S 9609

This bill exempts school districts located wholly or partially within a 10-mile emergency planning zone around nuclear power facilities from New York State's requirements to purchase, lease, and operate only zero-emission school buses. The exemption appears to recognize that school districts near nuclear facilities may need to maintain diesel or gas-powered buses for potential emergency evacuations, where electric vehicle range limitations or charging infrastructure dependencies could pose safety risks. While these districts are freed from the zero-emission mandate, they may still voluntarily adopt electric buses, and the state education commissioner must maintain a public list of districts qualifying for this exemption.