NY State Senate Bill 2017-S1723

Senate Bill S1723

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Directs the NYS Thruway Authority and NYS Bridge Authority to jointly study and report on methods to share services and combine functions and on feasibility of merging as a single entity

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to transportation
Jan 10, 2017	referred to transportation

2017-S1723 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A41
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Transportation
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: S2340, A4197
2019-2020: A190
2021-2022: A1056

2017-S1723 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Directs the NYS Thruway Authority and NYS Bridge Authority to jointly study and report on methods to share services and combine functions and on feasibility of merging as a single entity; requires reports to be issued to the governor and legislature.

2017-S1723 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1723

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act in relation to directing the New York State
Thruway Authority and the New York State Bridge Authority to jointly
study and report on methods that can be implemented to share services
and combine functions, and on the feasibility of merging into a single
entity

 PURPOSE :

This legislation directs the New York State Thruway Authority and the
New York State Bridge Authority to conduct a joint study to explore
the sharing and consolidation of services and functions in order to
reduce each Authority's overall administrative, operational, and/or
capital costs. Furthermore, these Authorities shall also conduct a
study to explore the feasibility of a merger of the authorities into a
single entity.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 sets forth the intent of the legislation and parameters for
such study and report.

Section 2 is the effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :

None.

 JUSTIFICATION :

This legislation comes after the New York State Thruway Authority
announced their 2015-16 budget which included a $36 million deficit.
Additionally, it has been reported that this budget deficit could grow
to an astonishing $305 million by 2018. This proposal will direct both
the New York State Thruway Authority and the New York State Bridge
Authority to conduct a study to explore the sharing and consolidation
of services and functions in order to reduce each Authorities overall
administrative and operational and/or capital costs to avoid future
budget deficits.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015-16: S2340/A4197 - Transportation/Corporations

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.

2017-S1723 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1723
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 10, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT in relation to directing the New York State Thruway Authority and
   the New York State Bridge Authority to jointly  study  and  report  on
   methods  that  can  be implemented to share services and combine func-
   tions, and on the feasibility of merging into a single entity
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  1.  The New York state thruway authority and the New York
 state bridge authority shall jointly conduct  a  study  to  explore  the
 sharing  and  consolidation of services and functions in order to reduce
 each authority's  overall  administrative,  operational  and/or  capital
 costs.  Such  authorities  shall additionally conduct a study to explore
 the feasibility of a merger of the authorities  into  a  single  entity.
 Such  authorities  may  employ  the  use  of  outside consultants in the
 conducting of either study, subject to competitive bidding requirements.
   a. Sharing and consolidation of services study.  The  joint  study  to
 explore  the  sharing and consolidation of services and functions should
 be designed with the ultimate goal of streamlining the functions of each
 authority in order to reduce overall costs  and  increase  efficiencies,
 and  shall  include, at a minimum, an examination of methods that can be
 implemented by each authority in order to:
   (i) consolidate central administrative functions, such as  purchasing,
 personnel management, hiring and employee benefits administration;
   (ii)  consolidate  or  share  optional functions, such as maintenance,
 security services, toll collections and payment processing; and
   (iii) develop and implement a joint capital  plan  whereby  long  term
 capital  projects  at each individual authority are jointly designed and
 constructed.
   b. Merger study. The joint study to explore the feasibility of a merg-
 er of the New York state thruway authority and the New York state bridge
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD01616-01-7

 S. 1723                             2
 
 authority into a single entity may, at the discretion of  each  authori-
 ty's  board of directors, be conducted in conjunction with or apart from
 the sharing and consolidation of services study and  shall  explore  any
 and all aspects of a full  merger of the two individual authorities into
 a single entity.
   2.  Reports.  a.  Within six months of the effective date of this act,
 the New York state thruway authority  and  the  New  York  state  bridge
 authority  shall  jointly  issue a report of the findings of sharing and
 consolidation of services study to the governor, the temporary president
 of the senate and  the  speaker  of  the  assembly.  Such  report  shall
 include, but not be limited to, the following:
   (i)  actions  that can be implemented by each authority immediately, a
 plan of action for  such  implementation,  and  the  estimated  cost  of
 savings to be achieved;
   (ii) actions that require regulatory action by either or both authori-
 ties  in order to be implemented, a plan of action for implementing such
 actions, and the estimated cost savings to be achieved; and
   (iii) actions that require statutory changes in  order  to  be  imple-
 mented and the estimated cost savings to be achieved.
   b.  Within  one  year  of the effective date of this act, the New York
 state thruway authority and the New York state  bridge  authority  shall
 jointly  issue  a report of the findings of the merger feasibility study
 to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and  the  speaker
 of  the  assembly.  Such  report shall include a full examination of all
 aspects of merging the two authorities into a single entity, a  proposed
 plan  of  action  for  such merger, and the estimated cost savings to be
 achieved.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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