§ 10-C — Consolidated local highway assistance payments

§ 10-c. Consolidated local highway assistance payments. 1.\nNotwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter or any other law,\nand subject to an appropriation made therefor and in accordance with the\nprovisions of this section and with the rules and regulations\npromulgated by the commissioner in connection therewith, on and after\nthe first day of April, nineteen hundred eighty-two, a consolidated\nlocal highway assistance program is hereby established for the purpose\nof making payments toward the construction, operation and/or maintenance\nof highways, bridges and highway-railroad crossings that are not on the\nstate highway system. For purposes of this section, such program shall\napply to any county, city, town or village highway, bridge and/or\nhighway-railroad crossing within the state that is not on the state\nhighway system and not under the maintenance and/or operational\njurisdiction of the state. The commissioner shall promulgate all\nnecessary rules and regulations to carry out the program so that an\nequitable distribution of aid shall be made for the construction,\noperation and/or maintenance of any county, city, town and village\nhighways, bridges and highway-railroad crossings.\n 2. On or before the twenty-fifth day of April, June, September and\nNovember of each state fiscal year commencing with the state fiscal year\nbeginning on April first, nineteen hundred eighty-four there shall be\ndistributed and paid to counties, cities, towns and villages an amount\nequal to the moneys appropriated for the purposes of this section\ndivided by the number of payment dates in that state fiscal year. Such\namounts shall be distributed and paid pursuant to subdivision three of\nthis section.\n 3. Amounts shall be distributed for local highways, bridges and\nhighway-railroad crossings in accordance with the following three step\nprocess:\n (a) First, 41.40 percent of moneys so appropriated or authorized by\nthe legislature for distribution pursuant to this subdivision in any\nfiscal year shall be distributed to New York city and to the counties\noutside of New York city, fifty percent on the basis of their relative\nshares of motor vehicle registration and fifty percent on the basis of\nthe relative shares of center line highway mileage, except interstate\nand state highways, under the maintenance jurisdiction of the city of\nNew York and the several counties.\n (b) Second, the balance of the moneys so appropriated or authorized by\nthe legislature for distribution pursuant to this subdivision in any\nfiscal year shall be distributed among four jurisdictional systems based\non relative vehicle miles of travel as follows:\n JURISDICTIONAL PERCENT OF\n SYSTEM VEHICLE MILES OF TRAVEL\n Cities 42.7\n Counties 18.5\n Villages 10.7\n Towns 28.1\n -----\n Total 100.0\n Within each jurisdictional system, the distribution made to each\nmunicipality shall be based on the ratio of the number of lane miles\nunder the maintenance jurisdiction, except interstate and state\nhighways, of each municipality that is devoted to the movement of\ntraffic, excluding lanes devoted to the parking of vehicles, to the\ntotal number of such lane miles under the operational jurisdiction,\nexcept interstate and state highways, of all municipalities in the state\nwithin each jurisdictional system.\n (c) Third, the amounts distributed to each municipality in accordance\nwith paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall be adjusted so\nthat such amounts will not be less than the "funding level" as defined\nin subdivision five of this section for each such municipality. In order\nto achieve the objectives of this paragraph, to the extent necessary the\namounts in excess of the funding levels to be distributed to each\nmunicipality under paragraphs (a) and (b) hereof shall be reduced in\nequal proportion.\n 4. (a) For each fiscal year commencing on and after April first,\nnineteen hundred eighty-two and prior to April first, nineteen hundred\neighty-seven, amounts shall be distributed pursuant to an annual\nappropriation from the local assistance account of the general fund of\nthirty-four million dollars in accordance with the percentums\nestablished in subdivision five of section two hundred thirty-two of the\ntransportation law.\n (b) For each fiscal year set out in the schedule hereinbelow amounts\nshall be distributed pursuant to an annual appropriation from the local\nassistance account of the general fund in an amount set out in such\nschedule for the corresponding state fiscal year. Each fiscal year\ndistribution shall be made in accordance with the per centums\nestablished in subdivision five of section two hundred thirty-two of the\ntransportation law:\n State Fiscal Year Appropriation\n 1987-88 $65,000,000\n 1988-89 $70,000,000\n 1989-90 $75,000,000\n 1990-91 $80,000,000\n 1991-92 $85,000,000\n 1992-93 $87,000,000\n (c) Sub-allocations within each percentum shall be made in accordance\nwith the allocations established by the commissioner pursuant to chapter\nthree hundred sixty-nine of the laws of nineteen hundred seventy-nine.\n (d) The amounts distributed pursuant to this subdivision shall be paid\nin four equal payments on or before the twenty-fifth day of April, June,\nSeptember and November.\n (e) Funds allocated for local street or highway projects under this\nsubdivision shall be used to undertake work on a project either with the\nmunicipality's own forces or by contract, provided however, that\nwhenever the estimate for the construction contract work exceeds one\nhundred thousand dollars but does not exceed three hundred fifty\nthousand dollars such work must be performed either with the\nmunicipality's own forces or by contract let by competitive bid in\naccordance with the provisions of section one hundred three of the\ngeneral municipal law and provided further, however, that whenever the\nestimate for the construction contract work exceeds three hundred fifty\nthousand dollars such work must be performed by contract let by\ncompetitive bid in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred\nthree of the general municipal law.\n 5. For amounts to be distributed pursuant to this section above the\nfunding level, as defined in this subdivision, received by any\nmunicipality, such municipality shall use at least seventy-five percent\nof such apportioned moneys for the construction, reconstruction or\nimprovement of local highways, bridges and/or highway-railroad\ncrossings, including right of way acquisition, preliminary engineering,\nand construction supervision and inspection, where the service life of\nthe project is at least ten years. Such moneys made available may be\nused to match other state and federal funds made available for such\nprojects under federal-aid highway acts. The remainder of the\napportionment, may be used for any highway purposes, except debt\nservice, including but not limited to, the acquisition of materials and\nequipment devoted to operation and maintenance of local highways,\nbridges and/or highway-railroad crossings and the payment of any costs\ndirectly attributable to operation and maintenance of local highways,\nbridges and/or highway-railroad crossings. At the discretion of the\ncommissioner, the requirement specified in this subdivision may be\nwaived for assistance payments in amounts of less than five thousand\ndollars. For purposes of this section "funding level" shall mean the\naverage amounts, calculated for each municipality, received over two\nyears ending March thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-two from the\nprovisions of the town highway improvement program, the distribution\nmade by former section one hundred twelve of this chapter, as repealed\nby section twenty-one of the transportation systems assistance and\nfinancing act of 1981 of amounts collected from taxes on motor fuel\nimposed by sections two hundred eighty-four and two hundred\neighty-four-a of the tax law and on Diesel motor fuel imposed by\nsections two hundred eighty-two-a and two hundred eighty-two-b of the\ntax law, and from motor vehicle fees collected from residents pursuant\nto the vehicle and traffic law, and the distribution made by former\nsection two hundred seventy-nine of this chapter, as repealed by section\ntwenty-one of the transportation systems assistance and financing act of\n1981.\n 6. On the first day of the third month following the end of its fiscal\nyear ending in nineteen hundred eighty-three and each succeeding fiscal\nyear, each municipality which has received five thousand dollars or more\nin total funds paid pursuant to subdivision two or four of this section\nduring the preceding fiscal year shall certify to the commissioner,\npursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner in\nrelation thereto, that the expenditure by such municipality in such\nfiscal year of nonstate funds raised by the municipality for the\noperation and maintenance (exclusive of capital construction) of its\nhighways, bridges and/or highway-railroad crossings was not reduced\nbelow the level of the average of the previous two years. Provided,\nhowever, that in calculating the expenditures and revenues of the\nmunicipality to determine the local maintenance of effort for the fiscal\nyear being certified and the expenditure level of the average of the\nprevious two years, municipalities shall not be required to include the\namount of revenues and expenditures for operation and maintenance of its\nhighways, bridges, and/or highway-railroad crossings necessitated by any\nunforeseen event for which the municipality was officially declared a\ndisaster area. Where a reduction in such spending or non-use has\noccurred, the distributions above the funding level to such municipality\nin the then-current state fiscal year shall be reduced by an amount\nequivalent to the amount of such reduction or non-use, except that no\nreduction to the funding level shall be taken for an amount caused by\nany unforeseen event for which the municipality was officially declared\na disaster area. Municipalities not required to certify under this\nsection may continue such non-certifying status, with the approval of\nthe commissioner, if the apportionment to such municipality is increased\nto more than five thousand dollars but less than seven thousand dollars\nin any local fiscal year. For the purposes of this section, a\nmunicipality shall mean a county, city, town or village or two or more\nsuch jurisdictions acting jointly.\n 7. For any city, town, or village which consolidates or merges with\nanother municipality, the resulting successor government shall file with\nthe office of the state comptroller a certificate of any such\nconsolidation, merger and any accompanying dissolution. In the event\nthat the amount which would otherwise be apportioned to the individual\ngovernments exceeds the amount which is payable to the successor\ngovernment pursuant to this section, such successor government shall\nreceive no less in consolidated local highway apportionments than the\npredecessor governments would have received in the aggregate had the\nmerger or consolidation not occurred.\n 8. (a) For each fiscal year set out in the schedule hereinbelow\namounts shall be distributed pursuant to annual appropriation from the\nlocal assistance account of the general fund in an amount set out in\nsuch schedule for the corresponding state fiscal year:\n State Fiscal Year Appropriation\n 1993-94 $72,652,000\n 1994-95 $72,652,000\n 1995-96 $72,652,000\n 1996-97 $72,652,000\n (b) For each fiscal year set out in the schedule hereinbelow amounts\nshall be distributed pursuant to annual appropriation from the dedicated\nhighway and bridge trust fund or by authorization by the legislature for\ncapital projects in an amount set out in such schedule for the\ncorresponding state fiscal year:\n State Fiscal Year Appropriation\n 1993-94 $170,000,000\n 1994-95 $175,000,000\n 1995-96 $180,000,000\n 1996-97 $185,000,000\n (c) The moneys appropriated or authorized in each fiscal year pursuant\nto the schedules in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall be\ndistributed in accordance with the procedures contained in subdivisions\nthree and four of this section. The total of funds distributed in\naccordance with the procedures in subdivision three of this section\nshall equal one hundred forty-five million dollars in each fiscal year.\nThe balance of funds shall be distributed in accordance with the\nprocedures in subdivision four of this section. For purposes of\ncalculating distributions in accordance with subdivision three of this\nsection, the "funding level" shall be proportioned between amounts\ndistributed pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision.\n