Bill Text: NY A08998 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Enacts the "schools impacted by gross highways (SIGH) act"; prohibits the commissioner of education from approving the plans for the erection of any new schoolhouse within five hundred feet of a controlled-access highway unless the commissioner of education determines that space limitations are so severe that there is no other site to erect such new schoolhouse, and there are adequate engineering controls to address air quality; makes related provisions.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-21 - reported referred to ways and means [A08998 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A08998-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8998--B IN ASSEMBLY February 1, 2024 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. TAPIA, STIRPE, HEVESI, EPSTEIN, RAGA, MAHER, BURGOS, SEPTIMO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Trans- portation -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommit- ted to said committee AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "schools impacted by gross highways (SIGH) act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "schools 2 impacted by gross highways (SIGH) act". 3 § 2. Section 408 of the education law is amended by adding a new 4 subdivision 3-a to read as follows: 5 3-a. (a) The commissioner shall not approve the plans for the erection 6 of any new schoolhouse within five hundred feet of a controlled-access 7 highway as defined in this subdivision unless the commissioner deter- 8 mines that (i) space is so limited that there is no other appropriate 9 site to erect such schoolhouse; (ii) plans for such schoolhouse include 10 adequate engineering controls to address air quality; and (iii) the 11 school district has demonstrated that other potential sites would pose 12 equal or greater hazards to health and safety. 13 (b) For purposes of this subdivision, the construction of a new 14 schoolhouse upon the site of an existing schoolhouse, or the 15 construction of an addition or annex constructed to serve an existing 16 schoolhouse, shall not be considered erection of a new schoolhouse. 17 (c) For purposes of this subdivision, a "controlled-access highway" 18 shall mean: (i) a controlled-access highway as defined by section one 19 hundred nine of the vehicle and traffic law under the jurisdiction of 20 the commissioner of transportation which has been functionally classi- 21 fied by the department of transportation as principal arterial - inter- 22 state or principal arterial - other freeway/expressway on official func- 23 tional classification maps approved by the federal highway 24 administration pursuant to part 470.105 of title 23 of the code of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05407-06-4A. 8998--B 2 1 federal regulations, as amended from time to time; and (ii) a divided 2 highway under the jurisdiction of the New York state thruway authority 3 for mixed traffic with access limited as the authority may determine and 4 generally with grade separations at intersections. 5 (d) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to create a private 6 right of action to enforce the terms of this subdivision. 7 § 3. Section 2556 of the education law is amended by adding a new 8 subdivision 5-a to read as follows: 9 5-a. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision three-a of section four hundred 10 eight of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for a new schoolhouse to be 11 constructed in the city of New York within five hundred feet of a cont- 12 rolled-access highway unless (i) the president of the New York city 13 school construction authority determines that there is no other appro- 14 priate site to erect such schoolhouse; (ii) if such schoolhouse is 15 planned to contain a secondary school, the community district, as such 16 term is defined in section twenty-five hundred ninety-a of this title, 17 in which the site of such schoolhouse is to be located has a projected 18 enrollment rate for secondary school education greater than seventy 19 percent of its capacity, based on the most recent report issued pursuant 20 to section 21-988 of the administrative code of the city of New York; 21 (iii) if such schoolhouse is planned to contain an elementary school or 22 a middle school, the subdistrict, as such term is defined in section 23 21-989 of the administrative code of the city of New York, in which the 24 site of such schoolhouse is to be located has a projected enrollment 25 rate for elementary school education or middle school education, as 26 applicable, greater than seventy percent of capacity, based on the most 27 recent report issued pursuant to section 21-988 of the administrative 28 code of the city of New York; (iv) the site of such schoolhouse is 29 located on a property a portion of which is used or is planned to be 30 used for residential or commercial purposes; or (v) plans for such 31 schoolhouse include adequate engineering controls to address air quali- 32 ty, based on regulations promulgated by the New York city department of 33 environmental protection. 34 (b) For purposes of this subdivision, neither the construction of a 35 new schoolhouse upon the site of an existing schoolhouse nor an addition 36 nor an annex constructed to serve an existing schoolhouse shall be 37 considered construction of a new schoolhouse. 38 (c) For purposes of this subdivision, a "controlled-access highway" 39 shall mean: (i) a controlled-access highway as defined by section one 40 hundred nine of the vehicle and traffic law under the jurisdiction 41 of the commissioner of transportation which has been functionally clas- 42 sified by the department of transportation as principal arterial - 43 interstate or principal arterial - other freeway/expressway on official 44 functional classification maps approved by the federal highway 45 administration pursuant to part 470.105 of title 23 of the code of 46 federal regulations, as amended from time to time; and (ii) a divided 47 highway under the jurisdiction of the New York state thruway authority 48 for mixed traffic with access limited as the authority may deter- 49 mine and generally with grade separations at intersections. 50 (d) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to create a private 51 right of action to enforce the terms of this subdivision. 52 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding 53 the date upon which it shall have become a law; provided, however, that 54 sections two and three of this act shall take effect five years after it 55 shall have become a law; and provided, further, that school districts 56 which have a new schoolhouse construction project with advertisementsA. 8998--B 3 1 for bids or requests for proposals issued prior to such effective date, 2 or which have acquired real property to construct a new schoolhouse as 3 approved by the board of education or trustees of a school district, or 4 which have had a building permit issued by the state education depart- 5 ment shall be exempt from the provisions of this act with respect to 6 construction on such a project; and provided further that in a city 7 school district in a city having a million inhabitants or more, a new 8 schoolhouse construction project for which an advertisement for bids or 9 requests for proposals for the planning, design or construction of such 10 project was issued prior to such effective date or for which a site was 11 selected pursuant to section 1732 of the public authorities law prior to 12 such effective date shall be exempt from the provisions of this act.
