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A08372 Summary:

BILL NOA08372
 
SAME ASSAME AS S06037
 
SPONSORCahill
 
COSPNSRLifton, Steck, Jaffee, Robinson, Gottfried, Blake, Sepulveda, Walker
 
MLTSPNSRCook, Rodriguez, Thiele
 
Add Art 12-B SS289-g - 289-k, Tax L
 
Establishes a tax on carbon-based fuels.
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A08372 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A8372
 
SPONSOR: Cahill (MS)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the tax law, in relation to establish- ing a tax on carbon-based fuels to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions causing anthropogenic climate change   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To assist in NY's goal to substantially reduce CO2 emissions, while investing in clean energy and modernized infrastructure.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: § 289-g of Section 1 provides definitions for "carbon-based fuel," "carbon generated electricity," "carbon dioxide equivalent," "carbon dioxide emissions tax," "fuel distributor," "carbon dioxide emissions fund (fund)," "motor vehicle fuel," and "utility." § 289-h of Section 1 provides for the administration of emissions charg- es. § 289-i of Section 1 provides for the establishment of the carbon diox- ide emissions tax. § 289-j of Section 1 provides for development of a carbon dioxide emis- sions fund. § 289-k of Section 1 allows for the Departments of Taxation & Finance and Environmental Conservation to promulgate rules and regs. Section 2 provides that this act shall take effect 90 days after being signed into law and that all rules/regs are completed before the effec- tive date.   JUSTIFICATION: This carbon tax bill will reduce carbon emissions in New York State, helping New York to reach its target of reducing carbon dioxide emis- sions by 80% of 1990 levels by the year 2050. The bill aims to protect the poorest classes while using a portion of the revenue to adapt to climate change, increase investment in infrastructure, and enhance the use of renewable energy. Hence the bill is revenue neutral for the most vulnerable groups, and uses revenue from less vulnerable groups to offset the impacts and prevent future climate change. The scientific community has widely recognized the imminent threat presented by climate change, and a market-based solution offsetting climate altering emissions will play a large role in preventing the irreversible impacts of a warmer climate. Already New York State has witnessed the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy and other extreme weather events. A market - based solution such as a carbon tax has been embraced widely by economists, including those in New York State, as well as by citizens' groups and political leaders on both sides of the aisle.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new bill.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: TBD.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This bill would take effect 90 days after becoming law.
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A08372 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          8372
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     August 24, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. CAHILL, LIFTON -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Ways and Means
 
        AN ACT to amend the tax law,  in  relation  to  establishing  a  tax  on
          carbon-based  fuels  to  mitigate  greenhouse  gas  emissions  causing
          anthropogenic climate change
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The tax law is amended by adding a new article 12-B to read
     2  as follows:
     3                                ARTICLE 12-B
     4                          TAX ON CARBON-BASED FUELS
     5  Section 289-g. Definitions.
     6          289-h. Administration of emissions charges.
     7          289-i. Carbon dioxide emissions tax.
     8          289-j. Carbon dioxide emissions fund.
     9          289-k. Regulations.
    10    §  289-g. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following
    11  terms shall have the following meanings:
    12    1. "Carbon-based fuel" means coal,  natural  gas,  renewable  biomass,
    13  petroleum products, and any other product that contains carbon and emits
    14  carbon  dioxide,  methane, nitrous oxide, or other greenhouse gases when
    15  combusted, that are used for fuel, heating, cooling, or industrial proc-
    16  esses, which processes shall include electricity generation.
    17    2. "Carbon-generated electricity" means electric energy produced using
    18  a carbon-based fuel that is generated  or  transmitted  by  an  electric
    19  power facility.
    20    3.  "Carbon  dioxide  equivalent" means a unit of measure denoting the
    21  amount of emissions from a greenhouse gas, expressed as  the  amount  of
    22  carbon dioxide by weight that produces the same global warming impact.
    23    4.  "Carbon  dioxide emissions tax" means a tax imposed on each ton of
    24  carbon dioxide equivalency.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11871-02-5

        A. 8372                             2
 
     1    5. "Fuel distributor" means any person, firm,  association  or  corpo-
     2  ration,  that  imports or causes to be imported into the state, for use,
     3  distribution, storage or sale within the state, any carbon-based fuel as
     4  defined in subdivision one of this section; and also any  person,  firm,
     5  association  or  corporation  that  produces,  refines,  manufactures or
     6  compounds carbon-based fuel within the state.
     7    6. "Fund" means the carbon dioxide emissions fund established by  this
     8  article.
     9    7.  "Motor vehicle fuel" means fuel for the operation of a motor vehi-
    10  cle.
    11    8. "Utility" means any such gas corporation, electric corporation, gas
    12  and electric corporation, steam corporation, municipality, or any entity
    13  that, in any manner,  sells  or  facilitates  the  sale,  furnishing  or
    14  provision  of  gas  or  electronic  commodity  to residential customers;
    15  provided, however, that the term shall not include any municipality that
    16  is exempt from regulation by the public service commission  pursuant  to
    17  paragraph  g  of  subdivision  five  of section one thousand five of the
    18  public authorities law.
    19    § 289-h. Administration of emissions charges. The department of  envi-
    20  ronmental  conservation shall administer the schedules of carbon dioxide
    21  emissions charges and the carbon dioxide  emissions  fund,  both  estab-
    22  lished  pursuant to this article. Such tax shall be imposed on each fuel
    23  distributor and utility at a rate and schedule to be determined  by  the
    24  department  of environmental conservation in accordance with section two
    25  hundred eighty-nine-i of this article for a carbon-based  fuel  that  is
    26  either:
    27    1. sold by a fuel distributor to consumers in this state in the previ-
    28  ous calendar year; or
    29    2.  used to produce carbon-generated electricity that is supplied by a
    30  utility to consumers in this state in the previous calendar year.
    31    § 289-i. Carbon dioxide emissions  tax.  1.  The  department  and  the
    32  department  of environmental conservation shall establish a carbon diox-
    33  ide emissions tax on the distribution  or  sale  of  carbon-based  fuels
    34  which  shall be no less than thirty-five dollars per ton of carbon diox-
    35  ide equivalency and shall increase by fifteen dollars per ton of  carbon
    36  dioxide  equivalency  annually  to  a maximum of one hundred eighty-five
    37  dollars per ton of carbon dioxide equivalency.
    38    2. In the fourth year of implementation,  and  biannually  thereafter,
    39  the  department of environmental conservation shall publish a report for
    40  the legislature and shall post the report on an internet website  acces-
    41  sible to the public. Such report shall consider whether any increases or
    42  decreases  in  the  carbon  dioxide  emissions tax as authorized by this
    43  section are recommended to account for inflation, and to ensure progress
    44  towards reaching emissions levels to mitigate climate change in further-
    45  ance of established state policy.
    46    3. The department shall determine total taxable emissions annually for
    47  each distributor or utility using the carbon dioxide equivalent for each
    48  carbon-based fuel based on information that  shall  be  provided  in  an
    49  annual  report to the department by the distributor or utility about the
    50  amount of carbon-based fuel  or  carbon-generated  electricity  sold  to
    51  consumers  within  the  state  during  the preceding calendar year. Such
    52  annual report shall also include any information required by the depart-
    53  ment by rule or regulation.
    54    4. The department and the  department  of  environmental  conservation
    55  shall  be  authorized  to  develop  any  rule or regulation necessary to

        A. 8372                             3
 
     1  collect and administer the carbon dioxide emissions tax authorized under
     2  this article.
     3    5. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the tax
     4  authorized  under  this section shall not be imposed on any carbon-based
     5  fuel or source of carbon-based electricity if such imposition is  super-
     6  seded by federal law or regulation.
     7    §  289-j. Carbon dioxide emissions fund. 1. The department of environ-
     8  mental conservation shall establish the carbon dioxide  emissions  fund,
     9  and  the department's office of climate change shall serve as the fund's
    10  administrator. The department of environmental conservation shall depos-
    11  it all proceeds collected in accordance with section two hundred  eight-
    12  y-nine-i  of  this  article  into  the fund. No such proceeds shall fund
    13  government operations of the state, other than  to  pay  for  reasonable
    14  administrative costs as provided under subdivision two of this section.
    15    2.  The  office  of  climate  change shall return sixty percent of all
    16  carbon dioxide emissions charge proceeds to very low to moderate  income
    17  residents of the state in the form of tax credits in order to offset the
    18  regressive nature of such fees. The amount of such credit shall be based
    19  on estimates and averages of expense and consumption trends for very low
    20  to  moderate income residents determined by the office of climate change
    21  in conjunction with  the  department  in  accordance  with  section  two
    22  hundred eighty-nine-k of this article. Such credit shall be progressive-
    23  ly  issued to very low to moderate income residents. Such income catego-
    24  ries shall mean those with income  below  fifty  percent  for  very  low
    25  income residents, income between fifty and eighty percent for low income
    26  residents, and income between eighty-one and one hundred fifteen percent
    27  for  moderate  income residents, of the area median income as determined
    28  by the department of housing and urban development.
    29    3. The office of climate change shall distribute evenly the  remaining
    30  forty  percent  of proceeds of such fund in order to support the transi-
    31  tion to one hundred percent clean energy in the state, to  support  mass
    32  transit  to reduce carbon emissions, and to improve climate change adap-
    33  tation. Such funds shall include but not  be  limited  to  payments  and
    34  subsidies for renewable energy, energy conservation and efficiency meas-
    35  ures,  improvements  in  infrastructure,  improvements  in  mass transit
    36  capacity, agricultural  adaptation  measures,  protection  of  low-lying
    37  areas  including  coastlines, and emergency responses to extreme weather
    38  events.
    39    § 289-k. Regulations. 1. The department  and  department  of  environ-
    40  mental conservation shall promulgate such rules and regulations as shall
    41  be necessary to implement the provisions of this article.
    42    2.  The  department  and  the department of environmental conservation
    43  shall undertake all reasonable efforts  to  collect  charges  authorized
    44  pursuant  to  this  article  at  the first point of distribution or sale
    45  within the state.
    46    § 2. This act shall take effect ninety days after it shall have become
    47  a law; provided, however,  that  effective  immediately,  the  addition,
    48  amendment  and/or  repeal  of  any  rule or regulation necessary for the
    49  implementation of this act on  its  effective  date  is  authorized  and
    50  directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
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