Establishes the electric landscaping equipment rebate program; provides for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Liz Krueger says this is needed

Gas-powered lawn care equipment, such as leaf blowers, weed whackers, and lawn mowers, have a significant negative impact on workers, communi- ties, and the environment. Electric equipment, on the other hand, is lighter, quieter, has lower maintenance costs, a significantly smaller environmental footprint, and is better for workers' health. This bill will encourage the adoption of electric lawn-care equipment through point-of-sale rebates. Gas-powered lawn care equipment has a large environmental footprint, emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases and harmful, smog-forming pollution. According to NYSDEC, gas-powered lawn care equipment emits hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and fine particulate matter (PM). The California Air Resources Board (CARE) has reported that operating a gas-powered lawn mower for one hour creates as much smog-forming pollution as driving an average car 300 miles, the distance from New York City to Portland, ME. Operating a gas-powered leaf blower for one hour creates as much smog-forming pollution as driv- ing a car 1,100 miles, or from New York City to Tampa, FL. According to CARS, early in this decade the total smog-forming emissions from small off-road engines, the vast majority of which are residential and commer- cial lawn and garden equipment, will exceed those from passenger cars in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Noise is also a significant negative impact from gas-powered lawn care equipment. According to a 2018 report in the Journal of Environmental and Toxicological Studies, sound levels at distances of 100 to 400 feet were up to 22 decibels louder for gas-powered leaf blowers than their battery-electric equivalents (the decibel scale is logarithmic, so each increase of 10 represents a noise ten times louder). The report goes on to say, "the measured GLB (gas-powered leaf blower) sound spectrum had a markedly greater low frequency component compared with the BLB (battery-electric leaf blower) sound spectrum, allowing it to transmit and remain audible over longer distances and have greater adverse impact on the surrounding community. Further, the low frequency component of GLBs enabled their sound to transmit more readily through windows and glass doors of homes. Application of a measure of loudness as perceived by the human ear suggests that GLBs can often be heard up to several times louder than BLBs in outdoor and indoor settings. In actual settings, the routine use of multiple GLBs and other noisy equip- ment for hours a day exposes not only workers but large numbers of people in the community to harmful levels of noise and threatens not only worker health, but public health, particularly of children, seniors, and other vulnerable populations." NYSDEC has found that a gas-powered leaf blower rated at 70 dB at 50 feet may reach noise levels over 105 dB at the operator's ears, which is a noise level equivalent to a table saw. The Journal of Environmental and Toxicological Studies report found that in 2018, 170 communities in the US had enacted restrictions on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. Nearly two dozen cities, towns, and villages in New York State have bans on gas-powered leaf blowers during certain times of year. The rebate program created by this bill, based on numerous successful local programs in place in California, will incentivize commercial landscapers, and institutions to transition to electric lawn care equip- ment, with lasting benefits for workers, communities, and our shared environment.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.