<STYLE><!--U {color: Green}S {color: RED} I {color: DARKBLUE; background-color:yellow} P.brk {page-break-before:always}--></STYLE> <BASEFONT SIZE=3> <PRE WIDTH="136"> <FONT SIZE=5><B> STATE OF NEW YORK</B></FONT> ________________________________________________________________________ 5404--A 2025-2026 Regular Sessions <FONT SIZE=5><B> IN ASSEMBLY</B></FONT> February 13, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. STERN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Energy -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the municipal sustainable energy loan program <B><U>The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-</U></B> <B><U>bly, do enact as follows:</U></B> 1 Section 1. Section 119-ee of the general municipal law, as added by 2 chapter 497 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 119-ee. Legislative findings and declaration. The legislature finds 4 and declares that it is the policy of the state to achieve statewide 5 energy efficiency and renewable energy goals, reduce greenhouse gas 6 emissions and mitigate the effect of global climate change, and advance 7 a clean energy economy; and that to achieve such policy and goals the 8 state must promote the deployment of renewable energy systems [<B><S>and</S></B>]<B><U>,</U></B> 9 energy efficiency measures<B><U>, qualifying water improvements, qualifying</U></B> 10 <B><U>resiliency improvements, and low carbon intensity building components</U></B> 11 throughout the state; and that municipalities would fulfill an important 12 public purpose by providing loans to property owners for the installa- 13 tion of renewable energy systems [<B><S>and</S></B>]<B><U>,</U></B> energy efficiency measures<B><U>,</U></B> 14 <B><U>qualifying water improvements, qualifying resiliency improvements, and</U></B> 15 <B><U>the use of low carbon intensity building components</U></B>. 16 § 2. Subdivisions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of section 119-ff of the general 17 municipal law, as amended by chapter 184 of the laws of 2020, are 18 amended to read as follows: 19 3. "Energy audit" means a formal evaluation of the energy consumption 20 of a permanent building or structural improvement to real property, 21 conducted by a <B><U>qualifying</U></B> contractor [<B><S>certified by the authority, or</S></B> 22 <B><S>certified by a certifying entity approved by the authority for purposes</S></B> 23 <B><S>of this article,</S></B>] for the purpose of identifying appropriate energy 24 efficiency improvements that could be made to or incorporated into the EXPLANATION--Matter in <B><U>italics</U></B> (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [<B><S> </S></B>] is old law to be omitted. LBD02166-02-5 </PRE><P CLASS="brk"><PRE WIDTH="136"> A. 5404--A 2 1 construction of the property. [<B><S>A municipal corporation may, by local</S></B> 2 <B><S>law, provide for the certification of such contractors based upon crite-</S></B> 3 <B><S>ria at least as stringent as the state-wide criteria for certification</S></B> 4 <B><S>adopted by the authority for purposes of this article.</S></B>] 5 4. "Energy efficiency improvement" means any improvement to real prop- 6 erty, whether as a component of the new construction of a building or as 7 the renovation or retrofitting of an existing building to reduce energy 8 consumption[<B><S>, such as window and door replacement, lighting, caulking,</S></B> 9 <B><S>weatherstripping, air sealing, insulation, and heating and cooling</S></B> 10 <B><S>system upgrades, and similar improvements, determined to be cost-effec-</S></B> 11 <B><S>tive pursuant to criteria established by the authority</S></B>] <B><U>or greenhouse</U></B> 12 <B><U>gas emissions</U></B>. However, "energy efficiency improvement" shall not 13 include lighting measures or household appliances that are not perma- 14 nently fixed to real property. 15 5. <B><U>"Feasibility study" means a written study, conducted by a qualify-</U></B> 16 <B><U>ing contractor for the purpose of determining the feasibility of</U></B> 17 <B><U>installing a renewable energy system, qualifying water improvements,</U></B> 18 <B><U>qualifying resiliency improvements or low carbon intensity building</U></B> 19 <B><U>component improvements.</U></B> 20 <B><U>6. "Low carbon intensity building component improvement" means any</U></B> 21 <B><U>permanently affixed improvement to real property, whether as a component</U></B> 22 <B><U>of the new construction of a building or as the renovation or retrofit-</U></B> 23 <B><U>ting of an existing building, to reduce the carbon or other greenhouse</U></B> 24 <B><U>gas emissions of those components or the improved property.</U></B> 25 <B><U>7.</U></B> "Municipal corporation" means a county, town, city or village. 26 <B><U>8. "Qualifying water improvement" means any improvement to real prop-</U></B> 27 <B><U>erty, whether as a component of the new construction of a building or as</U></B> 28 <B><U>the renovation and retrofitting of an existing building, to reduce water</U></B> 29 <B><U>consumption, promote water conservation and storage, manage stormwater,</U></B> 30 <B><U>resist flooding, and mitigate contamination in potable water systems.</U></B> 31 [<B><S>6.</S></B>] <B><U>9.</U></B> "Real property" means any property, an interest in which is or 32 is eligible to be recorded or registered on municipal land ownership 33 records by the possessor of such interest. 34 [<B><S>7.</S></B>] <B><U>10.</U></B> "Renewable energy system" means an energy generating system 35 for the generation of electric or thermal energy, to be used primarily 36 at such property, except when the owner of real property is a commercial 37 entity, by means of solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, 38 anaerobic digester gas-to-electricity systems, fuel cell technologies, 39 or other renewable energy technology approved by the authority not 40 including the combustion or pyrolysis of solid waste. 41 [<B><S>8. "Renewable energy system feasibility study" means a written study,</S></B> 42 <B><S>conducted by a contractor certified by the authority, or certified by a</S></B> 43 <B><S>certifying entity approved by the authority for purposes of this arti-</S></B> 44 <B><S>cle, for the purpose of determining the feasibility of installing a</S></B> 45 <B><S>renewable energy system. A municipal corporation may, by local law,</S></B> 46 <B><S>provide for the certification of such contractors based upon criteria at</S></B> 47 <B><S>least as stringent as the state-wide criteria for certification adopted</S></B> 48 <B><S>by the authority for purposes of this article.</S></B>] 49 § 3. Section 119-ff of the general municipal law is amended by adding 50 three new subdivisions 11, 12 and 13 to read as follows: 51 <B><U>11. "Greenhouse gas emissions" means the emission of carbon dioxide,</U></B> 52 <B><U>methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases.</U></B> 53 <B><U>12. "Qualifying contractor" means a contractor that is: (a) certified</U></B> 54 <B><U>by the authority, or certified by a certifying entity approved by the</U></B> 55 <B><U>authority for purposes of this article, or (b) certified by a munici-</U></B> 56 <B><U>pality pursuant to local law that incorporates criteria at least as</U></B> </PRE><P CLASS="brk"><PRE WIDTH="136"> A. 5404--A 3 1 <B><U>stringent as the statewide criteria for certification adopted by the</U></B> 2 <B><U>authority, to conduct an energy audit and a feasibility study.</U></B> 3 <B><U>13. "Qualifying resiliency improvements" means improvements to real</U></B> 4 <B><U>property, a component of the new construction of a building, or the</U></B> 5 <B><U>renovation or retrofitting of an existing building, that is designed to</U></B> 6 <B><U>enable the building, structure, or occupants of such building or struc-</U></B> 7 <B><U>ture to withstand or recover quickly from disruption from the current</U></B> 8 <B><U>and future hazards of extreme weather events, including but not limited</U></B> 9 <B><U>to floods, high winds, tornados, extreme temperature, heavy rainfall,</U></B> 10 <B><U>sea level rise and wildfires, or designed to advance energy storage,</U></B> 11 <B><U>microgrids, or alternate vehicle charging infrastructure, or improve</U></B> 12 <B><U>indoor air quality. However, "qualifying resiliency improvements" shall</U></B> 13 <B><U>not include measures that are not permanently fixed to real property.</U></B> 14 § 4. Section 119-gg of the general municipal law, as added by chapter 15 497 of the laws of 2009, subdivisions 1 and 6 as amended by chapter 320 16 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows: 17 § 119-gg. Sustainable energy loan program. 1. The legislative body of 18 any municipal corporation may, by local law, establish a sustainable 19 energy loan program using federal grant assistance or federal credit 20 support or monies from the state of New York or any state authority as 21 defined by section two of the public authorities law available for this 22 purpose. 23 2. Such program may make loans to the owners of real property located 24 within the municipal corporation to finance the installation of renewa- 25 ble energy systems [<B><S>and</S></B>]<B><U>,</U></B> energy efficiency improvements, <B><U>qualifying</U></B> 26 <B><U>water improvements, qualifying resiliency improvements, low carbon</U></B> 27 <B><U>intensity building components,</U></B> related energy audits and [<B><S>renewable</S></B> 28 <B><S>energy system</S></B>] feasibility studies, and the verification of the instal- 29 lation of such systems and improvements. No municipal corporation shall 30 make such a loan to an owner of property that has received a loan from 31 another municipal corporation pursuant to this article. 32 3. Each such local law establishing the sustainable energy loan 33 program shall provide for the criteria for making such loans and the 34 terms and conditions for repayment of such loans. [<B><S>The sustainable ener-</S></B> 35 <B><S>gy loan program shall use such lists of cost effective energy efficiency</S></B> 36 <B><S>improvements for different building types as are approved by the author-</S></B> 37 <B><S>ity.</S></B>] <B><U>Each such local law may provide criteria for qualifying contrac-</U></B> 38 <B><U>tors that may conduct energy audits or feasibility studies in the muni-</U></B> 39 <B><U>cipality.</U></B> 40 4. The municipal corporation shall verify and report on the installa- 41 tion and performance of renewable energy systems [<B><S>and</S></B>]<B><U>,</U></B> energy efficien- 42 cy improvements<B><U>, qualifying water improvements, qualifying resiliency</U></B> 43 <B><U>improvements, and low carbon intensity building component improvements</U></B> 44 financed by the loan program in such form and manner as the authority 45 may establish. 46 5. Every loan made under the sustainable energy loan program shall be 47 repaid over a term not to exceed the [<B><S>weighted average of the useful</S></B> 48 <B><S>life of such systems and improvements</S></B>] <B><U>the longest lived system or</U></B> 49 <B><U>improvement</U></B> as determined by the municipal corporation. The municipal 50 corporation shall [<B><S>set</S></B>] <B><U>approve</U></B> a fixed rate of interest for the repay- 51 ment of the principal amount of each loan at the time the loan is made. 52 6. a. For loans made to an owner of real property that is a commercial 53 entity, not-for-profit organization, or entity other than an individual, 54 the municipal corporation<B><U>, governing body or its duly assigned agent</U></B> 55 shall have the authority to impose requirements on the maximum amount 56 that may be borrowed through such loan, which may consider factors </PRE><P CLASS="brk"><PRE WIDTH="136"> A. 5404--A 4 1 including but not limited to the property value, projected savings, 2 project cost, and existing indebtedness secured by such property. 3 b. For loans made to an owner of real property who is an individual, 4 the principal amount of each such loan, excluding interest, shall not 5 exceed the lesser of ten percent of the appraised [<B><S>real property</S></B>] value 6 <B><U>of such real property upon completion of the improvements</U></B> or the [<B><S>actu-</S></B> 7 <B><S>al</S></B>] cost of installing the renewable energy system [<B><S>and</S></B>]<B><U>,</U></B> energy effi- 8 ciency improvements<B><U>, qualifying water improvements, qualifying resilien-</U></B> 9 <B><U>cy improvements, or low carbon intensity building component</U></B> 10 <B><U>improvements</U></B>, including the costs of necessary equipment, materials, and 11 labor, the costs of each related energy audit and [<B><S>renewable energy</S></B> 12 <B><S>system</S></B>] feasibility study, and the cost of verification of <B><U>the installa-</U></B> 13 <B><U>tion of</U></B> such renewable energy system [<B><S>and</S></B>]<B><U>,</U></B> energy efficiency <B><U>improve-</U></B> 14 <B><U>ments, qualifying water improvements, qualifying resiliency improve-</U></B> 15 <B><U>ments, and low carbon intensity building component</U></B> improvements. 16 7. No such loan shall be made for energy efficiency improvements 17 unless determined to be appropriate through an energy audit, and no such 18 loan shall be made for a renewable energy system<B><U>, qualifying water</U></B> 19 <B><U>improvements, qualifying resiliency improvements or low carbon intensity</U></B> 20 <B><U>building component improvements</U></B> unless determined to be feasible through 21 a [<B><S>renewable energy system</S></B>] feasibility study. 22 8. <B><U>An energy audit may document: (a) improvements and related costs</U></B> 23 <B><U>that are required for the energy efficiency improvements to proceed; and</U></B> 24 <B><U>(b) expected energy savings, any expected reductions in greenhouse gas</U></B> 25 <B><U>emissions, and any other environmental, economic and public health bene-</U></B> 26 <B><U>fits expected from the installation of the improvements, including those</U></B> 27 <B><U>enumerated in the scoping plans and related values created pursuant to</U></B> 28 <B><U>article seventy-five of the environmental conservation law.</U></B> 29 <B><U>9. A feasibility study may document: (a) improvements and related</U></B> 30 <B><U>costs that are required for the renewable energy system, qualifying</U></B> 31 <B><U>water improvements, qualifying resiliency improvements or low carbon</U></B> 32 <B><U>intensity building component improvements to proceed; and (b) expected</U></B> 33 <B><U>energy savings, any expected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and</U></B> 34 <B><U>any other environmental, economic and public health benefits expected</U></B> 35 <B><U>from the installation of the improvements, including those enumerated in</U></B> 36 <B><U>the scoping plans and related values created pursuant to article seven-</U></B> 37 <B><U>ty-five of the environmental conservation law.</U></B> 38 <B><U>10.</U></B> The loan made under the sustainable energy loan program shall 39 constitute a lien upon the real property benefitted by such loan. 40 [<B><S>9.</S></B>] <B><U>11.</U></B> The municipal corporation may require the loan made under the 41 sustainable energy loan program to be repaid by the property owner 42 through a charge on the real property benefitted by such loan. Such 43 charge shall be on the real property<B><U>, shall be payable by the property</U></B> 44 <B><U>owner regardless of tax-paying or tax-exempt status,</U></B> and shall be levied 45 and collected at the same time and in [<B><S>the same</S></B>] <B><U>a</U></B> manner [<B><S>as</S></B>] <B><U>consist-</U></B> 46 <B><U>ent with the manner generally applied to</U></B> municipal taxes[<B><S>,</S></B>]<B><U>; provided</U></B> 47 <B><U>that in a city having a population of one million or more, such charge</U></B> 48 <B><U>shall be on the real property, shall be payable by the property owner</U></B> 49 <B><U>regardless of tax-paying or tax-exempt status, and shall be levied,</U></B> 50 <B><U>collected and enforced at the same time and in the same manner as munic-</U></B> 51 <B><U>ipal taxes; and</U></B> provided<B><U>, further,</U></B> that<B><U>: (a)</U></B> such charge shall be sepa- 52 rately listed on the tax bill[<B><S>,</S></B>]<B><U>;</U></B> and [<B><S>provided further that</S></B>] <B><U>(b)</U></B> in the 53 event such charge should not be paid in a timely manner, no other munic- 54 ipal corporation shall be required to credit or otherwise guarantee the 55 amount of such unpaid charge to the municipal corporation which author- 56 ized the loan, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary. </PRE><P CLASS="brk"><PRE WIDTH="136"> A. 5404--A 5 1 <B><U>12. Except in a city with a population of one million or more:</U></B> 2 <B><U>(a) To the extent any such charge is not paid when due (and regardless</U></B> 3 <B><U>of the tax payment status for the real property and the satisfaction or</U></B> 4 <B><U>non-satisfaction of other municipal taxes), the delinquent charge may be</U></B> 5 <B><U>enforced or foreclosed under article thirteen of the real property</U></B> 6 <B><U>actions and proceedings law to the extent of any unpaid installment</U></B> 7 <B><U>payments. In any event of enforcement, including foreclosure, the</U></B> 8 <B><U>balance of the lien shall not accelerate and shall survive judgment. The</U></B> 9 <B><U>proceeds received in an action to enforce an unpaid or delinquent charge</U></B> 10 <B><U>shall be paid first to outstanding real property taxes, municipal charg-</U></B> 11 <B><U>es, or other municipal liens.</U></B> 12 <B><U>(b) The municipal corporation may assign the enforcement or foreclo-</U></B> 13 <B><U>sure of a delinquent charge or charges, in which event the assignee</U></B> 14 <B><U>shall have and possess the same powers and rights at law or in equity as</U></B> 15 <B><U>the municipal corporation would have had it not been assigned with</U></B> 16 <B><U>regard to the precedence and priority of such delinquent charges, the</U></B> 17 <B><U>accrual of interest and the fees and expenses of collection. In addi-</U></B> 18 <B><U>tion, such assignee shall have the same rights to enforce such delin-</U></B> 19 <B><U>quent charge or charges as any private party holding a lien on real</U></B> 20 <B><U>property, including, but not limited to, foreclosure and a suit on the</U></B> 21 <B><U>debt.</U></B> 22 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.