BILL NUMBER: S4849
SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act directing the department of transportation to conduct a traffic
and planning study on the feasibility of transforming the Harriman
campus in connection with the relocation of the Wadsworth Laboratory at
Harriman
 
PURPOSE:
Relates to directing the department of transportation to conduct a traf-
fic and planning study on the feasibility of transforming the Harriman
campus in connection with the relocation of the Wadsworth Laboratory at
Harriman
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1:
(1) Directs the Department of Transportation to conduct a traffic and
planning study to determine the feasibility of transforming the eastern
end of the Harriman campus in connection with the relocation of the
Wadsworth Laboratory at Harriman.
(2) Sets the parameters and scope of the traffic and planning study.
(3) Directs the Department of Transportation to issue a report detailing
the findings of such a study to the Governor, Temporary.President of the
Senate, and the Speaker of the Assembly.
Section 2: Sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Governor Hochul's Fiscal Year 2023-2024 budget provides a $1.7 billion
investment to consolidate and upgrade the world-renowned Wadsworth
Public Health Laboratory at the Harriman State Office Campus Complex
(the "Harriman Campus") in the City of Albany. This builds on the
state's previous investment of $750 million included in previous years'
enacted budgets.
This investment - to create a new state-of-the-art public health labora-
tory at the Harriman Campus - has the potential to serve as the key
spark in leveraging more science and research investment in the area and
bring about the creation of a Capital Region research triangle, one that
is located within a transformed eastern Harriman Campus and fully inte-
grated with the City of Albany. .Thus, in order to fully realize the
potential of this investment, there is a need that an updated traffic
and planning study to be commissioned to help. transform the Eastern end
of the Harriman Campus to help better connect and integrate the campus
and the overall project into the City of Albany, while gaining addi-
tional acreage for mixed-use development, green space, and multi-modal
transportation.
In furtherance of this goal, this legislation requires the Department of
Transportation to conduct a traffic and planning study to determine the
feasibility of transforming the eastern end of the Harriman campus in
connection with the relocation of the Wadsworth Laboratory at the Harri-
man Campus and to issue a report on the findings of such study.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023/2024: S.6457/A.5888
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.