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2006 TRANSPORTATION
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Following is The Business Council's 2006 Legislative
Program. It identifies priority issues to be addressed by the
Committees and Councils during 2006.
- Support efforts that insure satisfactory levels of funding
for New York's transportation programs, continued annual appropriations
under the federal 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act and infrastructure investment encompassing
all modes of transportation necessary for the economic success
of New York State's businesses and industry.
- Support efforts
to insure funding for projects contained in the state's five
year transportation capital plan.
- Support legislation to
reaffirm that monies from the Dedicated Highway Trust Fund
be used only for the purpose of capital improvements to the state's
transportation systems.
- Support design-build legislation and
model public-private partnership projects but insure that private
funds enhance not replace dedicated funds.
- Support elimination
of New York State's truck mileage tax provided that the amount
of dedicated highway funding be maintained at or above current
levels to allow for continued transportation infrastructure
projects.
- Support current funding allocations among road and
bridges, rail, ports, aviation and mass transit.
- Support a
capital funding program for railway infrastructure projects
and port development and federal support for port dredging initiatives.
- Support
legislation to promote the market penetration of advanced technology
motor vehicles through incentive-based, market-driven strategies
such as consumer tax credits, fueling infrastructure tax incentives,
and research and development investment; oppose state legislation
or regulations that would impose state-level limits or mandates
on the emission of greenhouse gases from motor vehicles.
- Support
the position that federal standards and requirements sufficiently
provide for the safe transportation of hazardous materials.
- Support
initiatives to continue to make New York's transportation system
among the safest in the nation. Support homeland security efforts
to insure that New York's international border crossings and
bridges and all modes of transportation are efficient and secure
and share in regional and national funding efforts.
- Oppose
legislation that would increase the cost of shipping goods
into New York, including legislation that would require the licensing
by the state of federally licensed docking pilots.
- Oppose implementation
of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative on terms which
would restrict U.S.-Canadian border crossings by U.S. and Canadian
citizens to those individuals with a passport, Border Crossing
Card or similar federally issued travel ID. Acceptable ID must
continue to include one or more forms of state/provincial ID
which have purposes other than international travel. In addition,
the current process must be amended to become bi-lateral in nature
between the U.S. and Canada, with full engagement by stakeholder
interests, U.S. states and Canadian provinces , and any and all
proposals must be subjected to a meaningful, independent economic
impact analysis and to pilot trials in the field.
Click here for the 2006
Legislative Program for all Issue areas.
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