Assembly BillIntroduced
A 8497: Dedicates a portion of the state highway system in Sullivan county to Lieutenant Roland "The Gator" Ward.
What A 8497 does, verified January 9, 2026
The bill dedicates a portion of the state highway system to Lieutenant Roland "The Gator" Ward. The dedicated section is located on State Route 42 in the town of Fallsburg, from the intersection of State Route 42 and Railroad Plaza to 5286-5288 Main Street. The dedication is of ceremonial nature and will not change the official name of the highway. The Commissioner of Transportation will provide for the installation and maintenance of adequate signage on the highway system. The changes take effect immediately.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to transportation (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about A 8497
- What is the current status of A 8497?
- As of January 9, 2026, A 8497 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "referred to transportation".
- Did A 8497 pass?
- Not yet. A 8497 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote A 8497, and where is it now?
- A 8497 was authored by Asm. Paula Elaine Kay. Its committee of record is Assembly Transportation.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to transportation |
| May. 20, 2025 | referred to transportation |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, May 20, 2025 · 279 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8497 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 20, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. KAY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the highway law, in relation to dedicating a portion of the state highway system to Lieutenant Roland "The Gator" Ward The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The highway law is amended by adding a new section 344-r to 2 read as follows: 3 § 344-r. Portion of the state highway system to be dedicated to Lieu- 4 tenant Roland "The Gator" Ward. All that portion of the state highway 5 system constituting a portion of state route 42 in the town of Falls- 6 burg, county of Sullivan, from the intersection of state route 42 and 7 Railroad Plaza to 5286-5288 Main Street, shall be dedicated to Lieuten- 8 ant Roland "The Gator" Ward. 9 § 2. The commissioner of transportation shall provide for the instal- 10 lation and maintenance of adequate signing of the state highway system 11 pursuant to section one of this act. However, to avoid confusion and to 12 limit any possible disruption of commerce, the dedication called for 13 pursuant to section one of this act shall be one of ceremonial nature 14 and the official name of such highway shall not be changed as a result 15 of this act. 16 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13052-01-5
Text of A 8497 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions