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 last week. The bill will come before the full House for a vote Friday, June 7.

Rep. Boylan  (D-Dist. 66, Barrington, East Providence) introduced the legislation 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.

The Finance Committee has added $250,000 to the budget for a new electric leaf blower rebate program run by the Office of Energy Resources. The goal of the program is to encourage commercial landscapers to adopt electric leaf blowers to reduce air and noise pollution.

The legislation mirrors a similar effort in Barrington, where a resident spearheaded an electric leaf blower rebate program and taxpayers funded it with $25,000.

“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 Rep. 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.”

Rep. 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 Rep. Boylan. “It’s rare that we’re able to do so much with so little. This rebate program will be money well-spent.”