Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) has joined other legislators in the Assembly Minority in calling on the governor to ensure the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS), PAVE-NY, and Emergency Winter Recovery Fund remain fully funded, if funding is not increased. This effort comes after the governor’s 2021-22 Executive Budget proposed cutting all funding for the Emergency Winter Recovery Fund and shifting a significant portion of CHIPS funding to signature projects, as opposed to core preservation, which maintains local roads and infrastructure.
While unfunded state mandates placed on localities have increased over the last decade, CHIPS base-level funding has remained stagnant since 2013. Local governments are responsible for maintaining about 87 percent of all roads in New York State and half of the state’s 18,000 bridges, of which 36 percent of bridges are deficient. Additionally, 38 percent of roads in the state have been rated poor or fair.
“By maintaining and improving our roads, we create jobs, make our communities safer, and avoid larger problems that may otherwise arise in the future,” said Hawley. “Cutting Emergency Winter Recovery funds would only slow our economic recovery, and we should instead be talking about increasing CHIPS funding to put people to work and give families, businesses and healthcare providers the means to get where they need to be safely and efficiently.”
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