S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6731
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 29, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  BARCLAY, MANKTELOW, MORINELLO, SALKA, ASHBY,
   SIMPSON, LEMONDES, DeSTEFANO, J. M. GIGLIO -- read once  and  referred
   to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to amend the state finance law and the environmental conservation
   law,  in  relation  to  establishing  the municipal asbestos abatement
   grant program; and making an appropriation therefor
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Legislative  intent.  Many  of our local communities have
 buildings that are vacant and left abandoned by their  original  owners.
 Those  buildings containing asbestos are especially difficult and costly
 to clean  up.  For  decades  asbestos  was  commonly  used  in  building
 construction  as  a  fire  proofing  material, as well as an additive to
 concrete, asphalt, pipes,  siding  and  floor  tiles.  Asbestos  becomes
 hazardous  when  damaged and its fibers are known to cause certain types
 of cancer. These asbestos filled buildings  pose  significant  financial
 challenges  to  our local governments that cannot afford to renovate and
 reuse them.
   The Legislature seeks to support local government efforts to  revital-
 ize  economies by helping return these abandoned and vacant buildings to
 productive use.  Therefore, the Legislature hereby creates The Municipal
 Asbestos Abatement Grant Program with the intention of providing  finan-
 cial  assistance  to  municipalities  for  the demolition, renovation or
 restoration of abandoned or vacant  asbestos  laden  buildings  for  the
 purpose of returning them to productive use.
   §  2.  Paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  6 of section 92-s of the state
 finance law, as amended by section 3 of part U of chapter 58 of the laws
 of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   (b) Moneys from the solid waste account shall be  available,  pursuant
 to appropriation and upon certificate of approval of availability by the
 director of the budget, for any non-hazardous municipal landfill closure

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD02971-01-1

 A. 6731                             2
 
 project;  municipal  waste reduction or recycling project, as defined in
 article fifty-four  of  the  environmental  conservation  law;  for  the
 purposes  of  section  two  hundred  sixty-one  and  section two hundred
 sixty-four of the economic development law; any project for the develop-
 ment,  updating or revision of local solid waste management plans pursu-
 ant to sections 27-0107 and 27-0109 of  the  environmental  conservation
 law;  environmental  justice projects and grants [and], for the develop-
 ment of the pesticide sales and use data base pursuant to  title  twelve
 of  article  thirty-three  of the environmental conservation law; AND TO
 ESTABLISH THE MUNICIPAL ASBESTOS ABATEMENT GRANT PROGRAM.
   § 3. Article 54 of the environmental conservation law  is  amended  by
 adding a new title 17 to read as follows:
 
                                 TITLE 17
                MUNICIPAL ASBESTOS ABATEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
 SECTION 54-1701. MUNICIPAL ASBESTOS ABATEMENT GRANT PROGRAM.
         54-1703. MUNICIPAL ASBESTOS ABATEMENT GRANT PROGRAM DATABASE.
 § 54-1701. MUNICIPAL ASBESTOS ABATEMENT GRANT PROGRAM.
   THE  DEPARTMENT,  IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE
 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, SHALL ESTABLISH THE  MUNICIPAL  ASBESTOS  ABATEMENT
 GRANT  PROGRAM TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO MUNICIPALITIES FOR THE
 ABATEMENT OF ASBESTOS IN VACANT AND/OR ABANDONED COMMERCIAL  PROPERTIES.
 SUCH PROGRAM SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO: DEFINITIONS OF ELIGI-
 BLE  PROJECTS; MATCHING GRANTS FOR APPROVED ASBESTOS ABATEMENT PROJECTS;
 ELIGIBLE MUNICIPALITIES; THE PERCENTAGE THAT WILL BE THE  STATE'S  SHARE
 AS  WELL AS THE MUNICIPALITY'S SHARE; MAXIMUM PER-BUILDING AWARDS; MAXI-
 MUM TOTAL PROJECT AWARDS; AS WELL AS ANY OTHER STANDARDS, GUIDELINES  OR
 RULES AS MAY BE NECESSARY.
 § 54-1703. MUNICIPAL ASBESTOS ABATEMENT GRANT PROGRAM DATABASE.
   THE  DEPARTMENT  IN COORDINATION WITH RELEVANT STATE AGENCIES, MUNICI-
 PALITIES AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, SHALL ESTABLISH A DATABASE  LISTING
 EVERY ABANDONED COMMERCIAL BUILDING IN NEED OF ASBESTOS ABATEMENT WITHIN
 THE  STATE,  INCLUDING,  BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE ADDRESS, SQUARE FOOTAGE
 AND APPROXIMATE AGE. THE INITIAL DATABASE LIST IS  TO  BE  SENT  TO  THE
 GOVERNOR,  TEMPORARY  PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, THE SPEAKER OF THE ASSEM-
 BLY, THE MINORITY LEADER OF THE SENATE AND THE MINORITY  LEADER  OF  THE
 ASSEMBLY  BY  DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR, AND SHALL
 BE UPDATED ANNUALLY.
   § 4. The sum of fifteen million  dollars  ($15,000,000),  or  so  much
 thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the department of
 environmental  conservation  out  of any moneys in the state treasury in
 the general fund to the credit of the solid waste account, not otherwise
 appropriated, and made immediately available, for the purpose of  carry-
 ing  out the provisions of this act. Such moneys shall be payable on the
 audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified  or  approved
 by   the  commissioner  of  environmental  conservation  in  the  manner
 prescribed by law.
   § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
 tation  of  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
 completed on or before such effective date.