NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1575
SPONSOR: Brown K TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the highway law, in relation to designating a portion of
the state highway system as the "General Colin Powell Thruway"
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Designates a portion of the state highway system as the "General Colin
Powell Thruway".
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: The highway law is amended by adding a new section 344-n.
Portion of the state highway system to be designated as the "General
Colin Powell Thruway". All that portion of the state highway system
constituting interstate route eighty-seven, beginning in the city of
Yonkers, county of Westchester, and continuing north until it crosses
State route twenty in the town of Guilderland, county of Albany, shall
be designated and known as the "General Colin Powell Thruway".
Section 2: The commissioner of transportation shall provide for the
installation and maintenance of adequate signing of the state highway
system as designated pursuant to section one of this act.
Section three: Sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
General Colin Powell was born in Harlem, New York and raised in Bronx,
New York. General Colin Powell was this nation's first African American
Secretary of State. He served as the 16th United States national securi-
ty advisor and as the 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the
highest military position in the Department of Defense. During this
time, he oversaw 28 crises, including the invasion of Panama in 1989 and
Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf War against Iraq. He had a
long-standing military career where he rose to the rank of four-star
General. Powell won numerous US and foreign military awards and deco-
rations. His civilian awards included the Presidential Medal of Freedom,
the Congressional Gold Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and the
Secretary's Distinguished Service Award. New York has a lot to be proud
of in General Colin Powell. Honoring the life and career of New York's
General Colin Powell by renaming a portion of the New York State Thruway
would be a fitting honor.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: A.8498
2023-24: A.5149
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1575
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 10, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. K. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the highway law, in relation to designating a portion of
the state highway system as the "General Colin Powell Thruway"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The highway law is amended by adding a new section 344-r to
2 read as follows:
3 § 344-r. Portion of the state highway system to be designated as the
4 "General Colin Powell Thruway". All that portion of the state highway
5 system constituting interstate route eighty-seven, beginning in the city
6 of Yonkers, county of Westchester, and continuing north until it crosses
7 state route twenty in the town of Guilderland, county of Albany, shall
8 be designated and known as the "General Colin Powell Thruway".
9 § 2. The commissioner of transportation shall provide for the instal-
10 lation and maintenance of adequate signing of the state highway system
11 as designated pursuant to section one of this act. However, to avoid
12 confusion and to limit any possible disruption of commerce, the desig-
13 nation called for pursuant to section one of this act shall be one of
14 ceremonial nature and the official name of such highway shall not be
15 changed as a result of this act.
16 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03066-01-5
