BILL NUMBER:S3124A

TITLE OF BILL:

An  act  to  amend  the  transportation  law, in relation to issuance of
temporary authority

PURPOSE:

This bill requires the department of transportation to provide  carriers
with  adequate  notice  of  the  filing  of an application for temporary
authority or emergency temporary authority.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill adds a new subdivision 10 to section  153  of  the
transportation  law.  The  new subdivision requires certain applications
for temporary authority to be submitted to the department of transporta-
tion in a timely manner and requires the department to provide  adequate
notice to carriers.

Section 2 of the bill is the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

In  2013, the Professional Golf Association (PGA) held its PGA Champion-
              

ship in Rochester, NY. The event was a success  for  upstate  businesses
and  communities  generating  a $102 million economic impact and drawing
225,000 spectators with visitors coming from as far as 100 miles away.

With respect to transportation services for the tournament, most of  the
services were provided by an out-of-state transportation vendor that had
to  apply to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for emergency tempo-
rary authority in order to provide  the  services.  Under  current  law,
emergency  temporary  authority can be applied for just three days prior
to the start of an event.

Although the dates of  the  PGA  Championship  were  scheduled  well  in
advance,  the  out-of-state  transportation  vendor  still  applied  for
tempo-racy authority on an emergency basis. This creates  two  problems.
First,  the  short timeframe can compromise the DOT's ability to conduct
its review of the applicant to make sure that the applicant (i) is ready
and able to provide the services, (ii) has the  proper  insurances,  and
(iii) has vehicles that meet NYS inspection standards. Second, it effec-
tively  precludes  other carriers from pursuing the business opportunity
to provide transportation services at the event.

In the case of the PGA Championship in Rochester, local in-state  carri-
ers had fleets available and could have fulfilled the need for transpor-
tation services on the dates of the tournament, but because of the emer-
gency  nature  of  the  temporary  authority,  these local carriers were
unaware of the PGA's needs for the  event.  This  effectively  precluded

local  in-state  carriers from trying to obtain the transportation busi-
ness for the PGA tournament.

This  bill addresses the flaws in the current system for DOT issuance of
temporary authority as applied to specific events scheduled  within  the
State.

First,  the  legislation requires applications for specific events to be
submitted to DOT at least 90 days  prior  to  the  start  of  the  event
(unless it is impossible for the applicant to meet the 90-day deadline).
Secondly, this bill requires DOT to provide notice to carriers when such
an  application  is  submitted. By providing this notice, other carriers
will be made aware of the transportation needs in the  local  area  and,
consequently,  will  have a better opportunity to compete for the needed
transportation services.

Had these common-sense provisions been in place at the time of  the  PGA
Championship  in  Rochester,  more  local carriers would have benefitted
from the tournament and the local  economic  impact  of  the  tournament
could have been even greater.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.6627/A.9071 (2013-14); Passed Senate, Referred to Transportation

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This  act shall take effect on the 90th day after it shall have become a
law.