BILL NUMBER: S4363

SPONSOR: GAUGHRAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the highway law, in relation to limi-
tations on amounts to be raised for the repair and improvement of high-
ways in the town of Huntington

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Increases the limitation on the legally permissible amount that can be
raised for the repair and improvement of highways in the town of Hunt-
ington, county of Suffolk from four hundred thousand dollars to one
million dollars.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends subparagraph 1-a of paragraph a of subdivision 3 of
section 271 of the highway law, as amended by chapter 500 of th e laws
of 1994. Adds a new subparagraph 1-h.

Section 2: Sets the effective date.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill would give the town of Huntington in the county of Suffolk
more flexibility to purchase essential highway equipment to assist with
road repairs by raising the limitation on the amount of money the town
can legally raise for these purposes from four hundred thousand dollars
to one million dollars. This change is critical because the current
limit is arbitrarily low and inadequate to meet the needs of the highway
department.

The four hundred thousand dollar limitation, which has been in place
since 1978, is extremely outdated and does not account for both
inflation and the increased cost of highway equipment over the past four
decades. Accordingly, this unrealistically low limit does not permit the
town to replace old/failing equipment or purchase the new equipment
needed to make the highway department operate more efficiently.  The
highway equipment industry is evolving and creating new models which
maximize productivity. Oftentimes a single equipment purchase can exceed
the current limit for the town of Huntington. Increasing this limit will
give the town the opportunity to make purchasing decisions that end up
saving taxpayer dollars through increased efficiency. It will also put
the town of Huntington on more equal footing with other large towns in
Suffolk County that currently have much higher limits.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.