Remanufacturing
Remanufacturing incorporates labor-intensive, environmentally
conscious, energy-efficient and cost-effective processes to revive and restore a
used product to a like new condition.
After three years of intense negotiation, a tremendous victory was achieved
in the fight to promote New York's remanufacturing industry, create jobs, and
protect the environment. On June 23, 2000, the Governor signed Chapter 95 of the
laws of 2000, which prioritizes the purchasing of remanufactured commodities
through the state procurement process. I hail this law as a tremendous victory
for all New Yorkers because remanufacturing is both economically and
environmentally friendly.
In 2000, I was also successful in securing $150,000 for Remanufacturing Testing Standards. In order to to further the goal of giving preference to remanufactured products purchased by state agencies, there is a need for a system of testing standards. The standards will help ensure that remanufactured products meet specified performance standards.
RIT & National Center for Remanufacturing & Resource Recovery
In 1997,
the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
became home to the National Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery (NCR3) at
RIT's Center for Integrated Manufacturing (CIMS)
facility. The NCR3 at RIT was established to assist manufacturers in incorporating remanufacturing technology into their product development and production processes.
Since that time, I have been able to secure over $5 Million in state
funds to aid the outstanding work that they have done, and continue to do, at
RIT to improve traditional manufacturing technologies and processes.
Reman Legislative Efforts
Remanufacturing continues to be an important legislative priority for me
within the state legislature. Supporting New York's remanufacturing industry
means support a wide-array of businesses -- including many small businesses --
that employ thousands of workers and divert thousands of tons of waste from
entering our landfills. Remanufacturing has emerged as a more efficient way of
doing business that is both cost-friendly and environment-friendly. I have
several on-going and new proposals before the Assembly, some of which are listed
below:
- Sales Tax Exemption
During the 2004 legislative session, I introduced a new bill (A.10896)
that would provide a tax exemption from sales and compensating use taxes
for remanufactured products. This is another effort to expand the demand
and utilization of remanufacturing.
- Reman State Commission
Also during the 2004 legislative session, I introduced a new bill (A.10901)
that would create a temporary state commission on remanufacturing. This
proposal provides for the appointment of members to the board of the
commission and empowers them with the task of enhancing the
remanufacturing industry and increasing awareness of the benefits of
remanufactured products
- Reman Toner Cartridge Collection Program
I have introduced legislation (A.1533-A)
that would authorize the Commissioner of the Office of
General Services (OGS) to commence a used printer cartridge collection
demonstration program, whereby any state employee using a printer or
machine that contains a toner or ink jet printer cartridge shall
facilitate the recapture of such cartridge.
- Expand Reman Bidding Exemption
In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation
that would expand the exemption from competitive bidding for the purchase
of remanufactured commodities (as provided for in State Finance Law
section 163 (6)) to all units of local government (towns, villages,
cities, etc.) to school districts and public health corporations.
- Killer Chip Ban
In 2001, I introduced new legislation designed to continue the promotion
and expansion of the remanufacturing industry. The bill would prohibit state agencies from purchasing any product that contains devices designed to prevent remanufacturing, known as "killer chips". The need for this legislation arose out of concerns that companies are distributing products containing chips that prevent remanufacturing. These chips disable the machine if a remanufactured product is used or impair the product's operation after a certain time limit or a certain number of copies. This bill would ensure that the state would be prohibited from purchasing any product that contains disabling devices of any kind.
Page Last Updated:
09/30/2004 11:57 AM
