N.Y. Highway Law § 10-c: Consolidated local highway assistance payments

§ 10-c. Consolidated local highway assistance payments. 1.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter or any other law,

and subject to an appropriation made therefor and in accordance with the

provisions of this section and with the rules and regulations

promulgated by the commissioner in connection therewith, on and after

the first day of April, nineteen hundred eighty-two, a consolidated

local highway assistance program is hereby established for the purpose

of making payments toward the construction, operation and/or maintenance

of highways, bridges and highway-railroad crossings that are not on the

state highway system. For purposes of this section, such program shall

apply to any county, city, town or village highway, bridge and/or

highway-railroad crossing within the state that is not on the state

highway system and not under the maintenance and/or operational

jurisdiction of the state. The commissioner shall promulgate all

necessary rules and regulations to carry out the program so that an

equitable distribution of aid shall be made for the construction,

operation and/or maintenance of any county, city, town and village

highways, bridges and highway-railroad crossings.

2. On or before the twenty-fifth day of April, June, September and

November of each state fiscal year commencing with the state fiscal year

beginning on April first, nineteen hundred eighty-four there shall be

distributed and paid to counties, cities, towns and villages an amount

equal to the moneys appropriated for the purposes of this section

divided by the number of payment dates in that state fiscal year. Such

amounts shall be distributed and paid pursuant to subdivision three of

this section.

3. Amounts shall be distributed for local highways, bridges and

highway-railroad crossings in accordance with the following three step

process:

(a) First, 41.40 percent of moneys so appropriated or authorized by

the legislature for distribution pursuant to this subdivision in any

fiscal year shall be distributed to New York city and to the counties

outside of New York city, fifty percent on the basis of their relative

shares of motor vehicle registration and fifty percent on the basis of

the relative shares of center line highway mileage, except interstate

and state highways, under the maintenance jurisdiction of the city of

New York and the several counties.

(b) Second, the balance of the moneys so appropriated or authorized by

the legislature for distribution pursuant to this subdivision in any

fiscal year shall be distributed among four jurisdictional systems based

on relative vehicle miles of travel as follows:

JURISDICTIONAL PERCENT OF

SYSTEM VEHICLE MILES OF TRAVEL

Cities 42.7

Counties 18.5

Villages 10.7

Towns 28.1

-----

Total 100.0

Within each jurisdictional system, the distribution made to each

municipality shall be based on the ratio of the number of lane miles

under the maintenance jurisdiction, except interstate and state

highways, of each municipality that is devoted to the movement of

traffic, excluding lanes devoted to the parking of vehicles, to the

total number of such lane miles under the operational jurisdiction,

except interstate and state highways, of all municipalities in the state

within each jurisdictional system.

(c) Third, the amounts distributed to each municipality in accordance

with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall be adjusted so

that such amounts will not be less than the "funding level" as defined

in subdivision five of this section for each such municipality. In order

to achieve the objectives of this paragraph, to the extent necessary the

amounts in excess of the funding levels to be distributed to each

municipality under paragraphs (a) and (b) hereof shall be reduced in

equal proportion.

4. (a) For each fiscal year commencing on and after April first,

nineteen hundred eighty-two and prior to April first, nineteen hundred

eighty-seven, amounts shall be distributed pursuant to an annual

appropriation from the local assistance account of the general fund of

thirty-four million dollars in accordance with the percentums

established in subdivision five of section two hundred thirty-two of the

transportation law.

(b) For each fiscal year set out in the schedule hereinbelow amounts

shall be distributed pursuant to an annual appropriation from the local

assistance account of the general fund in an amount set out in such

schedule for the corresponding state fiscal year. Each fiscal year

distribution shall be made in accordance with the per centums

established in subdivision five of section two hundred thirty-two of the

transportation law:

State Fiscal Year Appropriation

1987-88 $65,000,000

1988-89 $70,000,000

1989-90 $75,000,000

1990-91 $80,000,000

1991-92 $85,000,000

1992-93 $87,000,000

(c) Sub-allocations within each percentum shall be made in accordance

with the allocations established by the commissioner pursuant to chapter

three hundred sixty-nine of the laws of nineteen hundred seventy-nine.

(d) The amounts distributed pursuant to this subdivision shall be paid

in four equal payments on or before the twenty-fifth day of April, June,

September and November.

(e) Funds allocated for local street or highway projects under this

subdivision shall be used to undertake work on a project either with the

municipality's own forces or by contract, provided however, that

whenever the estimate for the construction contract work exceeds one

hundred thousand dollars but does not exceed three hundred fifty

thousand dollars such work must be performed either with the

municipality's own forces or by contract let by competitive bid in

accordance with the provisions of section one hundred three of the

general municipal law and provided further, however, that whenever the

estimate for the construction contract work exceeds three hundred fifty

thousand dollars such work must be performed by contract let by

competitive bid in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred

three of the general municipal law.

5. For amounts to be distributed pursuant to this section above the

funding level, as defined in this subdivision, received by any

municipality, such municipality shall use at least seventy-five percent

of such apportioned moneys for the construction, reconstruction or

improvement of local highways, bridges and/or highway-railroad

crossings, including right of way acquisition, preliminary engineering,

and construction supervision and inspection, where the service life of

the project is at least ten years. Such moneys made available may be

used to match other state and federal funds made available for such

projects under federal-aid highway acts. The remainder of the

apportionment, may be used for any highway purposes, except debt

service, including but not limited to, the acquisition of materials and

equipment devoted to operation and maintenance of local highways,

bridges and/or highway-railroad crossings and the payment of any costs

directly attributable to operation and maintenance of local highways,

bridges and/or highway-railroad crossings. At the discretion of the

commissioner, the requirement specified in this subdivision may be

waived for assistance payments in amounts of less than five thousand

dollars. For purposes of this section "funding level" shall mean the

average amounts, calculated for each municipality, received over two

years ending March thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-two from the

provisions of the town highway improvement program, the distribution

made by former section one hundred twelve of this chapter, as repealed

by section twenty-one of the transportation systems assistance and

financing act of 1981 of amounts collected from taxes on motor fuel

imposed by sections two hundred eighty-four and two hundred

eighty-four-a of the tax law and on Diesel motor fuel imposed by

sections two hundred eighty-two-a and two hundred eighty-two-b of the

tax law, and from motor vehicle fees collected from residents pursuant

to the vehicle and traffic law, and the distribution made by former

section two hundred seventy-nine of this chapter, as repealed by section

twenty-one of the transportation systems assistance and financing act of

1981.

6. On the first day of the third month following the end of its fiscal

year ending in nineteen hundred eighty-three and each succeeding fiscal

year, each municipality which has received five thousand dollars or more

in total funds paid pursuant to subdivision two or four of this section

during the preceding fiscal year shall certify to the commissioner,

pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner in

relation thereto, that the expenditure by such municipality in such

fiscal year of nonstate funds raised by the municipality for the

operation and maintenance (exclusive of capital construction) of its

highways, bridges and/or highway-railroad crossings was not reduced

below the level of the average of the previous two years. Provided,

however, that in calculating the expenditures and revenues of the

municipality to determine the local maintenance of effort for the fiscal

year being certified and the expenditure level of the average of the

previous two years, municipalities shall not be required to include the

amount of revenues and expenditures for operation and maintenance of its

highways, bridges, and/or highway-railroad crossings necessitated by any

unforeseen event for which the municipality was officially declared a

disaster area. Where a reduction in such spending or non-use has

occurred, the distributions above the funding level to such municipality

in the then-current state fiscal year shall be reduced by an amount

equivalent to the amount of such reduction or non-use, except that no

reduction to the funding level shall be taken for an amount caused by

any unforeseen event for which the municipality was officially declared

a disaster area. Municipalities not required to certify under this

section may continue such non-certifying status, with the approval of

the commissioner, if the apportionment to such municipality is increased

to more than five thousand dollars but less than seven thousand dollars

in any local fiscal year. For the purposes of this section, a

municipality shall mean a county, city, town or village or two or more

such jurisdictions acting jointly.

7. For any city, town, or village which consolidates or merges with

another municipality, the resulting successor government shall file with

the office of the state comptroller a certificate of any such

consolidation, merger and any accompanying dissolution. In the event

that the amount which would otherwise be apportioned to the individual

governments exceeds the amount which is payable to the successor

government pursuant to this section, such successor government shall

receive no less in consolidated local highway apportionments than the

predecessor governments would have received in the aggregate had the

merger or consolidation not occurred.

8. (a) For each fiscal year set out in the schedule hereinbelow

amounts shall be distributed pursuant to annual appropriation from the

local assistance account of the general fund in an amount set out in

such schedule for the corresponding state fiscal year:

State Fiscal Year Appropriation

1993-94 $72,652,000

1994-95 $72,652,000

1995-96 $72,652,000

1996-97 $72,652,000

(b) For each fiscal year set out in the schedule hereinbelow amounts

shall be distributed pursuant to annual appropriation from the dedicated

highway and bridge trust fund or by authorization by the legislature for

capital projects in an amount set out in such schedule for the

corresponding state fiscal year:

State Fiscal Year Appropriation

1993-94 $170,000,000

1994-95 $175,000,000

1995-96 $180,000,000

1996-97 $185,000,000

(c) The moneys appropriated or authorized in each fiscal year pursuant

to the schedules in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall be

distributed in accordance with the procedures contained in subdivisions

three and four of this section. The total of funds distributed in

accordance with the procedures in subdivision three of this section

shall equal one hundred forty-five million dollars in each fiscal year.

The balance of funds shall be distributed in accordance with the

procedures in subdivision four of this section. For purposes of

calculating distributions in accordance with subdivision three of this

section, the "funding level" shall be proportioned between amounts

distributed pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision.