Bill Text: NY S04079 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Directs the New York state thruway authority to establish an electronic toll collection device for motor vehicles used by farms which grants a discount for use of the thruway.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-04-19 - PRINT NUMBER 4079A [S04079 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S04079-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4079--A

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 2, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. HINCHEY, GALLIVAN -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation --
          recommitted  to  the  Committee  on  Transportation in accordance with
          Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to directing the
          New  York  state  thruway authority to establish a farm E-Z Pass which
          grants discounted tolls for certain motor  vehicles  used  by  persons
          engaged in agricultural production

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The public authorities law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
     2  section 378-b to read as follows:
     3    §  378-b.  Farm  E-Z  Pass. 1. The authority shall establish and issue
     4  electronic toll collection devices to provide a discount  on  tolls  for
     5  motor  vehicles  that are owned and operated by a farm or farmer and are
     6  used exclusively  for  the  transportation  of  qualifying  agricultural
     7  products,  and  the  farm or farmer would benefit from a toll collection
     8  discount due to financial  hardship.  Qualifying  agricultural  products
     9  include those consisting of crops, livestock and livestock products,  as
    10  defined    in   subdivision   two   of section  three hundred one of the
    11  agriculture and markets law.  For the purposes of  this  section,  motor
    12  vehicles  may  include passenger cars, vans, pickups, buses, single-unit
    13  trucks, single-trailer trucks having two or more  axles,  or  any  other
    14  vehicle  the  authority  deems  to  be of equivalent size and purpose to
    15  qualify for the program.   The use of such  electronic  toll  collection
    16  devices  shall  provide a discount on the toll otherwise imposed for the
    17  use of the thruway system, or any portion thereof, by the motor  vehicle
    18  to  which  the  device is affixed.   Each motor vehicle approved for the
    19  farm E-Z Pass grant shall be charged at a discounted rate  as  described
    20  in  subdivision  two  of  this  section through the license plate of the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08325-06-2
        S. 4079--A                          2

     1  motor  vehicles  provided  during  the  initial   application   process.
     2  Discounts  shall  be  awarded to farms or farmers experiencing financial
     3  hardship based on a tiered system standard  which  shall  be  in  effect
     4  within  one  year  from  the effective date of this section.  Applicants
     5  shall reapply annually.
     6    2. The authority, in consultation with the department  of  agriculture
     7  and  markets, shall review the size of each farm applicant and determine
     8  whether such applicant is experiencing financial hardship. The  authori-
     9  ty,  in  consultation  with  the  department of agriculture and markets,
    10  shall make size and  hardship  determinations  by  reviewing  each  farm
    11  applicant's annual sales, costs, and revenue, the number of crops, live-
    12  stock,  and/or livestock products needed to transport, and the amount of
    13  overall production. The tiers shall be determined as follows:
    14    (a) First-tier: Micro farms shall be limited to one small-sized  motor
    15  vehicle  and  shall  be    discounted  one hundred percent of their toll
    16  expenses.
    17    (b) Second-tier: Small-sized farms shall be limited to one small-sized
    18  motor vehicle and one medium-sized motor vehicle and shall be discounted
    19  seventy-five percent of their toll expenses.
    20    (c) Third-tier: Medium-sized farms shall be  limited  to  two  medium-
    21  sized motor vehicles and shall be discounted fifty percent of their toll
    22  expenses.
    23    (d)  Fourth-tier:  Large-sized  farms  shall be limited to two medium-
    24  sized and one large-sized motor vehicle and shall be discounted  twenty-
    25  five percent of their toll expenses.
    26    3.  The  authority, in consultation with the department of agriculture
    27  and markets, shall promulgate rules and  regulations  to  implement  the
    28  provisions  of this section, including determining the application proc-
    29  ess and establishing the type of documentation or other  proof  required
    30  to  prove  that  a  motor  vehicle  is  exclusively  used to further the
    31  conducting of the production of crops, livestock, livestock products, or
    32  agricultural products.
    33    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    34  it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, any rules  and  regu-
    35  lations  necessary to implement the provisions of this act on its effec-
    36  tive date are authorized to be completed on or before such date.