BILL NUMBER: S3544
SPONSOR: BORRELLO
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the highway law, in relation to lowering the required
service life threshold for consolidated local street and highway
improvement program capital projects
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill lowers the required service life threshold for consolidated
local street and highway improvement program capital projects (CHIPS)
from ten years to five years.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends subdivision 5 of section 10-c of the highway law by
changing the service life of a project to five years.
Section 2. Provides that the act shall take effect immediately.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Per a July 2023 update to the NYSDOT Program Guidelines, "CHIPS, EWR,
PAVE-NY, and STR allow the following resurfacing project sub types with
a 5-year service life: (1) micro surfacing; (2) paver placed surface
treatment; (3) single course surface treatment involving chip seals or
oil and stone; or (4) double course surface treatment involving chip
seals or oil and stone. Under NYSDOT policy, if a municipality is reim-
bursed for expenditures on one of these four resurfacing treatments, the
municipality is not eligible for reimbursement a second treatment at the
same location for another ten (10) years." This policy has long been
ignored by NYSDOT and its enforcement will result in the deterioration
of roadways and increased property taxes.
Historically, NYSDOT has permitted preventative maintenance treatments
under various programs, acknowledging their cost-effectiveness and bene-
fits to taxpayers. Most county and town highway departments use preven-
tative maintenance treatments like chipseal (oil & stone), micro paving,
or paver placed surface treatments to extend the life of the road. They
are by far the most economical choice to maintain roads and provide the
best cost to benefit the taxpayers. While these treatments commonly must
be reapplied after 5-7 years, they often do last 10 years or longer and
they remain part of the road base, often for decades. These treatments
certainly improve the value of road, which is the asset against the
bonds. These are all excellent reasons why NYSDOT accepted them as
eligible expenses under the programs.
The lookback policy is going to require county and town highway super-
intendents to either defer maintenance outside of the 10-yr lookback
period or switch to more expensive reconstructions and overlays, which
will severely limit the mileage that can be repaired each year. To make
up for these limitations, municipalities will either need to increase
taxes to raise local funds for preventative maintenance or let roads
decline.
Overall, this legislation is necessary for several reasons. It facili-
tates more frequent maintenance of roads and highways, leading to
improved safety, and cost savings. By lowering the service life thresh-
old for CHIPS capital projects to five years, it enables local authori-
ties to address infrastructure needs more promptly and effectively,
ultimately benefiting both residents and the broader economy.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S9211 Referred to Transportation
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S3544: 10-c highway law, 10-c(5) highway law