What's happening
This bill establishes a tax credit for recycling bivalve mollusk shells donated for oyster reef restoration in New York.
Why it matters
Encourages participation by restaurants and seafood businesses. By offering a tax credit, the bill incentivizes businesses that serve bivalve mollusks (like oysters, clams, and mussels) to donate their used shells for environmental restoration rather than sending them to landfills.
Directly supports oyster reef restoration. The tax credit is only available if the shells are donated to approved organizations specifically for use in restoring oyster reefs, which are vital for coastal protection, water filtration, and marine biodiversity in New York’s waterways.
Creates a formal certification and oversight process. The Department of Environmental Conservation must verify and certify the weight of donated shells and establish rules for their reuse, ensuring transparency, accountability, and that environmental goals are met.
Limits public cost and targets smaller donors. The credit is capped at $1,000 per taxpayer per year, or 10 cents per pound of shells donated, which makes the benefit meaningful for small and medium donors but prevents large-scale exploitation or excessive cost to the state.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Mollusk Shell Recycling Tax Credit
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to budget and revenue
- Print number 4718a
- Amend (t) and recommit to budget and revenue
- Referred to budget and revenue
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Tax Credit for Shell Recycling
In Assembly Committee · Ways And Means · Sponsor Linda Rosenthal
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4718--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 21, 2019
Introduced by Sens. METZGER, BIAGGI, GOUNARDES, MONTGOMERY, MYRIE -read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Budget and Revenue -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
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 Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 210-B of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivision 54 to read as follows:
54. Bivalve mollusk shell recycling credit. A taxpayer shall be allowed a credit, to be computed as hereinafter provided against the tax imposed by this article, for the recycling of bivalve mollusk shells. The amount of the credit shall be the lesser of one thousand dollars, or ten cents multiplied by the number of pounds of mollusk shells certified by the New York state department of environmental conservation. The credit allowed under this subdivision for any taxable year shall not reduce the tax due for such year to less than the fixed dollar minimum amount prescribed in paragraph (d) of subdivision one of section two hundred ten of this article. In order for a taxpayer to qualify for this credit, the shells shall be donated to an entity or organization permitted by the department of environmental conservation to reuse such shells for the beneficial use of oyster reef restoration.
§ 2. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection (kkk) to read as follows:
(kkk) Bivalve mollusk shell recycling credit. (1) A taxpayer shall be allowed a credit, to be computed as hereinafter provided against the tax imposed by this article, for the recycling of bivalve mollusk shells.
(2) The amount of the credit shall be the lesser of one thousand 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.
LBD00526-04-9
S. 4718--A 2
mollusk shells certified by the New York state department of environmental conservation.
(3) In order for a taxpayer to qualify for this credit, the shells shall be donated to an entity or organization permitted by the department of environmental conservation to reuse such shells for the beneficial use of oyster reef restoration.
§ 3. Subparagraph (B) of paragraph 1 of subsection (i) of section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new clause (xlv) to read as follows: (xlv) Bivalve mollusk Amount of credit under subdivision shell recycling credit under fifty-four of section two subsection (kkk) hundred ten-B
§ 4. Subdivision 1 of section 3-0301 of the environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new paragraph ee to read as follows:
ee. Establish rules and regulations regarding the verification and certification of bivalve mollusk shells returned to the department for recycling pursuant to the bivalve mollusk shell recycling tax credit provided in sections two hundred ten-B and six hundred six of the tax law and for such shells to be reused in the process of oyster reef restoration.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
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 54.
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 (xlv).
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. Gradual- ly, 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 per day, 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
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, 2020.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.