NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A142
SPONSOR: Rosenthal (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the tax law and the environmental conservation law, in
relation to establishing a bivalve mollusk shell recycling tax credit
PURPOSE:
This bill will create an oyster shell recycling tax credit in New York
State.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends Section 210-B of the tax law by adding a new subdivi-
sion 55.
Section two amends Section 606 of the tax law by adding a new subsection
(kkk).
Section three amends Subparagraph (B) of paragraph 1 of subsection (i)
of section 606 of the tax law by adding a new clause (xlvI).
Section four amends Subdivision 1 of section 3-0301 of the environmental
conservation law by adding a new paragraph (ee).
Section five sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The oyster has always been a staple of the New York Harbor, at one time
covering as many as 220,000 acres of the Hudson River estuary Gradually,
however, the oyster has become nearly extinct due to high rates of
toxicity from sewage, dredging and pollutants in the Hudson and Raritan
Rivers. While the water quality has improved, it is still by no means
suitable for the oyster species to return to normalcy.
The role of the oyster is integral to the entire urban ecosystem.
Oysters are responsible for filtering water, providing habitats for
other marine species, and reducing wave and tidal energy. These "natural
water filters" (also called filter-feeders) remove excess nitrogen from
the water column and prevent the explosion of algae. These algae blooms
can block sunlight that underwater plants need to survive and consumes
dissolved oxygen that fish need to breathe. Oysters filter the water
through their gills and digest the toxic particles. An adult oyster can
filter about 50 gallons of water perday, but there are not nearly enough
oysters to filter the New York Harbor or other similar bodies of water.
In an effort to restore the oyster population and naturally clean the
New York Harbor, environmental organizations, such as the Billion Oyster
Project, administer a voluntary program whereby restaurants can donate
oyster shells that the Billion Oyster Project uses to grow new oysters
that are put back into New York Harbor. Over 60 restaurants voluntarily
participate in this program in New York City and hundreds of thousands
of pounds of shells are collected and put (after growing new oyster
spat) into New York Harbor each year. Each restaurant incurs time and
expense for its employees to collect and prepare the oysters shells for
donations.
This bill will provide a tax credit in an amount equal to $0.10 for each
pound of oyster shells recycled during the tax year, not to exceed
$1,000.00 per taxpayer. Other states, such as Maryland and North Caroli-
na, already have similar legislation in place to encourage more oyster
shell donations. Not only will this improve the quality of water in the
Hudson River and surrounding bodies, but it will also create a cleaner
New York Harbor for all species.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.92-A - Referred to Ways and Means; S.8436 - Referred to
Investigations and Government Operations
2021-22: A.258 - Referred to Ways and Means; S.4741 - Referred to Budget
and Revenue
2019-20: A.655-A - Referred to Ways and Means; S.4718-A - Referred to
Budget and Revenue
2017-18: A.584 - Referred to Ways and Means
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable years
beginning on or after January 1, 2024.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
142
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, SIMON, GLICK, WEPRIN, JACOBSON,
STIRPE, BENDETT, R. CARROLL, EPSTEIN, COLTON, BORES -- Multi-Sponsored
by -- M. of A. FITZPATRICK -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the tax law and the environmental conservation law, in
relation to establishing a bivalve mollusk shell recycling tax credit
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 210-B of the tax law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 61 to read as follows:
3 61. Bivalve mollusk shell recycling credit. A taxpayer shall be
4 allowed a credit, to be computed as hereinafter provided against the tax
5 imposed by this article, for the recycling of bivalve mollusk shells.
6 The amount of the credit shall be the lesser of one thousand dollars, or
7 ten cents multiplied by the number of pounds of mollusk shells certified
8 by the New York state department of environmental conservation. The
9 credit allowed under this subdivision for any taxable year shall not
10 reduce the tax due for such year to less than the fixed dollar minimum
11 amount prescribed in paragraph (d) of subdivision one of section two
12 hundred ten of this article. In order for a taxpayer to qualify for this
13 credit, the shells shall be donated to an entity or organization permit-
14 ted by the department of environmental conservation to reuse such shells
15 for the beneficial use of oyster reef restoration.
16 § 2. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection
17 (qqq) to read as follows:
18 (qqq) Bivalve mollusk shell recycling credit. (1) A taxpayer shall be
19 allowed a credit, to be computed as hereinafter provided against the tax
20 imposed by this article, for the recycling of bivalve mollusk shells.
21 (2) The amount of the credit shall be the lesser of one thousand
22 dollars, or ten cents multiplied by the number of pounds of bivalve
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01335-01-5
A. 142 2
1 mollusk shells certified by the New York state department of environ-
2 mental conservation.
3 (3) In order for a taxpayer to qualify for this credit, the shells
4 shall be donated to an entity or organization permitted by the depart-
5 ment of environmental conservation to reuse such shells for the benefi-
6 cial use of oyster reef restoration.
7 § 3. Subparagraph (B) of paragraph 1 of subsection (i) of section 606
8 of the tax law is amended by adding a new clause (lii) to read as
9 follows:
10 (lii) Bivalve molluskAmount of credit under subdivision
11 shell recycling credit undersixty-one of section two
12 subsection (qqq)hundred ten-B
13 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 3-0301 of the environmental conservation
14 law is amended by adding a new paragraph ee to read as follows:
15 ee. Establish rules and regulations regarding the verification and
16 certification of bivalve mollusk shells returned to the department for
17 recycling pursuant to the bivalve mollusk shell recycling tax credit
18 provided in sections two hundred ten-B and six hundred six of the tax
19 law and for such shells to be reused in the process of oyster reef
20 restoration.
21 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable
22 years beginning on or after January 1, 2025.
