What's happening
This bill exempts ambulance service and fire vehicles, including return trips from emergencies, from New York thruway tolls.
Why it matters
Expanding the exemption from tolls to all "ambulance service" vehicles. broadens the benefit from just individual ambulances to include a wider range of emergency medical transport vehicles, potentially reducing costs for more organizations involved in emergency response.
Including fire vehicles in the exemption. recognizes the operational and budgetary needs of fire departments, helping them avoid toll expenses during both responses to and returns from emergencies, which could be significant for volunteer and municipal departments with limited funding.
Specifying that return trips from emergency operations are covered. means that emergency vehicles are not financially penalized for the full round trip, acknowledging that their duties continue until they are back at their base, and supporting faster and more efficient redeployment.
Requiring documentation or proof of emergency service use. ensures that the exemption is not abused and is limited to legitimate emergency operations, while still allowing the authorities flexibility in how proof is provided, balancing accountability with operational practicality.
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Who cares
Headline styles
No Tolls for Ambulances
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
81
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to exemption of emergency service vehicles from thruway tolls
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 378-a of the public authorities law, as added by chapter 23 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
1. The authority is hereby authorized and directed to issue refunds for tolls incurred by [ambulances] ambulance service or fire vehicles engaged in an emergency operation, or, at the option of the authority, to issue emergency services permits for use by [ambulances] ambulance service and fire vehicles which shall provide for travel at no charge between interchanges and barriers while such vehicles are engaged in an emergency operation. For purposes of this section, the term ["ambulance"] "ambulance service" shall have the same meaning as such term is defined by [section one hundred-b of the vehicle and traffic law] subdivision two or three of section three thousand one of the public health law, the term "fire vehicle" shall have the same meaning as such term is defined by section one hundred fifteen-a of the vehicle and traffic law, and the term "emergency operation" shall have the same meaning as such term is defined by section one hundred fourteen-b of the vehicle and traffic law, but for the purposes of this section shall include returning from such service. In any rules and regulations promulgated for the implementation of this section, the authority may establish the type of documentation or other proof satisfactory to the authority that an [ambulance] ambulance service or fire vehicle was engaged in an emergency operation at the time a toll was incurred.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01633-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.