Morinello attends transportation press conference calling for increased infrastructure funding

Republican Assemblyman Angelo Morinello on Monday joined Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb (Canandaigua) and assemblymen Phil Palmesano (Corning) and Kevin Byrne (Mahopac), co-chairmen of the Assembly minority task force on critical infrastructure and transportation, in announcing the release of “New York’s Infrastructure: A Report on Fortifying Our Roads, Bridges and Water Systems.” This report presents feedback from eight regional forums focused on the state’s infrastructure.

“The report presented at today’s press conference is an accumulation of the hard work done by my colleagues who hosted eight transportation forums last fall, and I applaud their efforts to establish real solutions for our state,” Morinello said. “For years, New Yorkers across the state have faced a major infrastructure crisis with no solution in sight, but this task force offers comprehensive solutions to this dilemma. This report lays out numerous proposals to improve our infrastructure, including increasing CHIPS base aid by $100 million a year for five years, expanding support for the Clean Water Investment Act (CWIA) and strengthening and improving PAVE-NY, EWR and BRIDGE NY in NYSDOT. I’m pleased with the findings from this critical report and encourage the Legislature to take action on our proposals.”

The Assembly minority conference will introduce a comprehensive package of bills to improve funding for the state’s roads, bridges and water and sewer systems. Among some of the conference proposals generated from the task force are:

• Ensure funding parity between the upcoming NYSDOT and MTA five-year capital programs;
• Increase Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) base aid by $100 million/year for five years and tie to CPI to account for inflation and increasing material costs;
• Enact legislation mandating that all funding for the DHBTF is to be used only for capital infrastructure, not for state operations or debt service payments;
• Expand support for the Clean Water Investment Act (CWIA) to ensure long-term commitment to water, sewer infrastructure;
• Establish a companion for the existing CHIPS program, offering financial assistance to local governments for drinking, storm and sewer water infrastructure, called the Water Infrastructure Investment Program (WIIPS);
• Continue, strengthen and improve PAVE-NY, EWR and BRIDGE NY in NYSDOT 2020-24 capital program to help municipalities plan for improvements;
• Establish a CHIPS-like formula for culverts based on the length of culverts within the municipality;
• Require NYSDOT release a report each year detailing the condition of state-owned roads and bridges;
• Direct NYSDOT to develop a 20-30-year long-term transportation plan; and
• Require NYSDOT to submit its capital plan for approval.

Morinello represents the 145th Assembly District, which consists of parts of Erie and Niagara counties. For more information, visit his official website.