NY State Senate Bill 2025-S7393

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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 14, 2025	referred to transportation

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2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Highway Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §205-c, Hway L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S3136
2011-2012: S3641
2013-2014: S1965
2015-2016: S2265
2017-2018: S2537
2019-2020: S2910
2021-2022: S3825
2023-2024: S1836

2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Permits the designation of low volume roads and minimum maintenance roads by town boards; enacts provisions relating to the maintenance, improvement and repair of such roads; removes the limitation that such provisions only apply to a designated town.

2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7393

SPONSOR: GRIFFO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the highway law, in relation to minimum maintenance
roads by towns

 
PURPOSE:

This bill authorizes towns to designate certain town roads as low-volume
roads and certain low-volume roads as minimum maintenance roads.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Like Chapter 690 of the Laws of 2023, this legislation amends section
205-c of the highway law to permit towns to designate minimum mainte-
nance roads by a local law passed by the town board following a public
hearing.

Section one sets forth the procedure to do so, and section two sets the
effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 1990, the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources sponsored a law
establishing the NYS Local Roads Research and Coordination Council.  The
Council defined and promulgated standards for low-volume road classi-
fication. The purpose in designating low-volume roads is to reduce costs
associated with bringing such roads to state or national design stand-
ards. Towns have been adopting local laws designating roads as low-vo-
lume according to the Council's standards. This bill would establish the
classification system in state highway law to provide assurance to towns
that such designations have the authority of state law.

In addition, this legislation would establish a comprehensive and trans-
parent process for towns to designate recreational or agricultural roads
as minimum maintenance as well as an appeal process for landowners.
These low-volume roads would not require as much maintenance, such as
plowing and grading, as other roads, saving towns money.

Roads that are the primary access for farm operations, or that have a
year-round residence at the time of designation, would not be designated
minimum maintenance. Furthermore, the designation of minimum maintenance
and the standards adopted cannot restrict farm operations in an Agricul-
tural District even if the road is not a primary farm access road. Farm-
ers who change the use of a field along a minimum maintenance road would
be able to request that a town modify standards to allow for better
access so that their farm operations are not restricted. Such
restriction is already prohibited by the agricultural districts law.
This bill would also establish a formal process for landowners to peti-
tion to discontinue the minimum maintenance designation or to modify
maintenance standards.

It is difficult for many local highway departments lacking professional
engineers to design or upgrade older low-volume roads that do not meet
current engineering standards. In many rural towns, the highway budget
already exceeds 50% of total town expenditures, sometimes by a signif-
icant amount. It is impractical for rural towns to afford this level of
design, construction and maintenance.  Low-volume and minimum mainte-
nance designations would provide more realistic and affordable standards
while maintaining public input.

In addition to the fiscal relief that this bill affords, low volume, and
particularly minimum maintenance roads, are a management tool that helps
towns to maintain access to working landscapes such as forestlands,
recreational areas and agriculture with reasonable costs. These desig-
nations may also help prevent over-development or sprawl in rural areas
reducing competition for the use of such lands.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-24-S.1836 - Passed Senate/A.2225-Transportation Committee

2021-22 - S. 3825/A.326 - Transportation Committee.

2019-20 - S. 2910 Passed Senate/A. 3724 - Transportation Committee.

2017-18 - S. 2537 Passed Senate/A. 418 - Transportation Committee.

2015-16 - S. 2265 - Passed Senate/A. 1837 - Transportation Committee.

2013-14 S. 1965 - Passed Senate/A. 1407 - Transportation Committee.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Cost savings for towns.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7393
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  GRIFFO, ASHBY, GALLIVAN, HELMING, MAY, WALCZYK --
   read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
   the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  highway law, in relation to minimum maintenance
   roads by towns
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 205-c of the highway law, as added by chapter 690
 of the laws of 2023, subdivision 5 as added by chapter 108 of  the  laws
 of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   §  205-c.  Minimum maintenance roads. 1. A. THE TOWN BOARD OF ANY TOWN
 MAY, BY RESOLUTION, DESIGNATE CERTAIN TOWN HIGHWAYS AS LOW-VOLUME  ROADS
 OR  PORTIONS  THEREOF  PURSUANT  TO  THE CLASSIFICATIONS DEFINED IN THIS
 SECTION. IN CLASSIFYING SUCH ROADS, THE TOWN BOARD SHALL BASE THE  CLAS-
 SIFICATION  ON  TRAFFIC  VOLUMES,  TYPES  OF  VEHICLES USING THE ROAD OR
 PORTION THEREOF, AND THE CURRENT ADJACENT  LAND  USES.  THE  TOWN  BOARD
 SHALL  REFER PROPOSED CLASSIFICATIONS TO THE TOWN HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT
 AND THE TOWN PLANNING BOARD, IF PRESENT IN SUCH TOWN.
   B. UPON RECEIPT OF THE PROPOSED RESOLUTION, THE  TOWN  HIGHWAY  SUPER-
 INTENDENT AND, WHERE APPLICABLE, TOWN PLANNING BOARD, SHALL REPORT THEIR
 RECOMMENDATIONS  TO  THE  TOWN  BOARD, ACCOMPANIED BY A STATEMENT OF THE
 REASONS FOR SUCH RECOMMENDATIONS  WITHIN  FORTY-FIVE  DAYS  OF  RECEIPT.
 UPON RECEIPT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE TOWN HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT
 AND,  WHERE  APPLICABLE,  TOWN PLANNING BOARD, OR UPON THE EXPIRATION OF
 FORTY-FIVE DAYS FROM THE DATE THE PROPOSED RESOLUTION WAS REFERRED,  THE
 TOWN  BOARD  MAY ADOPT BY MAJORITY VOTE, THE LOCAL CLASSIFICATION RESOL-
 UTION.
   2. a. The town board of any [designated]  town  may,  after  a  public
 hearing,  adopt  a  local law designating any low-volume road or portion
 thereof providing agricultural or recreational land access,  except  for
 farm  access  roads  or roads that provide access to an individual year-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11371-02-5

 S. 7393                             2
 
 round residence at the time of designation,  as  a  minimum  maintenance
 road.  No  such  law  shall  restrict farm operations in an agricultural
 district. Such local law shall not prevent the  state  from  maintaining
 such road if the road passes over, or provides access to, state land. No
 such law designating a minimum maintenance road shall be effective until
 MINIMUM  MAINTENANCE STANDARDS ARE ADOPTED AND signs are posted advising
 the public that such road is a minimum maintenance road. No  road,  once
 designated  a minimum maintenance road, shall be determined to have been
 abandoned pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one of  section  two
 hundred  five  of  this  article solely because it has been designated a
 minimum maintenance road.
   b. At least forty-five days prior to the public hearing on such  local
 law  the town board having jurisdiction over such road shall issue find-
 ings that such road or portion thereof should be  designated  a  minimum
 maintenance road. Such findings shall include, but not be limited to:
   (i) the volume and type of motor vehicle traffic on such road;
   (ii)  a  determination  that  the property owners of land abutting the
 road shall continue to have access to their property;
   (iii) a determination that the  users  of  the  road  traveling  at  a
 reasonable  and  prudent  speed,  under  the circumstances, shall not be
 placed in a hazardous situation;
   (iv) a determination that such road,  or  portion  thereof,  does  not
 constitute a farm access road as defined in this section; [and]
   (v)  the  effect  of such designation on any farm operations dependent
 upon the road, and that such designation does not  restrict  farm  oper-
 ations in agricultural districts[.]; AND
   (VI)  THE  STANDARDS OF MAINTENANCE DEVELOPED IN CONSULTATION WITH THE
 TOWN HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT TO BE PROVIDED FOR SUCH ROAD INCLUDING,  BUT
 NOT LIMITED TO, THE INTENTION TO CLOSE SUCH ROAD DURING CERTAIN TIMES OF
 THE YEAR.
   A copy of the town board's findings shall be made available for public
 inspection  in the town clerk's office and posted to the town website if
 available.
   A copy of the findings shall be sent to the school board of the school
 district in which each road is located and to the town  planning  board.
 Such school board and planning board may review the findings of the town
 board  and  within forty-five days file with the town clerk their recom-
 mendation and findings. In the event the school or planning board  takes
 no  action  within  the  forty-five day review period the town board may
 proceed without said board's  recommendation  and  findings.  School  or
 planning  board  review may be waived, shortened or extended upon mutual
 consent of said board and the town board. The town  board  of  the  town
 may,  by  resolution,  accept, accept in part, or reject the recommenda-
 tions of either the school or planning board prior to any vote upon  the
 proposed local law.
   A  copy  of the findings shall also be sent to the department of envi-
 ronmental conservation or any  other  relevant  state  agency  that  has
 jurisdiction  over  the  land that the road proposed to be designated as
 minimum maintenance passes over or provides access to.
   c. At least thirty days prior to the public hearing on such local law,
 written notice of such hearing, including a  summary  of  the  findings,
 shall  be served by certified mail upon every owner of real property, as
 determined by the latest completed assessment roll, abutting  such  road
 or portion thereof.
   d. The town clerk shall give notice of such hearing by the publication
 of  a  notice  in  at  least one newspaper of general circulation in the
 S. 7393                             3
 
 town, and post such notice on the town website if available,  specifying
 the  time  when  and  the  place where such hearing will be held, and in
 general terms describing the proposed resolution. Such notice  shall  be
 published  once  at  least five days prior to the day specified for such
 hearing.
   [2.] 3. A road or road segment located  within  a  [designated]  town,
 which  has  been  designated minimum maintenance, shall be maintained at
 the same level as other roads within the town but shall not require snow
 and ice removal and maintenance. Such level  of  maintenance  shall  not
 restrict  access  to  farmland by a farm operation eligible for agricul-
 tural assessment pursuant to article twenty-five-AA of  the  agriculture
 and  markets law. Minimum maintenance roads shall continue to be part of
 the town highway system.
   [3.] 4. a. Any person or persons owning  or  occupying  real  property
 abutting  a  road or portion thereof which has been designated a minimum
 maintenance road may petition the town  having  jurisdiction  over  such
 road or portion thereof to discontinue the designation of such road as a
 minimum maintenance road. Such petition shall be filed with the clerk of
 the town having jurisdiction over such road. Such petition shall identi-
 fy  the  road or portion thereof to be discontinued as a minimum mainte-
 nance road and set forth the reasons for such discontinuance or  modifi-
 cation.   The town board having jurisdiction over such road shall hold a
 public hearing upon such petition within thirty days after its  receipt.
 The town clerk shall give notice of such hearing by the publication of a
 notice in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the town, and
 post  such  notice on the town website if available, specifying the time
 when and the place where such hearing will be held, and in general terms
 describing the proposed resolution. Such notice shall be published  once
 at least five days prior to the day specified for such hearing.
   b.  In the event the town board, after such public hearing, determines
 that such designation shall continue unchanged, no  additional  petition
 may  be  submitted by a person or persons pursuant to this section until
 the lapse of at least twenty-four months from the date of the filing  of
 the previous petition filed by such person or persons.
   c.  The town board having jurisdiction over a minimum maintenance road
 may adopt a local law discontinuing such minimum maintenance road desig-
 nation in the event it determines  such  discontinuance  to  be  in  the
 public interest.
   [4.]  5. When used in this section, unless otherwise expressly stated,
 or unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires, the  follow-
 ing terms shall have the following meanings:
   a.  "Low-volume  road"  shall  mean  a town highway or portion thereof
 located in a [designated] town, when such highway has an  average  daily
 traffic  count  of  less  than four hundred motor vehicles per day. Such
 term shall not apply to any highway or road or portion thereof which has
 previously been abandoned pursuant to subdivision  one  of  section  two
 hundred  five  of  this  article  because it shall not have been used or
 traveled as a highway for six years.
   b. "Agricultural land access road" shall mean a low-volume  road  that
 provides  access  to  farm  land.  Traffic  volumes  are  low  and  vary
 seasonally.
   c. "Farm access road" shall mean a low-volume road that provides prin-
 cipal motor vehicle access for  the  transport  of  goods  and  services
 necessary for effective support of a farm's daily operations to and from
 the  primary  location  or  center of such operations. Traffic volume is
 generally low, significantly less than four hundred motor  vehicles  per
 S. 7393                             4
 
 day,  and  may  include  occasional heavy vehicles and farm equipment as
 well as other motor vehicles.
   d.  "Recreation  land  access  road" shall mean a low-volume road that
 provides access to recreational land including seasonal dwellings, parks
 and recreational lands. Volumes can vary with  the  type  of  recreation
 facility, activity and season of the year.
   e.  "Minimum maintenance road" shall mean a low-volume agricultural or
 recreational access road or portion thereof with an average daily  traf-
 fic  count  of  less than fifty motor vehicles per day designated by the
 [designated] town as  minimum  maintenance  pursuant  to  this  section,
 except  for  a  farm  access  road or a road which provides access to an
 individual year-round residence at the time it is proposed to be  desig-
 nated minimum maintenance.
   f.  "Motor  vehicle"  shall mean a motor vehicle as defined by section
 one hundred twenty-five of the vehicle and traffic law.
   [g. "Designated town" shall mean the town of Lorraine, Jefferson coun-
 ty.
   5.] 6. Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting,  dimin-
 ishing  or otherwise affecting the powers of any municipality other than
 the [designated] town.
   § 2.  This act shall take effect on  the  one  hundred  twentieth  day
 after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments
 to  section  205-c  of  the  highway law made by section one of this act
 shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed
 therewith. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or  repeal
 of  any  rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act
 on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such date.

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Senate Bill S7393

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S7393

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Joseph A. Griffo

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

co-Sponsors

Jacob Ashby

Patrick M. Gallivan

Pamela Helming

Rachel May

2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S7393 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments