What's happening
This bill creates a yearly three-day sales tax holiday for water-conserving and WaterSense products in New York.
Why it matters
Encourages water conservation at the household level. by making it more affordable for residents to purchase products that reduce water usage, such as drip irrigation systems, mulch, and rain barrels, potentially leading to lower household water bills and reduced strain on municipal water supplies.
Targets outdoor water use and groundwater management. , as the definition of eligible products includes items that promote groundwater recharge, reduce evaporation, and allow rainwater to be absorbed into aquifers—addressing both water conservation and climate resilience.
Promotes adoption of EPA-certified WaterSense products. , supporting federal standards for water efficiency and potentially driving greater consumer awareness and market demand for environmentally friendly goods.
Limits benefits to private residential properties. (excluding commercial/business use), focusing the tax incentive on individual homeowners and renters rather than businesses, which may concentrate the conservation impact in residential neighborhoods.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Tax Holiday for Water-Saving Goods
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to budget and revenue
- Referred to rules
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 Holiday for Water Savers
In Assembly Committee · Ways And Means · Sponsor Pamela J. Hunter
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6791
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
October 23, 2019
Introduced by Sen. KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to establishing a sales tax holiday for water-conserving and WaterSense products
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 1115 of the tax law is amended by adding a new paragraph 45 to read as follows:
(45) water-conserving products and WaterSense products during the three-day period each year commencing on the Saturday immediately preceding the last Monday in May, known as Memorial day, and ending on the last Monday of May. For the purposes of this paragraph:
(A) "water-conserving product" shall mean tangible personal property:
(i) used or planted on private residential property that is not used for commercial or business use;
(ii) which when used or planted in an outdoor residential property, may result in (a) water conservation or groundwater retention; (b) water table recharge; or (c) a decrease in ambient air temperature that limits water evaporation; and
(iii) water-conserving product shall include, but not be limited to: a soaker or drip-irrigation hose; soil moisture-based control technologies; weather-based irrigation controllers; mulch, or similar soil toppings or ground covers used for water conservation; a rain barrel or an alternative rain and moisture collection system; or a permeable ground cover surface, other than living grass, that allows water to reach underground basins, aquifers, or water collection points.
(B) "WaterSense product" shall mean a product that has been designated as a WaterSense certified product under the WaterSense program operated by the United States environmental protection agency, or a similar successor program.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13860-01-9
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, in relation to establish- ing a sales tax holiday for water-conserving and WaterSense products
Purpose or general idea of bill
Establishes a tax holiday to promote the usage of water-conserving products and appliances by making them more affordable.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 adds a new paragraph 45 to Section 1115 of the tax law, which establishes a tax-free period on Memorial Day weekend for the purchase of water-conserving and WaterSense products.
Section 2 of this bill is the effective date.
Justification
Water is a limited resource and it is of vital importance. New York continues to take strides to promote water efficiency to conserve our water resources for future generations. Reducing water use will help New Yorkers save money on their water bills, the Environmental Protection Agency has found the average family spends $1,000 per year in water costs, but through the installation of more efficient fixtures and appliances, a family can reduce their bill by approximately $380 a year. Studies have also found that if just one of every 10 households replaced its inefficient toilets with WaterSense toilets, New York would save nearly 8 billion gallons and more than $46 million in water bills annu- ally.
However, the high cost of these fixtures and appliances continues to act as a barrier to many families who are looking to invest in these types of products. This legislation will address this issue through the creation of a sales tax holiday on Memorial Day weekend for the purchase of water-conserving products and WaterSense appliances, which includes weather-based irrigation controllers. These special sprinkler control- lers use weather data and site information such as the type of plants and soil to automatically adjust watering times for hotter or cooler weather. They also stop watering when it rains. Nationwide, landscape irrigation is estimated to account for almost one-third residential water use, totaling more than 7 billion gallons per day. The EPA has calculated that replacing a standard sprinkler clock timer with a smart or WaterSense labeled irrigation controller can reduce an average home's irrigation water use by 15 percent, saving an average home nearly 7,600 gallons of water annually. Through the creation of a tax-free holiday, families will now be able to afford these systems, which will only help promote the usage of these important water conservation products and appliances.
Prior legislative history
2019: New bill
Fiscal implications
Approximately $2.7 million for the first taxable year.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.