What's happening
This bill directs the New York State Thruway Authority and Bridge Authority to study sharing services, consolidating functions, and the feasibility of merging into one entity.
Why it matters
Potential for Cost Savings and Efficiency. By mandating studies on consolidating services (like purchasing, HR, maintenance, and toll collection), the bill aims to identify ways to reduce duplicative administrative and operational costs, which could ultimately lead to lower expenses for the authorities—and possibly for users.
Impact on Employees and Service Delivery. Exploring consolidation and merger could affect jobs, workplace policies, and how services (like tolling or bridge maintenance) are delivered across the state, possibly changing employment structures or service standards.
Influence on Infrastructure Planning. The requirement to consider a joint capital plan means large-scale infrastructure projects could be more coordinated, potentially leading to smarter investments, less overlap, and improved management of public assets.
Transparency and Legislative Oversight. By requiring detailed reports to the governor and legislative leaders, the bill ensures that any changes or recommendations will be scrutinized publicly, allowing for informed debate about the future structure of these major authorities.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Study Thruway, Bridge Merger
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
- Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
190
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT in relation to directing the New York State Thruway Authority and the New York State Bridge Authority to jointly study and report on methods that can be implemented to share services and combine functions, and on the feasibility of merging into a single entity
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. 1. The New York state thruway authority and the New York state bridge authority shall jointly conduct a study to explore the sharing and consolidation of services and functions in order to reduce each authority's overall administrative, operational and/or capital costs. Such authorities shall additionally conduct a study to explore the feasibility of a merger of the authorities into a single entity. Such authorities may employ the use of outside consultants in the conducting of either study, subject to competitive bidding requirements.
a. Sharing and consolidation of services study. The joint study to explore the sharing and consolidation of services and functions should be designed with the ultimate goal of streamlining the functions of each authority in order to reduce overall costs and increase efficiencies, and shall include, at a minimum, an examination of methods that can be implemented by each authority in order to:
(i) consolidate central administrative functions, such as purchasing, personnel management, hiring and employee benefits administration;
(ii) consolidate or share optional functions, such as maintenance, security services, toll collections and payment processing; and
(iii) develop and implement a joint capital plan whereby long term capital projects at each individual authority are jointly designed and constructed.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00067-01-9
A. 190 2
b. Merger study. The joint study to explore the feasibility of a merger of the New York state thruway authority and the New York state bridge authority into a single entity may, at the discretion of each authority's board of directors, be conducted in conjunction with or apart from the sharing and consolidation of services study and shall explore any and all aspects of a full merger of the two individual authorities into a single entity.
2. Reports. a. Within six months of the effective date of this act, the New York state thruway authority and the New York state bridge authority shall jointly issue a report of the findings of sharing and consolidation of services study to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(i) actions that can be implemented by each authority immediately, a plan of action for such implementation, and the estimated cost of savings to be achieved;
(ii) actions that require regulatory action by either or both authorities in order to be implemented, a plan of action for implementing such actions, and the estimated cost savings to be achieved; and
(iii) actions that require statutory changes in order to be implemented and the estimated cost savings to be achieved.
b. Within one year of the effective date of this act, the New York state thruway authority and the New York state bridge authority shall jointly issue a report of the findings of the merger feasibility study to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly. Such report shall include a full examination of all aspects of merging the two authorities into a single entity, a proposed plan of action for such merger, and the estimated cost savings to be achieved.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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.