STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________

4243--A Cal. No. 117

2023-2024 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

February 13, 2023 ___________

Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL, SIMONE, L. ROSENTHAL, ARDILA, SHIMSKY, KELLES, SIMON, COLTON, STECK, SEAWRIGHT, LEVENBERG, JACOBSON, GUNTHER, OTIS, REYES, EPSTEIN, THIELE, GLICK, DURSO, GANDOLFO, NOVAKHOV, MCGOW- AN, STERN, RAGA, RAJKUMAR, HEVESI, ANDERSON, KIM, BARRETT, DINOWITZ, McMAHON, FORREST, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, CUNNINGHAM, PAULIN, SLATER, TAYLOR, BURGOS, SHRESTHA, LAVINE, SAYEGH, EACHUS, MAMDANI, DE LOS SANTOS, CONRAD, SILLITTI, WEPRIN, BENEDETTO, PRETLOW, ZACCARO, JACKSON, TAPIA, FAHY, JONES, McDONALD, MEEKS, STIRPE, BORES, LEE, BRONSON, WALLACE, BUTTENSCHON, PHEFFER AMATO, DILAN, DAVILA, BURKE, FALL, AUBRY, LUNSFORD, RAMOS, HUNTER, SANTABARBARA, BENDETT, DARLING -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conserva- tion -- ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading

AN ACT to enact the "New York wildlife crossing act"; to direct the department of transportation and the New York state thruway authority to identify sites along all highways, thruways, and parkways in the state where wildlife crossings are most needed to increase public safety and improve habitat connectivity; and to create a priority list of wildlife crossing opportunity areas where federal grant monies may be available to implement the top five projects identified

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows:

1 Section 1. Short title. This act maybe known and cited as the "New 2 York wildlife crossing act". 3 § 2. For the purposes of this act: 4 "Wildlife crossing" means a structure designed or retrofitted to 5 enable wildlife to successfully cross roads and other human-caused 6 barriers to wildlife movement. Such crossings may include but not be 7 limited to culverts, bridges, wildlife underpass tunnels, wildlife over- 8 pass bridges, and fencing associated with such structures.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02060-05-4

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1 § 3. The department of transportation and the New York state thruway 2 authority is hereby authorized and directed to assess all highways, 3 thruways, and parkways in the state for potential wildlife crossings to 4 improve wildlife habitat connectivity, reduce wildlife vehicle colli- 5 sions, and increase public safety for New York motorists. The department 6 of transportation, in conjunction with the New York state thruway 7 authority, shall use the findings of their assessment to finalize a top 8 ten wildlife crossings priority list no later than two years after the 9 effective date of this act. The priority list of crossing sites shall be 10 determined by the following: 11 (a) (i) Identification of road segments that pose a risk to successful 12 wildlife movement and habitat connectivity, or that pose a risk to the 13 traveling public due to wildlife-vehicle collisions; 14 (ii) Any available or subsequently collected data, or recommendations 15 provided by the department of environmental conservation, the department 16 of transportation, and the department of motor vehicles on needed road- 17 way mitigation measures to improve wildlife movement and habitat connec- 18 tivity. 19 (b) Identification of bridges and culverts that block or impede, espe- 20 cially road segments that negatively affect wildlife habitat and move- 21 ment; 22 (c) Information about how increased movement of species could benefit 23 overused and highly impacted habitat areas; 24 (d) Maps that identify locations of: 25 (i) existing wildlife crossings; and 26 (ii) potential sites for additional wildlife crossings based on this 27 study; 28 (e) Economic benefits anticipated from preserving wildlife movement 29 patterns, including the potential impact of reduced wildlife-vehicle 30 collisions; 31 (f) The feasibility and constructability of wildlife crossing infras- 32 tructure; and 33 (g) Any additional information that the department of environmental 34 conservation, department of motor vehicles, and non-governmental organ- 35 izations deems necessary and appropriate to carry out the intent and 36 purposes of this act. 37 § 4. Two years after the effective date of this act, the department of 38 transportation in conjunction with the New York state thruway authority 39 shall shall make public its identified list of priority wildlife cross- 40 ing opportunities. The priority opportunity list and accompanying infor- 41 mation listed below shall be updated every five years after publication 42 of the initial list. The publicized list of the top ten priority wild- 43 life crossing opportunities shall be accompanied by the following infor- 44 mation: 45 (a) Feasibility factors impacting construction for the top five of the 46 top ten wildlife crossing opportunities, which should include any avail- 47 able and helpful estimate costs, the availability and habitat quality of 48 the land on either side of the crossings, and any relevant public 49 support for the crossings; 50 (b) A description of any methodologies used beyond the requirements 51 listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) of section three of this act to 52 create the top ten list; and 53 (c) A list of available federal grant funds that the top five projects 54 are eligible for. 55 § 5. The department of transportation may consult with any state or 56 local office, agency, or department and request or receive information

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1 from any such entity that is relevant and material to the completion of 2 this study and report. 3 § 6. The department of transportation is hereby directed to addi- 4 tionally update appropriate design guidance, including the Highway 5 Design Manual, by July 1, 2026, to incorporate design concepts for wild- 6 life passage features and related standard plans and specifications as 7 appropriate. 8 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.