New York A 7321: Establishes a tax on carbon-based fuels

Bill Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7321
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 17, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ARDILA -- 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 (underscored) is new; matter in bracketsitalics
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06497-01-3

A. 7321 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