Relates to the issuance of temporary authority

BILL NUMBER:S6627

Title of bill

An act to amend the transportation law, in relation to issuance of temporary authority

Purpose

This bill requires the department of transportation to provide carriers with adequate notice of the filing of an application for temporary authority or emergency temporary authority.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill adds a new subdivision 10 to section 153 of the transportation law. The new subdivision requires certain applications for temporary authority to be submitted to the department of transportation in a timely manner and requires the department to provide adequate notice to carriers.

Section 2 of the bill is the effective date.

Justification

In 2013, the Professional Golf Association (PGA) held its PGA Championship in Rochester, NY. The event was a success for upstate businesses and communities generating a $102 million economic impact and drawing 225,000 spectators with visitors coming from as far as 100 miles away.

With respect to transportation services for the tournament, most of the services were provided by an out-of-state transportation vendor that had to apply to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for emergency temporary authority in order to provide the services. Under current law, emergency temporary authority can be applied for just three days prior to the start of an event.

Although the dates of the PGA Championship were scheduled well in advance, the out-of-state transportation vendor still applied for temporary authority on an emergency basis. This creates two problems. First, the short timeframe can compromise the DOT's ability to conduct its review of the applicant to make sure that the applicant (i) is ready and able to provide the services, (ii) has the proper insurances, and (iii) has vehicles that meet NYS inspection standards. Second, it effectively precludes other carriers from pursuing the business opportunity to provide transportation services at the event.

In the case of the PGA Championship in Rochester, local in-state carriers had fleets available and could have fulfilled the need for transportation services on the dates of the tournament, but because of the emergency nature of the temporary authority, these local carriers were unaware of the PGA's needs for the event. This effectively precluded local in-state carriers from trying to obtain the transportation business for the PGA tournament.

This bill addresses the flaws in the current system for DOT issuance of temporary authority as applied to specific events scheduled within the State.

First, the legislation requires applications for specific events to be submitted to DOT at least 90 days prior to the start of the event (unless it is impossible for the applicant to meet the 90-day deadline). Secondly, this bill requires DOT to provide notice to carriers when such an application is submitted. By providing this notice, other carriers will be made aware of the transportation needs in the local area and, consequently, will have a better opportunity to compete for the needed transportation services.

Had these common-sense provisions been in place at the time of the PGA Championship in Rochester, more local carriers would have benefitted from the tournament and the local economic impact of the tournament could have been even greater.

Prior legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the 90th day after it shall have become a law.