What's happening
This bill requires New York's Department of Transportation to develop, regularly update, and publicly report a comprehensive, long-term statewide transportation plan and provide detailed reports on major changes to capital projects.
Why it matters
Requires the state’s long-term transportation plan to be comprehensive and forward-looking (minimum 20-year forecast), ensuring planning decisions are informed by both local and federal transportation priorities and data. This means that transportation policy will better align with actual projected needs and broader regional/national strategies, potentially leading to smarter investments and fewer gaps between plans and reality.
Mandates regular, transparent updates (at least every five years) of the statewide plan, with public input and easy public access via the department’s website. This increases governmental accountability and public engagement, making it easier for residents and stakeholders to track, comment on, and influence major transportation decisions over time.
Requires detailed, semi-annual reports on capital projects that undergo major schedule or cost changes, including explanations for these changes. This provision shines a light on project management, cost overruns, and delays, helping lawmakers and the public hold the Department of Transportation accountable for efficient use of taxpayer money and timely delivery of public works.
Expands the kinds of transportation modes and facilities included in statewide planning (e.g., freight and passenger rail, bicycles, pedestrians, local roads, bridges, and airports), not just highways and mass transit. This broader scope can lead to more holistic, multimodal transportation solutions, supporting economic growth, sustainability, and improved quality of life for diverse users.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Update State Transport Plan
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 39
History
- Substituted by A4880
- Ordered to third reading cal.1235
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to transportation
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Update State Transportation Planning
Vetoed · Sponsor Nily Rozic
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1673
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2019
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the transportation law, in relation to a state transportation plan
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 15 of the transportation law, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 524 of the laws of 2005 and subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 1064 of the laws of 1969, is amended to read as follows:
§ 15. Comprehensive statewide master plan for transportation. 1. The department shall formulate [and from time to time revise] a long-range comprehensive statewide master plan for the balanced development and coordination of adequate, safe and efficient commuter and general transportation facilities and services in the state at reasonable cost to the people, including, but not limited to, state and local highways, bridges, rapid transit, freight and passenger railroad, omnibus, marine, bicycle, pedestrian and other mass transportation facilities and services, and public use aviation and airport facilities and services[,] whether publicly or privately owned, developed, operated or maintained. Such plan shall include a minimum twenty-year forecast period at the time of adoption, assess long-range needs spanning such period, include a forecast of highway pavement and bridge conditions, and take into consideration:
a. the most recent twenty-year transportation plan adopted by each metropolitan planning organization within the state pursuant to subpart C of part 450 of title 23 of the code of federal regulations; and
b. the most recent long-range statewide transportation plan and statewide transportation improvement program developed by the state pursuant to subpart B of part 450 of title 23 of the code of federal regulations.
2. The department shall submit such plan to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and to the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03763-01-9
S. 1673 2
department of state on or before September first, [nineteen hundred sixty-eight, and thereafter shall submit appropriate revisions of such plan] two thousand nineteen. The department shall review and update such plan at least every five years to extend the forecast period to at least twenty years, provided that the department may revise such plan at any other time without extending such forecast period. The department shall submit all such revised and updated plans to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and to the department of state [from time to] at the time [as] such revisions are made. The department of state shall review such plan and such revisions and shall submit a report thereon, together with such recommendations as it may deem appropriate, to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly. Such plan and such revisions shall become effective upon approval by the governor [and], shall serve thereafter as a guide to the public and publicly assisted development of transportation facilities and services in the state, and the department shall maintain hard copies of the most recent version of such plan and revisions thereto on file as a public document in the office of the commissioner and at each regional office of the department.
3. In formulating such plan and any such revisions, the department:
a. shall conduct [one or more] at least one public [hearings] hearing in each department region;
b. may consult with and cooperate with (i) officials of departments and agencies of the state having duties and responsibilities concerning transportation;
(ii) officials and representatives of public corporations as defined in [article one, section three of the general corporation] section sixty-five of the general construction law;
(iii) officials and representatives of the federal government, of neighboring states and of interstate agencies on problems affecting transportation in this state;
(iv) officials and representatives of carriers and transportation facilities and systems in the state; and
(v) persons, organizations and groups utilizing, served by, interested in or concerned with transportation facilities and systems in the state;
c. may request and receive from any department, division, board, bureau, commission or other agency of the state or any political subdivision thereof or any public authority such assistance and data as may be necessary to enable the department to carry out its responsibilities under this section; and
d. may make use of and incorporate in the department's plan, any recognized long-range regional plan for transportation, survey or report developed by any public or private agency.
4. The department shall maintain on its public website the proposed and adopted long-range comprehensive statewide master plan and all proposed and adopted revisions thereto, and shall provide a means on such website for the public to submit comments thereon to the department.
§ 2. Subdivision 13 of section 14 of the transportation law, as added by chapter 420 of the laws of 1968, is amended to read as follows:
13. To report from time to time to the governor and make an annual report to the governor and the legislature which shall include its recommendations. Additionally, the commissioner shall submit a report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly, beginning September first, two thousand nineteen and semiannually thereafter, including a list of those capital projects in the
S. 1673 3
department's capital program that have experienced major schedule changes or major cost changes in letting schedule or construction cost, including projects that were eliminated and projects that were added, since the adoption of the most recent state budget. For each project the report shall include the project identification number and description, original and revised letting dates, and a detailed explanation of why the changes occurred. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "major schedule changes" is defined as a twelve-month or more delay in the letting date of a project, and the term "major cost changes" is defined as one of the following as applicable: a greater than fifty percent change for projects less than one million dollars, a greater than fifty percent change for projects less than fifteen million dollars, and a greater than twenty-five percent change for projects in excess of fifteen million dollars.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the transportation law, in relation to a state transpor- tation plan
Purpose or general idea of bill
To require the commissioner of transportation to develop and present to the governor and legislature a five-year capital plan, with defined projects, that is subject to public review prior to the passage of the state budget.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Amends state finance law by adding new section 22-d to require the commissioner of transportation to develop and present to the governor and legislature a twenty-year intermodal, long-range state transportation plan and a five-year capital program. The commissioner of transportation shall also annually develop and submit to the governor and the legislature a list of scheduled projects that includes estimated funding levels. The initial and all subsequent twenty-year and five-year plans shall be aligned with the capital planning schedule of the metro- politan transportation authority.
Section 2: Effective date.
Justification
New Yorkers deserve a transparent and accountable capital planning proc- ess for the NYS Department of Transportation (DOT). Without financial details, the public and the legislature's ability to participate in decisions about spending on our state's road, bridge, bus and rail infrastructure is significantly curtailed. Unlike the MTA, DOT is not statutorily required to submit a capital plan. Although the Memo of Understanding was approved in 2009, there is not currently a publically reviewable 5-year or 20-year capital plan for DOT. Historically, the DOT and MTA 5-year capital plans have been negotiated and approved simul- taneously; recently, that process has differed.
In order to ensure fiscally-responsible use of state tax dollars, this process should be based on long-term needs assessments of the transpor- tation system and include appropriate public, legislative and other input. Without such details, transparency and accountability to the public is not possible. The legislature and the public need to know what transportation projects will advance in the upcoming years, on what schedule, and at what funding levels.
This bill amends the Finance Law, adding a new Section 22-d that requires the DOT to submit five-year and twenty-year intermodal trans- portation plans by October 2016, and every fifth year thereafter. It also requires the annual submittal of a list of projects, in October prior to the State annual budget negotiations. These plans, project lists and related items will be posted online, and subject to public hearings and comment.
Prior legislative history
2016: S.7608 - Passed Senate/A.9872 - Referred to Transportation 2017: S.2618 - Passed Senate/A.1234-A - Referred to Transportation 2018: S.2618 - Referred to Finance; Committed to Rules/A1234-B - Referred to Transportation
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.