S.6825 (Stewart)/A.9618 (Lifton)

STAFF CONTACT :

Director, Center for Human Resources
518.465.7511

BILL

S.6825 (Stewart)/A.9618 (Lifton)

SUBJECT

Extending Infrastructure Friendly Vehicle Requirements

DATE

Support

This bill would extend the retrofitting requirement for pre-2006 vehicles from December 31, 2014 to December 31, 2019. The Business Council supports enactment of this legislation.

  • In 2004, legislation created new infrastructure friendly vehicle (IFV) requirements for vehicles obtaining an overweight divisible load permit. Vehicles manufactured after 2006 had to meet all IFV requirements in order to obtain a divisible load permit. Vehicles manufactured prior to 2006 were grandfathered until December 31, 2014. Then, grandfathered vehicles would be required to be retrofitted to meet the IFV requirements in order to obtain a permit.
  • With the estimated cost to retrofit a single vehicle between $8,000 and $10,000 and the cost to purchase a new vehicle between $100,000 and $200,000, this continues to involve a significant capital investment for vehicle owners. With competing higher fuel prices, the 2009 recession and increased health insurance costs, motor carriers have not been able to muster the financial resources to complete the necessary retrofits.
  • NYS DOT has estimated that about fifty percent of these permitted vehicles are not yet in compliance with the IFV requirements. The extension of the retrofit date to December 31, 2019 will give vehicle owners the necessary additional time to meet the requirements of the 2004 law and will help avoid the shock to the economy and industry of removing these vehicles from productive use.

For these reasons, The Business Council supports enactment of this legislation by the New York State Legislature.