16 of the state of New York or the United States. Where receipts from
17 the sale of or consideration given or contracted to be given for the
18 purchase of an omnibus or other property has been exempted under this
19 paragraph, such receipts or consideration shall not also qualify for the
20 refund or credit described in subdivision (b) of section eleven hundred
21 nineteen of this article; where any or all of the tax on receipts from
22 the sale of or consideration given or contracted to be given for
23 the purchase of an omnibus or other property has been refunded or cred-
24 ited under such subdivision (b), no part of such receipts or
25 consideration shall be exempt under this paragraph.
26 § 6. Subparagraph i of subdivision 25 of section 1709 of the education
27 law, as added by chapter 472 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as
28 follows:
29 i. In addition to the authority granted in paragraph e of this subdi-
30 vision, the board of education shall be authorized to lease a motor
31 vehicle or vehicles to be used for the transportation of the children of
32 the district from sources other than a school district, board of cooper-
33 ative educational services or county vocational education and extension
34 board under the conditions specified in this paragraph. No such agree-
35 ment for the lease of a motor vehicle or vehicles shall be for a term of
36 more than one school year, provided that when authorized by a vote of
37 the qualified voters of the district such lease may have a term of up to
38 five years and up to ten years for electric school buses. Where the
39 board of education enters a lease of a motor vehicle or vehicles pursu-
40 ant to this paragraph for a term of one school year or less, such board
41 shall not be authorized to enter into another lease of the same or an
42 equivalent replacement vehicle or vehicles, as determined by the commis-
43 sioner, without obtaining approval of the voters.
44 § 7. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph 1 of subdivision (a) of section
45 1210 of the tax law, as amended by section 2 of part WW of chapter 60 of
46 the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
47 (ii) Any local law, ordinance or resolution enacted by any city, coun-
48 ty or school district, imposing the taxes authorized by this subdivi-
49 sion, shall omit the residential solar energy systems equipment and
50 electricity exemption provided for in subdivision (ee), the commercial
51 solar energy systems equipment and electricity exemption provided for in
52 subdivision (ii), the commercial fuel cell electricity generating
53 systems equipment and electricity generated by such equipment exemption
54 provided for in subdivision (kk), the electric omnibus exemption
55 provided for in paragraph forty-six of subdivision (a) of section eleven
56 hundred fifteen of this chapter, and the clothing and footwear exemption
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1 provided for in paragraph thirty of subdivision (a) of section eleven
2 hundred fifteen of this chapter, unless such city, county or school
3 district elects otherwise as to such residential solar energy systems
4 equipment and electricity exemption, such commercial solar energy
5 systems equipment and electricity exemption, commercial fuel cell elec-
6 tricity generating systems equipment and electricity generated by such
7 equipment exemption, the electric omnibus exemption provided for in
8 paragraph forty-six of subdivision (a) of section eleven hundred fifteen
9 of this chapter, or such clothing and footwear exemption.
10 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately; provided however, that
11 sections five and seven of this act shall take effect on the first day
12 of a sales tax quarterly period, as described in subdivision (b) of
13 section eleven hundred thirty-six of the tax law, beginning at least one
14 hundred twenty days after the date this act shall have become a law and
15 shall apply to sales made on or after such date.
