Establishes the emergency water infrastructure repairs fund; provides funding to municipalities for the emergency repair of any municipal water infrastructure.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A1902
SPONSOR: Santabarbara
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to establishing
the emergency water infrastructure repairs fund; and making an appropri-
ation therefor
 
PURPOSE:
To establish a fund specifically for water and sewer infrastructure
repairs that is more immediately available to municipalities under emer-
gency circumstances and directly related to the annual appropriation
made for the New York State Water Infrastructure Improvement Act in the
state budget.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Creates the "Emergency Water Infrastructure Repair Fund" that
will be maintained by the Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC).
Section 2: Annually, the legislature shall appropriate an amount equal
to ten percent (10%) of the budget appropriation made for the New York
State Water Infrastructure Improvement Act to establish an "Emergency
Water Infrastructure Repair Fund".
Section 3: Effective Date
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Aging infrastructure has put our communities in desperate need.
Although we have seen more funding to strengthen and upgrade infrastruc-
ture across the state for long-term solutions, more immediate funding
must be made available for unexpected water and sewer infrastructure
failures that pose a threat to people's health as well as their proper-
ties and require immediate attention.
Infrastructure failures of this nature force municipalities to draw
funds unexpectedly from other critical areas of their budget to address
public safety concerns, putting considerable financial strain on our
communities. This legislation seeks to make more immediate funding
available to assist communities with water and sewer infrastructure
repairs that must be made under emergency circumstances by establishing
the "Emergency Water Infrastructure Repair Fund", to be funded annually
at an amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the state budget appropri-
ation made for the New York State Water Infrastructure Improvement Act.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Legislation
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined in the amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the annual
budget appropriation for the New York State Water Infrastructure
Improvement Act
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1902
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 13, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to establishing
the emergency water infrastructure repairs fund; and making an appro-
priation therefor
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new
2 section 1285-s to read as follows:
3 § 1285-s. Emergency water infrastructure repairs fund. 1. There is
4 hereby established in the custody of the corporation an "emergency water
5 infrastructure repairs fund". The purpose of the fund shall be to
6 provide funding to municipalities for the emergency repair of any munic-
7 ipal water infrastructure.
8 2. For the purposes of this section, and notwithstanding any provision
9 of law to the contrary, as used in this section:
10 (a) "emergency" means a temporary condition of failure or inadequacy
11 of the water infrastructure of a municipality resulting from stress of
12 weather, convulsion of nature, fire, failure of power, mechanical break-
13 down, breakage or stoppage of mains and other portions of the water
14 system or sewage system;
15 (b) "fund" means the emergency water infrastructure repairs fund
16 established by this section;
17 (c) "sewage system" means any part of a wastewater disposal system,
18 including but not limited to all piping, drains, sewers, septic tanks,
19 distribution boxes, absorption fields, seepage pits, cesspools, and dry
20 wells, owned and operated by a municipality;
21 (d) "water infrastructure" means the sewage system and water system of
22 a municipality; and
23 (e) "water system" means and includes all the pipes, pumping stations,
24 elevated tanks and other structures and appurtenances necessary to the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06524-01-7
A. 1902 2
1 delivery of water under pressure and owned and operated by a munici-
2 pality.
3 3. Moneys in the fund shall be segregated from all other funds of or
4 in the custody of the corporation. Moneys in the fund shall be used for
5 any authorized purpose of the fund as provided and in accordance with
6 the provisions of this section.
7 4. The sources of funds shall consist of all moneys collected there-
8 for, or moneys credited, appropriated or transferred thereto from any
9 other fund or source pursuant to law, or any other moneys made available
10 for the purposes of the fund.
11 5. Moneys in the fund may be invested by the corporation in accordance
12 with this title and pursuant to guidelines from time to time issued by
13 the corporation.
14 6. A municipality may make an application for funding for emergency
15 repairs, in a manner, form and timeframe and containing such information
16 as the corporation may require. The corporation shall establish such
17 application requirements and an expedited application review process to
18 provide funds in a timely manner.
19 7. The corporation shall promulgate regulations for the purpose of
20 carrying out its responsibilities under this section.
21 § 2. The legislature shall appropriate ten percent of any annual
22 appropriation for water and sewer infrastructure repairs to the emergen-
23 cy water infrastructure repairs fund as established pursuant to section
24 1285-s of the public authorities law.
25 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.