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6/6/2024
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Rep. Boylan’s proposal for electric leaf blower rebate added to budget bill
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 STATE HOUSE — Rep. Jennifer Boylan’s legislation to create a pilot rebate program for electric leaf blowers has been added to the amended budget bill approved by the House Finance Committee Friday. The bill will come before the full House for a vote Friday, June 7.
The Finance Committee added $250,000 in funding for a new electric leaf blower rebate program run by the Office of Energy Resources, with the goal of encouraging commercial landscapers to adopt electric leaf blowers to reduce air and noise pollution.
The amendment is based on legislation (2024-H 7495) Representative Boylan (D-Dist. 66, Barrington, East Providence) introduced in February following submission of the governor’s budget proposal. Senator Samuel D. Zurier (D-Dist. 3, Providence) sponsored similar legislation (2024-S 2277) in the Senate.
“I want to thank my colleagues on the Finance Committee for including funding to address the public health concerns associated with gas-powered leaf blowers by promoting the transition to a more sustainable alternative,” said Representative Boylan. “My own home town of Barrington conducted its own electric leaf blower rebate program for homeowners, and it was wildly popular. People want quieter, cleaner lawn care. By providing a pilot rebate program for commercial landscapers we can accelerate this transition to more sustainable practices, industry-wide and help foster a greener, healthier future for our communities.”
According to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency analyzed Georgia Tech Professor Michael Leamy, running a gas-powered leaf blower for 30 minutes emits more unburnt hydrocarbons than driving a pickup truck from New York City to Los Angeles. This contributes to both global warming and to adverse health effects, ranging from respiratory diseases like asthma to cardiovascular disease and even cancer. They are also very loud, loud enough to not only damage the hearing of those using them or just nearby but also to contribute to heart disease, stroke and other physiological damage through the body’s stress response.
While electric leaf blowers are much quieter and less polluting, they are significantly more expensive upfront, especially for lawn care companies that use commercial-grade equipment and need to purchase multiple leaf blowers and their batteries. Representative Boylan’s proposed rebate program for commercial uses of leaf blowers aims to mitigate this cost difference to start an industry transition away from gas-powered lawn equipment.
“On behalf of the Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association and its members and associates I wish to thank the sponsors for their recognition of the challenges facing our members and their cost-conscious customers, said RINLA Executive Director W. Michael Sullivan. “Our members have large, costly equipment inventories that with continued high-quality maintenance programs have kept many businesses and employees functioning over many years. The rebate program and its associated education efforts will allow the association to collaborate with equipment manufacturers and members to provide training, technical support and object information essential to keeping people employed and customers happy.”
Said Jennifer Martenson of Quiet Clean Rhode Island, “The two-stroke engines used in lawn maintenance equipment like gas leaf blowers are the most polluting combustion engines still in legal use. Funding a rebate program to replace gas leaf blowers with electric models is an important first step Rhode Island can take to start getting these engines out of circulation. Representative Boylan’s bill also calls for a voluntary educational program for employees in landscaping businesses to learn about zero-emission landscaping. QCRI hopes the funding will cover this program, as we believe education is crucial for businesses adapting to new technology. As Rhode Island pursues a just transition to a post-carbon economy with green, healthy jobs for all our citizens, we cannot leave workers in the landscape maintenance industry behind.”
Representative Boylan’s legislation is supported by the Rhode Island Environmental Education, the Rhode Island Landscapers Association, the Environmental Counsel of Rhode Island and the City of Providence.
“Supporting the transition from gas to electric leaf blowers checks a lot of boxes: energy efficiency, greenhouse gas reduction, public health risk reduction to both residents and landscape workers, occupational risk reduction, air quality improvement, noise abatement and green jobs,” said Representative Boylan. “It’s rare that we’re able to do so much with so little. This rebate program will be money well-spent.”
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
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