Senate BillIntroduced
S 5859: Directs the department of transportation to conduct a study to evaluate the standard approach of setting or adjusting speed limits, specifically the usage of 85th percentile rule.
What S 5859 does, verified January 9, 2026
The bill requires the Department of Transportation to conduct a study to evaluate the standard approach to setting or adjusting speed limits in New York State. The study should assess various factors, including the usage of the 85th percentile rule, its correlation with traffic crashes, and alternative methods of the 85th percentile rule to set or adjust speed limits. The study should focus on finding methods that have a better impact on preventing traffic crashes. The findings and recommendations will be published on the Department of Transportation's website and delivered to the legislature within one year of the bill's effective date.
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 S 5859
- What is the current status of S 5859?
- As of January 9, 2026, S 5859 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 S 5859 pass?
- Not yet. S 5859 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 5859, and where is it now?
- S 5859 was authored by Sen. Andrew Gounardes with 2 coauthors. Its committee of record is Senate Transportation.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION |
| Mar. 03, 2025 | REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 3, 2025 · 308 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5859 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT directing the department of transportation to conduct a study to evaluate the standard approach of setting or adjusting speed limits The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The department of transportation shall conduct a study to 2 evaluate the standard approach to setting or adjusting speed limits in 3 New York state, including: 4 (a) assessing all factors for setting or adjusting the speed limit; 5 (b) assessing the usage of 85th percentile rule in setting or adjust- 6 ing the speed limit; 7 (c) evaluating the application of 85th percentile rule in setting or 8 adjusting the speed limit and its correlation with traffic crashes; and 9 (d) evaluating alternative methods of 85th percentile rule to set or 10 adjust speed limits with better impact (correlation) on preventing traf- 11 fic crashes and provide recommendations on those alternative methods. 12 § 2. For purposes of this act, "85th percentile rule" shall mean the 13 speed at or below which 85 percent of all vehicles are traveling under 14 free-flowing conditions. 15 § 3. Within one year of the effective date of this act the department 16 of transportation shall publish a report with the findings and recommen- 17 dations of the study in a clear and conspicuous location on its website 18 and shall deliver a copy to the legislature. 19 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08373-01-5
Text of S 5859 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions