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James Skoufis

Sponsor · State Senator, District 42 · Democratic

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Senate bill · S5422 (2025-26)

Exempts from sales and use tax zero-emission school buses

Latest action Jan 7, 2026

Summary

Exempts from sales and use tax zero-emission school buses and any and all parts and pieces of equipment used in their operation.

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Where it stands

Out of committee and scheduled for a vote by the full chamber.

  1. Introduced
  2. In committee
  3. Up for a vote
  4. Passed one chamber
  5. Passed
  6. Enacted

New York State Senate

Same as A6115, the matching bill in the Assembly.

Amends the Tax Law.

Committee

Budget And Revenue · New York State Senate

Also referred to Ways and Means · New York State Assembly.

Purpose, from the sponsor's memo

This legislation exempts zero-emission school buses and the parts and equipment purchased and used in their operation from sales and compen- sating use taxes.

Filed with the bill. Read it on nysenate.gov (opens in a new tab)

Recorded votes

  • Vote: Committee vote · Budget And Revenue

    Senate Budget And RevenueMar 12, 2025Result: passed

    (6) (0) (0) (1)

Cosponsors

Jake Ashby and Kevin S. Parker

  • Democratic1
  • Republican1
See the full list on nysenate.gov (opens in a new tab)

The sponsor's argument

Why James Skoufis says this is needed

New York's enacted State Budget for Fiscal Year 2023 requires that all new school bus purchases made after July 1, 2027, be zero-emissions and all school buses on the road be zero-emissions by 2035. Private trans- portation companies that provide contract transportation are also subject to the mandate for any vehicle that transports students. Despite the significant environmental advantages of zero-emission school buses, the upfront purchase price has emerged as the greatest obstacle to their widespread use. New zero-emission school buses can cost two to three times more than a traditional new diesel school bus. Many private student transportation companies operating in the state cannot afford the upfront cost, even with the grants and other subsidies offered. Eliminating the sales tax on new zero-emission school buses would provide much-needed financial relief to private student transportation contractors that must purchase and replace their fleet with zero-emis- sion school buses by 2035. Eliminating sales tax may also accelerate the conversion of school buses to zero emission.

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.

Full history

  1. Jan 7, 2026

    Referred to committee

    REFERRED TO BUDGET AND REVENUE

    NY Senate

  2. Jan 7, 2026

    Referred to committee

    REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS

    NY Assembly

  3. Mar 12, 2025

    Reported out of committee

    REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE

    NY Senate

  4. Feb 26, 2025

    Referred to committee

    REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS

    NY Assembly

  5. Feb 21, 2025

    Referred to committee

    REFERRED TO BUDGET AND REVENUE

    NY Senate

About this record

Summary

The summary comes from NY Open Legislation, the New York State Senate's public record. For more, see How we handle summaries.

Cosponsors

The list shows the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

Party colors

Parties are shown in the same neutral colors.

Source

From NY Open Legislation, the NY Senate and Assembly, and official rosters. This record was last updated Nov 2, 2026. About our data

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