March 17, 2026 · Transportation · 1,968 words · 5 speakers · 18 segments
And I co chair the Senate. Well, I chair the Senate Transmission Committee. But I'm very honored to co chair this conference committee with my assembly colleague, Chair Magnarelli. Before I introduce my Senate colleagues and I will share some priorities later on, I just want to thank everyone for being here and for their commitment to making sure that we deliver transportation in this budget. So without further ado, let me introduce our Senate members. Senator Comrie will hopefully be on his way. Senator Monica Martinez Seneca. Senator James Scufus, Senator John Lew. And Senator Matera is here. And we possibly might be joined by one additional minority conference member. I'll now turn it over to my assembly co Chair, Bill Magnarelli.
Thank you Chair. Thank you very much, Chair. And I want to thank the Senator. And good evening to everyone who is here. I am assembly member Bill Maggarelli, co chair of the Transportation Joint Budget Conference subcommittee. And I too would like again to welcome you all to this conference subcommittee. The members of the assembly who are serving with us on the subcommittee are Ed Bronstein, to my left, Chair of Corporations, Chairwoman Dede Barrett, Chair of energy. Karen McMahon is not able to be with us this evening. Unfortunately she is ill. Landon Daez is here as well. Emerita Torres is. Did I say that wrong? I'm sorry. You know, I knew I was going to say that wrong is here. Brian Miller and Michael Dorso, thank you all for being here. The assembly and the Senate each designate a secretary for the purpose of taking minutes. The assembly designates Julie Barney, Senator Cooney.
And the Senate will designate Mike Vita. The following agencies are announced to be at this table. The Department of Transportation, Department of Motor Vehicles, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York State Thruway Authority. So over the next few weeks, our table will discuss issues related to transportation, including important programs such as the statewide Mass Transit Operating System Assistance STOA and consolidated Local street and Highway Improvement Programs.
Chips.
Along with additional capital projects, the Senate is committed to making sure that our transportation systems are sufficiently and well funded. This is why the Senate proposed increasing a 15% increase to the non MTA transit systems across our state. Senate is also planning to secure additional resources on capital funding for local roads, which. Which is why the Senate One House increased chips funding by 250 million. We also increased funding to bridge New
York for the repair of local bridges
and culverts and for the Extreme Winter Recovery Program to provide a much needed highway and bridge repair funding after several winter storms. And of course that means fixing those potholes that all of us talk about so often. And important to my Local community of Rochester where very pleased to see the Senate included funding for the Inner Loop project to fill the gap in federal funds that many projects unfortunately can no longer rely on. I know Chairman has a very important federally funded project in his district as well. And as we are all working to make sure that we deliver these funds across the entire state, it's certainly my hope that our table can find agreement on these proposals and many more. I know we will and I'll now turn it back over to my co Chair Bill macarelli.
Thank you Mr. Chair. I am pleased for us to be here today with the Senate to examine transportation budget proposals for the fiscal year 2627 state budget. Regarding the DOT capital plan, the assembly budget includes the following increases to the executive proposal. $50 million for the PAVE New York program. $50 million for the CHiPs program. It's kind of like the same record here. $50 million for the state touring route program. $100 million for non MTA transit capital. $35.5 million for passenger rail capital. $12.5 million for aviation capital. $26 million for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority light rail system. Regarding mass transit operating assistance, the assembly provides the following increases to the executive's proposal. $5.9 million for upstate non MTA transit operating assistance to ensure that all non MTA transit systems statewide receive 7.4% year to year growth growth $1 million in one time operating funding to the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority for costs associated with incorporating Cortland county into its service area. $15 million for a fair free bus program in the City of New York with a one fair free bus route in each borough. At this point in time I'm going to turn it over to our colleagues if we'll start with the Senate. If the senate. Go ahead Mr.
Chair. Sure.
There any Senators who would like to speak on this? Senator Matero.
Thank you Chairman. I'm glad to be here representing this Senate Republican Conference at today's conference Committee on Transportation. Our conference has long advocated for increasing funding for our local roads, primarily through ships and upstate transit. I would like to acknowledge the significant increase in the Senate one House for chips funding to $898.1 million and would like to see the assembly and the Governor to keep this funding level in the enacted budget. I have seen the great work our towns and counties and our state highway departments have done and know that they need this funding desperately to do their jobs. Especially the terrible winter that we just had. Great job to everyone. I would also like to Take the opportunity to address the DOT's core program and their challenge to spend money appropriated to them for road work across the DOT regions. According to Rebuild New York. And the DOT has only spent 52% of their funds on core highway projects across the state. That's over 5.7 billion unspent. We need this funding especially everywhere in New York State, especially on Long island, state roads, county roads, town roads. While I'm thrilled to see our local highway superintendents receive an increased dollar amount in the Senate one House, I need to emphasize that the DOT should be doing their job and using the money appropriated over the course of their five year capital program to fix the state roads. The hardworking men and women of the union labor who work tirelessly to make sure that the roads are smooth and passable must know that their state stands behind them. We thank all of them for our safe roadways. Thank you.
There we go. Thank you Senator Mater and I appreciate you emphasizing the worker safety component, which of course the Senate is very committed to, and pass it back over to Chairman Rally.
Do any of my colleagues have a statement? Assemblywoman Barrett,
thank you Chair, and welcome. And thank you all for being here. I'm Assemblymember Dede Barrett and I chair the Assembly's Energy Committee. Energy affordability is top of mind as we continue to see energy costs soar at the gas pump and on our utility bills. To address this, the assembly has put forth a number of initiatives in our one house to protect consumers. We've increased the Public Utility Law project's appropriation to $2.75 million to address affordability. We proposed funding power checks to provide rate payer relief. Shifting on bill utility assessments to the General Fund. Pausing utility rate increases while establishing a rates component commission to study increasing utility rates and propose real solutions to help people retrofit their homes. We've allocated 160 million over two years from the Sustainable Futures program to NYSERDA's Empower plus program and 40 million for the low income weatherization programs administered by Homes and Community Renewal. We've also included 200 million for thermal energy networks allowing us to decarbonize while continuing to support the union workforce in this just transition. The transportation sector is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases in New York State. And the assembly's one house budget proposal includes 100 million for zero emission school buses, one of our big challenges. And for supporting infrastructure related to that. 50 million for EV fast charging stations and supporting infrastructure for municipal, commercial, medium duty, heavy duty and fleet vehicles. And 50 million for NYSERDA's Charge Ready New York program through our 1 billion sustainable future fund. I also hope to see funding for the use of sustainable aviation fuels as proposed in my own legislation. This commercial aviation sector will be difficult, if not impossible to fully electrify and the use of sustainable aviation fuel, a drop in fuel made renewable waste and residual materials has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 80% and improve air quality in communities located near airports virtually overnight. And many of those are disadvantaged communities. I look forward to hearing from stakeholders throughout this budget process and working with my colleagues at all parts of government to ensure reliability, affordability and safety for all New Yorkers as we continue our clean energy transition. Thank you.
Any other comments? Go right ahead. Mr. Miller,
thank you for the opportunity to speak today on behalf of the Assembly Minority Conference. Over the past few years, we've all seen how much more expensive it's become to get things done. The cost of materials and labor has risen sharply, you know, and our local governments are feeling that pressure every day as they try to maintain the roads and the infrastructures our communities rely on. While the assembly's proposed $50 million increase in CHIPS funding is a step in the right direction, the Senate's $250 million proposal more accurately reflects the level of investment needed to fund and maintain our roads. Our towns and counties are being asked to do more with less, and that's simply not sustainable. If we're serious about making the most of these dollars, we should also look at streamlining the system, consolidating programs like CHIPS Extreme Winter Recovery and State Touring Routes, and bringing together efforts like Pave Our Potholes and Pave New York so funding is easier to access and more effective on the ground. We also need to take a closer look how future mandates will impact our infrastructure. The 2027 All Electric School bus requirement, for example, could add additional strain on our roads due to heavier vehicle weights. That's something we need to fully understand now before it becomes a bigger and more costly issue. And as we talk about roads, we can't forget to talk about who work on them. The highway workers put themselves in harm's way every day to keep the rest of us safe. Strengthening work zone protections isn't optional, it's essential to make sure that they get home to their families. At the end of the day. The Assembly Minority Conference will continue to push for funding that actually matches the need, and I look forward to working to pass an on time budget that is responsible, restrained and focused on infrastructure challenges that matter most to New Yorkers. Thank you.
Okay. Well, thank you again, everyone, for spending part of their St Patrick's Day with us here. And a little bit of luck, we will be successful in the budget negotiation process. The Senate looks forward to working with the assembly and the executive.
I again would like to thank the other members of the conference subcommittee and look forward, as the chair just said, to working with all of you on these important issues in the process of enacting a timely and responsible budget. Thank you, everyone. This meeting of the Transportation Joint Budget Conference subcommittee is adjourned. Thank you.