Summary
This bill would provide a consumer rebate for the purchase of lower polluting vehicles and create a consumer surcharge for the purchase of higher polluting vehicles, as compared to the average fleet-wide vehicular greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions for any given model year. The program would be self-financing and would be administered by the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) per standards set by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Explanation
According to NYSERDA, greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector New York State account for approximately one-third of the State’s emissions that cause global climate change. Cars, trucks, and buses contribute the greatest share of emissions from all transportation sources. These emissions depend on several factors, including: fuel efficiency of the vehicle; total number of miles the vehicle is driven; and the carbon content of the fuel used.

The program created by this bill would provide incentives for driving less-polluting vehicles.  It would establish rebate of up to $2,250 to those vehicles purchased or leased in the State of New York that are less polluting than the fleet average and assess a surcharge ranging up to $2,500 to those vehicles purchased or leased in the State of New York that are more polluting than the fleet average established by comparison to the fleet-wide average greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions as determined by the DEC.

Recommendations to Governor Pataki for Reducing New York State Greenhouse Gas Emissions, by the Center for Clean Air Policy, showed that feebates, especially designed in conjunction with other states, would be a very effective way to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. This report showed that savings from a New York-only program would be 200,000 tons of carbon equivalent in 2010. But by working with other states to design similar programs, greenhouse gas reductions could be on the order of more than 2.5 million metric tons.  In addition to adopting stand-alone legislation, New York should work with other states in the Northeast in developing similar programs, which would maximize effectiveness.

Environmental Advocates of New York strongly supports this bill.