Senate Bill S7568

                                BILL NUMBER:S7568

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the transportation law, in relation to
requiring the department of transportation to maintain a website or
webpage where users may report defects on state highways and bridges

PURPOSE:  The purpose of this bill is to make available a public
website for the purposes of reporting defects on New York State
highways and bridges

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Section 14 of the transportation law is amended by adding
subdivision 36, directing the department of transportation to develop
and make available a website for the purpose of reporting, mapping and
tracking, reports of defects on state highways, bridges and arteries
within department jurisdiction, and communicating departmental actions
in response to reported defects.

EXISTING LAW:  Currently the state department of Transportation
maintains a toll-free telephone hotline for the reporting of defects
and road hazards.

JUSTIFICATION:  Since the advent of the internet, New York residents
have come to expect the incorporation of online services as a means to
access information and openly communicate. The Governor of New York,
              

the New York Legislature, and many state and local agencies have
largely adopted an online presence to better communicate and represent
the people of New York. Considering the state's population and the
many agencies that exist in service to it, maintaining an online
presence is often the best and most cost-effective means to provide
those services.

Similarly, at nearly a quarter million total lane miles, the state's
transportation infrastructure is expansive. Each day millions of New
Yorkers traverse its roads and bridges. However, for its longest
stretches of road and bridge spans in upstate, and in Nassau and
Suffolk counties, the state maintains the toll-free 1-800 POTHOLE
hotline for reporting potholes and road defects.

Not only does this reporting system fail to reflect the changing
culture of government and populations that rely on the internet, it
also fails to keep pace with many of the state's own municipalities.

Further, providing an internet portal for reporting of defects and
other system issues should expedite repairs, making it easier for the
agency to identify issues in the same area and focus repairs more
specifically. It could also reduce the need for expenditure of
resources on outside consultants for hotline maintenance.

By providing an internet portal for the reporting of defects, state
transportation agencies would be able to expedite repairs throughout
the state. Not only would the ability to identify and address defects
be greatly improved, the ability to coordinate repairs would be
streamlined, making the most of available workforce, material and
financial resources.


LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Legislation

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:  The Office for Information Technology Services
could create a department webpage internally, without additional cost
to the state.  Additionally, design and implementation could mirror
similar programs currently in use in municipalities across the state,
minimizing the time needed for designing the website/page.

By improving the reporting of defects, and the realization of
efficiencies by way of improved management and allocation of the
available workforce and materials, the state could benefit in terms of
both the cost and extent of repairs.

LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.