New York Assembly Bill A03111

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/23/25
• Refer: 1/23/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Authorizes county highway superintendents to rent road machinery from any city, town or village; authorizes town highway superintendents to contract for the use of certain services and town machinery, tools and equipment with another municipality, district corporation, school district, community college or any unit of the state university.

Summary

A03111 amends the Highway Law to broaden the ability of local highway officials to share and rent equipment across municipal boundaries. For county road work, it would allow county highway superintendents to rent road machinery not only from private parties and towns in the county, but also from any city, village, or another county. The bill also updates gendered language in the statute, replacing references such as “he” and “foreman” with gender-neutral terms like “they” and “foreperson.” For towns, the bill would authorize town superintendents of highways, with town board approval, to permit the use of town-owned highway machinery, tools, and equipment by a county, municipality, district, district corporation, school district, community college, or any unit of the State University of New York, on terms agreed to by the parties. Revenue received from these arrangements would remain tied to purposes allowed under existing town highway finance rules. The bill takes effect immediately.

Impact

The bill would expand existing authority under sections 117 and 142-d of the Highway Law, making it easier for counties and towns to share road machinery and related equipment with a wider range of public entities. It would affect county road funds and town highway resources by expressly allowing rental or shared-use arrangements with additional governmental units, including school districts, community colleges, and SUNY units, while preserving the requirement that payments be used for authorized highway purposes. It also modernizes statutory language to be gender-neutral.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to be a practical, administrative bill with a generally neutral-to-positive policy purpose. Its focus on intermunicipal cooperation, equipment sharing, and updated statutory language suggests it is intended to improve flexibility and efficiency rather than create a controversial policy change. No formal opposition or recorded vote history is provided here.

Contention

The main potential points of contention are likely operational rather than ideological: whether expanding equipment-sharing authority could create scheduling conflicts, wear-and-tear concerns, liability issues, or disputes over pricing and terms between municipalities. Another possible issue is local control, since the bill gives broader discretion to highway superintendents and town boards to contract with a larger set of public entities. However, no specific objections, amendments, or recorded opposition are included in the supplied materials.