Requires the commissioner of environmental conservation to establish standards for and a program of inspection and certification of green roofs prior to and after installation, including standards for environmentally acceptable chemical fertilizers and the testing of runoff water for evidence of such fertilizers; further establishes a green roof installation tax credit in the amount of fifty-five percent of qualified expenditures with a credit maximum of five thousand dollars.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2646
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 24, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, BENEDETTO, PAULIN, L. ROSENTHAL, GALEF,
SCHIMMINGER, LUPARDO, ORTIZ, HEVESI, ENGLEBRIGHT, QUART, STIRPE, OTIS,
ABINANTI, COLTON, D'URSO, FAHY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
ABBATE, GIGLIO, GOTTFRIED, GUNTHER, JAFFEE, McDONOUGH, PEOPLES-STOKES,
THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental
Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to pre-
installation review and certification of green roof materials; and to
amend the tax law, in relation to establishing a green roof installa-
tion credit
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a
2 new section 3-0308 to read as follows:
3 § 3-0308. Green roof program, inspection and certification.
4 1. The commissioner shall develop standards for the construction,
5 installation and certification of green roofs that can be eligible for
6 the green roof installation personal income tax credit pursuant to
7 subsection (v) of section six hundred six of the tax law. Such stand-
8 ards shall include criteria for inspection and certification of green
9 roof plans prior to installation and inspection after such installation.
10 Such pre-installation criteria for certification may include, but not be
11 limited to: plant growth rate and drought tolerance, appropriate root
12 systems for such green roofs, appropriate plant irrigation, nutritional
13 and maintenance requirements, potential generation of allergens and the
14 possible need for remedial indoor air filtration to the subject and
15 adjacent buildings. Inspection and certification after installation may
16 include, in addition to pre-installation criteria, the testing of runoff
17 water for environmentally unacceptable levels of pollutants.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00771-01-9
A. 2646 2
1 2. The commissioner may delegate to municipal building inspectors the
2 duties to review and approve plans and issue the certification required
3 in subdivision one of this section.
4 3. For purposes of this section:
5 a. "Green roof" means roofing on an eligible building that covers at
6 least fifty percent of such building's eligible rooftop space and
7 includes (1) a weatherproof and waterproof roofing membrane layer, (2) a
8 root barrier layer, (3) if appropriate, an insulation layer that
9 complies with the state energy conservation construction code, (4) a
10 drainage layer that complies with the state uniform fire prevention and
11 building code and is designed so the drains can be inspected and
12 cleaned, (5) a growth medium, including natural or simulated soil, with
13 a depth of at least two inches, (6) if the depth of the growth medium is
14 less than three inches, an independent water holding layer that is
15 designed to prevent the rapid drying out of such medium may be required,
16 unless the green roof contains a sufficient percentage of drought
17 resistant plants to survive, and (7) a vegetation layer covered by live
18 plants such as (i) sedum or equally drought resistant and hardy plant
19 species, (ii) native plant species, and/or (iii) agricultural plant
20 species.
21 b. "Eligible building" means a residential building or mixed-use
22 building with residential units.
23 c. "Eligible rooftop space" means the total space available on an
24 eligible building to support a green roof.
25 § 2. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection
26 (v) to read as follows:
27 (v) Green roof installation credit. (1) General. An individual taxpay-
28 er shall be allowed a credit for taxable years beginning on or after
29 January first, two thousand twenty-one against the tax imposed by this
30 article for the installation of a qualified green roof as certified
31 pursuant to section 3-0308 of the environmental conservation law. The
32 amount of the credit shall be fifty-five percent of qualified green roof
33 installation expenditures, but shall not exceed the maximum credit of
34 five thousand dollars.
35 (2) Qualified green roof installation expenditures. (A) The term
36 "qualified green roof installation expenditures" means expenditures for
37 the purchase, construction and installation of a certified green roof,
38 as provided in section 3-0308 of the environmental conservation law,
39 which is installed in connection with residential property or mixed-use
40 property, which is (i) located in this state; (ii) which is owned by the
41 taxpayer; and (iii) which is used by the taxpayer as his or her princi-
42 pal residence.
43 (B) Such qualified expenditures shall include expenditures for plant
44 material, natural or simulated soil irrigation and drainage systems,
45 establishment of root systems and the labor costs properly allocable to
46 on-site preparation, assembly and original installation, architectural
47 and engineering services, pre-installation criteria for installation and
48 designs and plans directly related to the construction or installation
49 of the qualified green roof.
50 (C) Such qualified expenditures shall not include interest or other
51 finance charges.
52 (3) Green roof pre-installation criteria. The term "green roof pre-
53 installation criteria" may include, but not be limited to, criteria such
54 as growth rate and drought tolerance of selected plants, appropriate
55 plant irrigation, nutritional and maintenance requirements, generation
56 of allergens and the possible need for remedial air filtration to the
A. 2646 3
1 subject and adjacent buildings as prescribed in accordance with section
2 3-0308 of the environmental conservation law.
3 (4) Condominium/cooperative housing. Where a qualified green roof is
4 installed by a condominium management association or a cooperative hous-
5 ing corporation, a taxpayer who is a member of such association or is a
6 tenant-stockholder may for the purpose of this subsection claim a
7 proportionate share of the total expenses as expenditure for the
8 purposes of the credit attributable to his or her principal residence.
9 (5) Multiple taxpayers. Where a qualified green roof is purchased and
10 installed in a principal residence shared by two or more taxpayers, the
11 amount of the credit allowable under this subsection for each such
12 taxpayer shall be prorated according to the percentage of the total
13 expenditure for such roof contributed by each taxpayer.
14 (6) Grants. For purposes of determining the amount of the expenditure
15 incurred in purchasing and installing the green roof, the amount of any
16 federal, state or local grant received by the taxpayer, which was used
17 for the purchase and/or installation of such roof and which was not
18 included in the federal gross income of the taxpayer, shall not be
19 included in the amount of such expenditures.
20 (7) When credit allowed. The credit provided for in this subsection
21 shall be allowed with respect to the taxable year, commencing after
22 January first, two thousand twenty-one, in which the green roof is
23 installed.
24 (8) Carryover of credit. If the amount of the credit, and carryovers
25 of such credit, allowable under this subsection for any taxable year
26 shall exceed the taxpayer's tax for such year, such excess amount may be
27 carried over to the five taxable years next following the taxable year
28 with respect to which the credit is allowed and may be deducted from the
29 taxpayer's tax for such year or years.
30 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately provided that section one
31 of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
32 shall have become a law and that section two of this act shall apply to
33 taxable years commencing on or after January 1, 2021; provided, however,
34 that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
35 rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its
36 effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on
37 or before such effective date.
