Senate Bill S2591

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires corporations to provide written notice to the municipality in which the canal is located and properties adjacent to such canal prior to commencing work along such canal

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Current 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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 21, 2025	referred to transportation

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Canal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §42, Can L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S6748
2023-2024: S1232

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires corporations to provide written notice to the municipality in which the canal is located and properties adjacent to such canal prior to commencing work along such canal; requires the corporation to hold a public hearing prior to commencing such work; allows for exceptions in certain situations.

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2591

SPONSOR: ORTT
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the canal law, in relation to requiring corporations to
provide written notice to the municipality in which the canal is located
and properties adjacent to such canal prior to commencing work along
such canal

 
PURPOSE:

To have the canal corporation give written notice to municipalities no
less than ninety days and no more than one hundred and twenty days of
any work that must be completed along or adjacent to the canal.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 42 of the canal law to require the canal corpo-
ration to give written notice to municipalities of any work to remove
vegetation, encroachments and trees no less than ninety days before work
begins and no more than one hundred and twenty days before work begins.

If the work has not started between ninety and one hundred and twenty
days, the canal corporation can issue a notice of extension to the muni-
cipality no further than thirty days from the original anticipated start
date. The corporation shall hold a public hearing between thirty to
forty-five days prior to start of work to inform the community of such
work. In addition, the corporation will be excused from public hearing
requirements if an emergency comes up that could result in a direct
failure of the canal dams or endanger lives. Removal of hazardous trees
will be included in the emergency; this includes trees that pose a
threat to the canals.

Section 2 establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In communities across upstate New York, the Erie Canal serves as the
focal point of the community. For generations, it served as an economic
engine for the communities has boats navigated the length of the canal
and still today, the businesses and public land around it serve as a
municipality's "downtown." With the same idea, the Erie Canal has driven
community members to invest in property that is adjacent to the canal
due to the beauty and peacefulness that this body of water provides. As
a public entity, the New York State Canal Corporation has a responsibil-
ity to respect the people and communities who interact with the Erie
Canal every day, living and working' just steps from the banks of the
canal.  Whenever the Canal Corporation looks to adjust property along
the canal, it should be expected that they engage with stakeholders in
the community who will be affected.

With this legislation, the Canal Corporation would be obligated to
promptly notify local government, with limited exceptions, when 'they
plan on doing work along the canal as well as provide an opportunity for
community members to have their voice heard through a public hearing
held locally. At every level of government, the best decisions are made
when members of the public and community stakeholders have a chance to
be heard, and the decisions made by the Canal Corporation on the
stewardship of the Erie Canal are no different.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-2024: S.1232/A.2994 Referred to Transporatation

2021-2022: S.6748A Referred to Transportation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become the law.

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2591
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 21, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  ORTT  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT to amend the canal law, in relation to requiring corporations  to
   provide  written  notice  to  the  municipality  in which the canal is
   located and properties adjacent to such canal prior to commencing work
   along such canal
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 42 of the canal law, as amended by chapter 335 of
 the laws of 2001, is amended to read as follows:
   § 42. Removal of encroachments, TREES AND VEGETATION.  1.  The  corpo-
 ration  is  authorized  to  cause  to be removed from canal property any
 building, part of a building or structure erected, placed, maintained or
 otherwise occupying such canal property, if, in its opinion, the removal
 is necessary for the improvement, use, maintenance, control, management,
 repair or operation of the canal system. It shall be  the  duty  of  any
 person  owning  or  maintaining  such  a building, part of a building or
 structure to remove the same within thirty days from the service by  the
 corporation  upon said person of a notice ordering its removal. Upon the
 failure of the person so ordered to  remove  the  building,  part  of  a
 building  or  structure,  the  corporation may, without liability on the
 part of the state or the corporation, take whatever action it  may  deem
 necessary  to cause the removal. Service of the order of removal must be
 personal if the person to be served can be found within  the  state.  If
 the corporation shall not be able to serve such notice or cause the same
 to  be served on the said person within the state after making a reason-
 able effort so to do, service may be made by attaching  such  notice  to
 the said building, part of a building or structure.
   2. THE CORPORATION SHALL PROVIDE WRITTEN NOTICE TO ANY MUNICIPALITY IN
 WHICH ANY WORK ALONG A CANAL SHALL BE DONE, AS WELL AS ANY AND ALL PROP-
 ERTIES ADJACENT TO SUCH CANAL, NO LESS THAN NINETY DAYS AND NO MORE THAN
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06880-01-5

 S. 2591                             2
 
 ONE  HUNDRED  TWENTY  DAYS  PRIOR  TO THE START DATE OF SUCH WORK.  WORK
 REQUIRING NOTICE SHALL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED  TO  THE  CLEARING  OF
 TREES  AND VEGETATION.  IF SUCH WORK STATED IN THE WRITTEN NOTICE TO THE
 MUNICIPALITY  AND  ADJACENT  PROPERTIES HAS NOT STARTED WITHIN NINETY TO
 ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS FROM THE DATE OF SUCH WRITTEN NOTICE BEING SENT,
 THE CORPORATION MAY ISSUE A NOTICE OF EXTENSION TO SUCH MUNICIPALITY AND
 ADJACENT PROPERTIES WITH THE UPDATED DATE UPON WHICH WORK  SHALL  BEGIN.
 SUCH UPDATED DATE SHALL BE NO FURTHER OUT THAN AN ADDITIONAL THIRTY DAYS
 FROM  THE  ORIGINALLY  ANTICIPATED  START  DATE.   IF SUCH WORK FAILS TO
 COMMENCE WITHIN SUCH THIRTY-DAY EXTENSION, THE CORPORATION SHALL ISSUE A
 NEW NOTIFICATION OF SUCH WORK TO THE MUNICIPALITY AND  ADJACENT  PROPER-
 TIES  NO  LESS THAN NINETY DAYS AND NO MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS
 PRIOR TO THE NEW START DATE OF SUCH WORK.
   3. THE CORPORATION SHALL HOLD A  PUBLIC  HEARING  BETWEEN  THIRTY  AND
 FORTY-FIVE  DAYS  PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED COMMENCEMENT OF ANY WORK OCCUR-
 RING ALONG ANY CANAL IN THE MUNICIPALITY IN WHICH THE WORK IS  SCHEDULED
 TO  TAKE  PLACE.    SUCH PUBLIC HEARING SHALL BE NOTICED TO RESIDENTS OF
 SUCH MUNICIPALITY IN A WAY THAT IS  DESIGNED  TO  PROPERLY  NOTICE  SUCH
 COMMUNITY.    SUCH NOTICE SHALL INCLUDE THE TIME, PLACE, AND LOCATION OF
 SUCH MEETING AS WELL AS THE PROPOSED SCOPE  OF  WORK  AND  THE  SPECIFIC
 LOCATION OF THE WORK TO BE UNDERTAKEN.  METHODS OF NOTICE TO A COMMUNITY
 INCLUDE  BUT  ARE  NOT LIMITED TO COVERAGE ON THE LOCAL NEWS AND WRITTEN
 NOTICE IN THE LOCAL PAPER.
   4. THE CORPORATION SHALL BE EXEMPTED FROM THE NOTIFICATION AND  PUBLIC
 HEARING  REQUIREMENTS  UNDER THIS SECTION IF THERE IS AN EMERGENCY SITU-
 ATION THAT COULD RESULT IN AN IMMEDIATE FAILURE OF CANAL DAMS OR EMBANK-
 MENTS, OR TO ADDRESS FLOODING THAT WOULD JEOPARDIZE LIVES AND  PROPERTY.
 REMOVAL  OF  DANGER TREES SHALL BE INCLUDED IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. FOR
 PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION "DANGER TREE" SHALL MEAN ANY TREE THAT, DUE
 TO LOCATION AND CONDITION, POSES  AN  IMMINENT  THREAT  OF  FALLING  AND
 DAMAGING THE CANAL.
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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Senate Bill S2591

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Actions

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Robert G. Ortt

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Actions

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S2591 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments