Bill Text: NY S00346 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Increases penalties for endangerment of a highway worker; promotes work zone safety awareness; establishes a fund for additional work zone safety enforcement.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION [S00346 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S00346-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 346 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. COONEY, ADDABBO, HELMING, MATTERA, ROLISON, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the transportation law, in relation to work zone safety; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the work zone safety fund The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new 2 section 1221-a to read as follows: 3 § 1221-a. Endangerment of a highway worker. 1. A driver of a motor 4 vehicle commits endangerment of a highway worker if the driver is oper- 5 ating a motor vehicle within a work area as defined in section one 6 hundred sixty-one of this chapter at any time one or more highway work- 7 ers are in the work area and does any of the following: 8 (a) enters a work area in any lane not clearly designated for use by 9 motor vehicles; or 10 (b) fails to obey traffic control devices controlling the flow of 11 motor vehicles through the work area for any reason other than: 12 (i) an emergency; 13 (ii) the avoidance of an obstacle; or 14 (iii) the protection of the health and safety of another person. 15 2. (a) A driver of a motor vehicle who violates this section shall be 16 guilty of a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not more than one 17 thousand dollars and not less than five hundred dollars or by imprison- 18 ment for not more than fifteen days or by both such fine and imprison- 19 ment. 20 (b) A driver of a motor vehicle who causes physical injury as defined 21 in article ten of the penal law to a highway worker in the work area 22 while violating subdivision one of this section shall be guilty of a EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01123-01-5S. 346 2 1 traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not more than two thousand 2 dollars and not less than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for 3 not more than forty-five days or by both such fine and imprisonment. 4 (c) A driver of a motor vehicle who causes serious physical injury as 5 defined in article ten of the penal law to a highway worker in the work 6 area while violating subdivision one of this section shall be guilty of 7 a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not more than five thousand 8 dollars and not less than two thousand dollars or by imprisonment for 9 not more than ninety days or by both such fine and imprisonment. 10 3. In any case wherein the charge laid before the court alleges a 11 violation of this section, any plea of guilty thereafter entered in 12 satisfaction of such charge must include the fine imposed pursuant to 13 this section and no other plea of guilty to any other charge in satis- 14 faction of such charge shall be authorized; provided, however, if the 15 prosecuting attorney, upon reviewing the available evidence, determines 16 that the charge of a violation of this section is not warranted, such 17 prosecuting attorney may consent, and the court may allow a disposition 18 by plea of guilty to another charge in satisfaction of such charge; 19 provided, however, in all such cases, the court shall set forth upon the 20 record the basis for such disposition. Such fine shall not be waived or 21 reduced below the minimum as provided in subdivision two of this 22 section. Sixty percent of fines collected pursuant to this section shall 23 be paid to the work zone safety fund established by section ninety-nine- 24 ss of the state finance law. 25 4. No person shall be guilty of endangerment of a highway worker for 26 any act or omission otherwise constituting a violation under this 27 section if the act or omission results, in whole or in part, from 28 mechanical failure of the person's motor vehicle or from the negligence 29 of a highway worker or another person. 30 5. Nothing contained in this section shall prohibit the imposition of 31 a charge of any other offense set forth in this or any other provision 32 of law for any acts arising out of the same incident. 33 § 2. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 34 1221-b to read as follows: 35 § 1221-b. Work area safety and outreach. The governor's traffic safety 36 committee, upon consultation with the commissioner of transportation, 37 the superintendent of state police, the commissioner, the chair of the 38 New York state thruway authority, local law enforcement agencies, and 39 representatives for contractors, laborers, and public employees, shall 40 design and implement a public education and outreach program to increase 41 motorist awareness of the importance of highway work area safety, to 42 reduce the number of work area incidents, including speeding, unauthor- 43 ized intrusions into work areas, and any conduct resulting in hazards or 44 injuries to highway workers, and to increase and promote work area safe- 45 ty. 46 § 3. Section 161 of the vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 47 92 of the laws of 1984 and as renumbered by chapter 303 of the laws of 48 2014, is amended to read as follows: 49 § 161. Work area or work zone. [That part of a highway being used or50occupied for the conduct of highway work, within which workers, vehi-51cles, equipment, materials, supplies, excavations, or other obstructions52are present.] The area of a highway, bridge, shoulder, median, or asso- 53 ciated right-of-way, where construction, maintenance, utility work, 54 accident response, or other incident response is being performed. The 55 work area must be marked by signs, traffic control devices, traffic-con- 56 trol signals, barriers, pavement markings, authorized emergency vehi-S. 346 3 1 cles, or hazard vehicles, and extends from the first traffic control 2 device erected for purposes of controlling the flow of motor vehicles 3 through the work area, including signs reducing the normal speed limit 4 but excluding signs notifying motorists of an impending speed limit 5 reduction, to the "END ROAD WORK" sign or the last temporary traffic 6 control device. The signs, traffic control devices, traffic control 7 signals, barriers, pavement markings, or authorized emergency vehicles, 8 or hazard vehicles must meet department of transportation standards and 9 the provisions of this chapter, and must be installed properly so that 10 they are clearly visible to motorists in accordance with the manual on 11 uniform traffic control devices. 12 § 4. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 13 118-a to read as follows: 14 § 118-a. Highway worker. Any person employed by or on behalf of the 15 state, a county, city, town or village, a public authority, a local 16 authority, or a public utility company, or the agent or contractor of 17 any such entity, who has been assigned to perform work on a highway, 18 including maintenance, repair, flagging, utility work, inspection, 19 construction, reconstruction or operation of equipment on public highway 20 infrastructure and associated rights-of-way in highway work areas, and 21 shall also include any flagperson as defined in section one hundred 22 fifteen-b of this article. 23 § 5. Section 22 of the transportation law, as added by chapter 223 of 24 the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows: 25 § 22. Work zone safety and enforcement. The department shall, in coop- 26 eration with the superintendent of state police, the commissioner of 27 motor vehicles, the [chairman] chair of the New York state thruway 28 authority, local law enforcement agencies and representatives for 29 contractors [and] , laborers and public employees, develop and implement 30 rules and regulations for the increased safety of work zones. Such rules 31 and regulations shall include, but shall not be limited to, a police 32 presence at all major active work zones as defined by rules and regu- 33 lations set forth by the commissioner, the use of radar speed display 34 signs at all major active work zones as defined by rules and regulations 35 set forth by the commissioner, and a system for reviewing work zone 36 safety and design for all work zones under the jurisdiction of the 37 department. 38 § 6. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-ss to 39 read as follows: 40 § 99-ss. Work zone safety fund. 1. There is hereby established in the 41 custody of the state comptroller a special fund to be known as the "work 42 zone safety fund". 43 2. The fund shall consist of all monies appropriated for its purpose, 44 all monies required by this section or any other provision of law to be 45 paid into or credited to such fund, collected by the mandatory fines 46 imposed pursuant to section twelve hundred twenty-one-a of the vehicle 47 and traffic law, and all other monies appropriated, credited, or trans- 48 ferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law. Any inter- 49 est received by the comptroller on monies on deposit in the work zone 50 safety fund shall be retained in and become a part of such fund. 51 3. Monies of the fund shall, following appropriation by the legisla- 52 ture, be disbursed to provide work zone safety enforcement, work zone 53 markings, radar speed display signs, and police monitoring of work zones 54 pursuant to section twenty-two of the transportation law. Monies of the 55 fund shall be expended only for the purposes listed in this subdivision, 56 and shall not be used to supplant any other funds which would otherwiseS. 346 4 1 have been expended for work zone safety and enforcement, including with- 2 out limitation work zone safety enforcement, work zone markings, radar 3 speed display signs, and police monitoring of work zones. 4 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of 5 the comptroller. 6 5. On or before the first day of February each year, the comptroller 7 shall certify to the governor, temporary president of the senate, speak- 8 er of the assembly, and chairs of the assembly and senate transportation 9 committees, the amount of money deposited in the work zone safety fund 10 during the preceding calendar year as the result of revenue derived 11 pursuant to section one thousand two hundred twenty-one-a of the vehicle 12 and traffic law. 13 6. On or before the first day of February each year, the director of 14 the division of budget, in consultation with the relevant agencies and 15 authorities, shall provide a written report to the temporary president 16 of the senate, speaker of the assembly, chair of the senate and assembly 17 transportation committees, the state comptroller and the public. Such 18 report shall include how the monies of the fund were utilized during the 19 preceding calendar year, and shall include: 20 (i) the amount of money disbursed from the fund and the award process 21 used for such disbursements; 22 (ii) recipients of disbursements from the fund; 23 (iii) the amount awarded to each; 24 (iv) the purposes for which such disbursements were made; and 25 (v) a summary financial plan for such monies which shall include esti- 26 mates of all receipts and all disbursements for the current and succeed- 27 ing fiscal years, along with the actual results of the prior fiscal 28 year. 29 § 7. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 30 have become a law.
