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| Legislative Watch | 
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New York |
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7/31/07-Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed a bill into law authorizing a new commission to study how to reduce traffic congestion and pollution in New York City. Charging car and truck drivers extra fees to enter Manhattan is a possibility.
Assembly lawmakers voted 122-16 in favor of the bill after the Senate voted 39-19 to approve it. The votes cleared the way for the bill to move to the governor’s desk, where it was signed into law July 26.
The effort is a compromise on a proposal by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He wants to charge trucks $21 and cars $8 to enter Manhattan below 86th Street during workdays.
Bloomberg is seeking up to $500 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the plan. To keep open the possibility for federal aid, legislative leaders and Bloomberg negotiated a proposal that all sides could live with.
As a result, the city remains in the running for $500 million to be used for traffic congestion, mass transit and air quality.
The bill creates a 17-member commission to study and hold public hearings on congestion pricing and other ways to reduce gridlock. They also will issue an implementation plan.
7/18/07-A congestion pricing plan for New York City was dealt a severe blow this week when state legislators couldn’t reach agreement on the effort.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg was reluctant to concede defeat Tuesday, July 17, on his plan to reduce traffic in Manhattan by charging car and truck drivers extra fees. However, he dubbed the Legislature’s failure to act on the plan during a special session a “terrible setback” for the city.
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, was more direct in addressing the status of the effort. He declared the proposal dead and blamed the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
Bruno was upset the governor failed to bring both sides together to address the initiative before the Monday, July 16, deadline to apply for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid, The Associated Press reported.
Bloomberg had proposed congestion pricing as part of his environmental initiative intended to help reduce carbon emissions in New York City by 30 percent by 2030.
The pricing plan included charging trucks $21 and cars $8 to enter Manhattan below 86th street during workdays. The revenue would have been earmarked for transportation work.
Opponents said residents who must commute into Manhattan by vehicle and don’t have mass transit as an option would have been unfairly burdened by the charges. Others said it would have increased transportation costs and hurt the economy.
Assembly lawmakers voted 122-16 in favor of the bill after the Senate voted 39-19 to approve it. The votes cleared the way for the bill to move to the governor’s desk, where it was signed into law July 26.
The effort is a compromise on a proposal by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He wants to charge trucks $21 and cars $8 to enter Manhattan below 86th Street during workdays.
Bloomberg is seeking up to $500 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the plan. To keep open the possibility for federal aid, legislative leaders and Bloomberg negotiated a proposal that all sides could live with.
As a result, the city remains in the running for $500 million to be used for traffic congestion, mass transit and air quality.
The bill creates a 17-member commission to study and hold public hearings on congestion pricing and other ways to reduce gridlock. They also will issue an implementation plan.
7/18/07-A congestion pricing plan for New York City was dealt a severe blow this week when state legislators couldn’t reach agreement on the effort.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg was reluctant to concede defeat Tuesday, July 17, on his plan to reduce traffic in Manhattan by charging car and truck drivers extra fees. However, he dubbed the Legislature’s failure to act on the plan during a special session a “terrible setback” for the city.
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, was more direct in addressing the status of the effort. He declared the proposal dead and blamed the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
Bruno was upset the governor failed to bring both sides together to address the initiative before the Monday, July 16, deadline to apply for hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid, The Associated Press reported.
Bloomberg had proposed congestion pricing as part of his environmental initiative intended to help reduce carbon emissions in New York City by 30 percent by 2030.
The pricing plan included charging trucks $21 and cars $8 to enter Manhattan below 86th street during workdays. The revenue would have been earmarked for transportation work.
Opponents said residents who must commute into Manhattan by vehicle and don’t have mass transit as an option would have been unfairly burdened by the charges. Others said it would have increased transportation costs and hurt the economy.