2023 -- S 0467

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LC002172

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- ZERO-EMISSION LAWN CARE DEVICES

     

     Introduced By: Senators Zurier, and Lauria

     Date Introduced: March 07, 2023

     Referred To: Senate Commerce

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby

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amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

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CHAPTER 99

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ZERO-EMISSION LAWN CARE DEVICES

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     23-99-1. Short title.

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     This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Zero-Emission Lawn Care Devices

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Act."

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     23-99-2. Zero-emissions lawn care devices.

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     For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

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     (1) "Lawn care device" means any device powered mechanically, which is intended to be

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used or is actually used for mowing grass, cutting or chipping trees, tree roots or tree branches, or

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clearing leaves or other vegetation from lawns, sidewalks, public streets or public highways and

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shall include, but not be limited to, such devices as lawn mowers and lawn mower attachments,

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lawn edgers, leaf blowers, leaf vacuums, mulchers and chippers.

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     (2) “Emissions” means exhaust from the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels.

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     23-99-3. Rules and regulations.

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     The director of the department of environmental management shall promulgate rules and

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regulations which shall require that all lawn care devices sold by January 1, 2025, or used in the

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state by January 1, 2028, shall have zero-emissions. These rules and regulations shall take into

 

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account issues of affordability, accessibility and environmental equity, and shall include a plan to

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collect data from retail businesses and lawn care businesses so that the department may report to

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the general assembly on the status of lawn care device use and the transition to one hundred percent

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(100%) zero-emission lawn care devices in Rhode Island.

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     23-99-4. Rebate program.

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     The office of energy resources shall develop a rebate program for the purchase of zero-

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emission lawn care devices, which may include or require a “trade-in” of a gas powered device,

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and shall implement the program as available funds permit.

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     23-99-5. Penalty.

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     Effective January 1, 2028, no person shall use a lawn care device with emissions in Rhode

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Island. A civil fine may be imposed as a sanction for any infraction of this section, based upon a

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graduated schedule of fifty dollars ($50.00) for the first offense, one hundred dollars ($100) for the

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second office, and five hundred dollars ($500) for the third and subsequent offenses. The

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department of environmental management shall accept location and date-stamped videos from a

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cellphone or other camera of prohibited lawn care device use as legal evidence of a violation.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- ZERO-EMISSION LAWN CARE DEVICES

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     This act would mandate that by January 1, 2025, all lawn care devices sold in the state have

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zero-emissions and that by January 1, 2028, all lawn care devices used in the state have zero

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emissions. The DEM would be required to promulgate rules and regulations. Violations would

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result in a civil fine.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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