A 750: Increases penalties for endangerment of a highway worker; promotes work zone safety awareness; establishes a fund for additional work zone safety enforcement.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 750 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI, WOERNER, STECK, JACOBSON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the transportation law, in relation to work zone safety; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the work zone safety fund The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new 2 section 1221-a to read as follows: 3 § 1221-a. Endangerment of a highway worker. 1. A person commits endan- 4 germent of a highway worker if the person is operating a motor vehicle 5 within a work area as defined in section one hundred sixty-one of this 6 chapter at any time one or more highway workers are in the work area and 7 does any of the following: 8 (a) drives through or around a work area in any lane not clearly 9 designated for use by motor vehicles traveling through or around a work 10 area; or 11 (b) fails to obey traffic control devices controlling the flow of 12 motor vehicles through the work area for any reason other than: 13 (i) an emergency; 14 (ii) the avoidance of an obstacle; or 15 (iii) the protection of the health and safety of another person. 16 2. (a) A person who violates this section where the highway worker 17 suffers no physical injury shall be fined not more than one thousand 18 dollars and not less than five hundred dollars. 19 (b) A person who violates this section where the highway worker 20 suffers physical injury and the violation was the sole proximate cause 21 of the injury shall be fined not more than two thousand dollars and not 22 less than one thousand dollars. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00850-01-5 
 A. 750 2 1 (c) A person who violates this section where the highway worker 2 suffers serious physical injury, as defined in section 10.00 of the 3 penal law and the violation was the sole proximate cause of the injury 4 shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars and not less than two 5 thousand dollars. 6 3. Any fine imposed pursuant to this section is mandatory and may not 7 be waived or reduced below the minimum as provided in subdivision two of 8 this section. Sixty percent of fines collected pursuant to this section 9 shall be paid to the work zone safety fund established by section nine- 10 ty-nine-ss of the state finance law. 11 4. No person shall be cited for endangerment of a highway worker for 12 any act or omission otherwise constituting a violation under this 13 section if the act or omission results, in whole or in part, from 14 mechanical failure of the person's motor vehicle or from the negligence 15 of a highway worker or another person. 16 § 2. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 17 1221-b to read as follows: 18 § 1221-b. Work zone safety and outreach. The governor's traffic safety 19 committee, upon consultation with the commissioner of transportation, 20 the superintendent of state police, the commissioner, the chair of the 21 New York state thruway authority, local law enforcement agencies, and 22 representatives for contractors, laborers, and public employees, shall 23 design and implement a public education and outreach program to increase 24 motorist awareness of the importance of highway work zone safety, to 25 reduce the number of work zone incidents, including speeding, unauthor- 26 ized intrusions into work zones, and any conduct resulting in threats or 27 injuries to highway workers, and to increase and promote work zone safe- 28 ty. 29 § 3. Section 161 of the vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 30 92 of the laws of 1984 and as renumbered by chapter 303 of the laws of 31 2014, is amended to read as follows: 32 § 161. Work area or work zone. [That part of a highway being used or 33 occupied for the conduct of highway work, within which workers, vehi- 34 cles, equipment, materials, supplies, excavations, or other obstructions 35 are present.] An area of a highway, bridge, shoulder, median, or associ- 36 ated right-of-way, where construction, maintenance, utility work, acci- 37 dent response, or other incident response is being performed. The work 38 area must be marked by signs, traffic control devices, traffic control 39 signals, barriers, pavement markings, authorized emergency vehicles, or 40 hazard vehicles, and extends from the first traffic control device 41 erected for purposes of controlling the flow of motor vehicles through 42 the work area, including signs reducing the normal speed limit, to the 43 "END ROAD WORK" sign or the last temporary traffic control device. The 44 signs, traffic control devices, traffic control signals, barriers, pave- 45 ment markings, authorized emergency vehicles, or hazard vehicles must 46 meet department of transportation standards and the provisions of this 47 chapter, and must be installed properly. 48 § 4. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 49 118-a to read as follows: 50 § 118-a. Highway worker. Any person employed by or on behalf of the 51 state, a county, city, town or village, a public authority, a local 52 authority, or a public utility company, or the agent or contractor of 53 any such entity, who has been assigned to perform work on a highway, 54 including maintenance, repair, flagging, utility work, construction, 55 reconstruction or operation of equipment on public highway infrastruc- 56 ture and associated rights-of-way in highway work areas, and shall also 
 A. 750 3 1 include any flagperson as defined in section one hundred fifteen-b of 2 this article. 3 § 5. Section 22 of the transportation law, as added by chapter 223 of 4 the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows: 5 § 22. Work zone safety and enforcement. The department shall, in coop- 6 eration with the superintendent of state police, the commissioner of 7 motor vehicles, the [chairman] chairperson of the New York state thruway 8 authority, local law enforcement agencies and representatives for 9 contractors [and], laborers and public employees, develop and implement 10 rules and regulations for the increased safety of work zones. Such rules 11 and regulations shall include, but shall not be limited to, a police 12 presence at all major active work zones as defined by rules and regu- 13 lations set forth by the commissioner, the use of radar speed display 14 signs at all major active work zones as defined by rules and regulations 15 set forth by the commissioner, and a system for reviewing work zone 16 safety and design for all work zones under the jurisdiction of the 17 department. 18 § 6. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-ss to 19 read as follows: 20 § 99-ss. Work zone safety fund. 1. There is hereby established in the 21 joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxation 22 and finance a special revenue fund to be known as the "work zone safety 23 fund". 24 2. The fund shall consist of all monies appropriated for its purpose, 25 all monies required by this section or any other provision of law to be 26 paid into or credited to such fund, collected by the mandatory fines 27 imposed pursuant to section twelve hundred twenty-one-a of the vehicle 28 and traffic law. 29 3. Monies of the fund, when allocated, shall be disbursed to provide 30 work area safety enforcement, work area markings, radar speed display 31 signs, and police monitoring of work areas pursuant to section twenty- 32 two of the transportation law. Such monies shall be used to supplement 33 and not supplant any other funds which would otherwise have been 34 expended for work zone safety and enforcement. 35 § 7. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 36 have become a law.