S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                 9848--A

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                             April 15, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  RODRIGUEZ  --  read once and referred to the
  Committee on Transportation --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,
  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN  ACT  to  create  a  pilot  program designed to assess various issues
  related to implementing a vehicle-miles-traveled fee

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Legislative  findings.  The  legislature hereby finds and
declares that an efficient transportation system  is  critical  for  New
York's  economy  and  quality  of  life  and that the revenues currently
available for highways and local roads are inadequate  to  preserve  and
maintain  existing  infrastructure and to provide funds for improvements
that would reduce congestion and improve service.
  The legislature further recognizes that the gas tax is an  ineffective
mechanism for meeting New York's long-term revenue needs because it will
steadily  generate  less  revenue as cars become more fuel efficient and
alternative sources of fuel are identified. Additionally, bundling  fees
for  roads and highways into the gas tax makes it difficult for users to
understand the amount they are paying for roads and highways.
  The legislature further finds that other states have begun to  explore
the  potential for a road usage charge to replace traditional gas taxes,
including the state of Oregon, which  established  the  first  permanent
road  user charge program in the nation. Road usage charging is a policy
whereby motorists pay for the use of the roadway network  based  on  the
distance they travel. Drivers pay the same rate per mile driven, regard-
less  of  what part of the roadway network they use. A road usage charge
program has the potential to distribute the gas tax  burden  across  all
vehicles  regardless  of  fuel  source and to minimize the impact of the
current regressive gas tax structure.
  The legislature therefore finds  that  experience  to  date  in  other
states  across the nation demonstrates that mileage-based charges can be
implemented in a way that ensures  data  security  and  maximum  privacy
protection  for  drivers. It is important that New York begin to explore
alternate revenue sources that may be implemented in lieu of  the  anti-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD14996-03-6

A. 9848--A                          2

quated  gas  tax  structure now in place. Any exploration or alternative
revenue sources shall take privacy implications into account, especially
with regard to location data. Travel locations or patterns shall not  be
reported,  and  legal  and  technical  safeguards shall protect personal
information.
  S 2. Road usage charge (RUC) advisory committee. (a) There  is  hereby
created the road usage charge (RUC) advisory committee which shall guide
the  development  and evaluation of a pilot program to assess the poten-
tial for mileage-based revenue collection for New York's roads and high-
ways as an alternative to the gas tax system.
  (b) The RUC advisory committee shall consist of fourteen members:
  (1) the commissioner of the department of transportation,  or  his  or
her designee, who shall serve as chair;
  (2)  a  representative of the telecommunications industry who shall be
appointed by the temporary president of the senate;
  (3) a representative of highway user groups who shall be appointed  by
the governor;
  (4)  a  representative  of  the data security and privacy industry who
shall be appointed by the senate majority leader;
  (5) a representative of  privacy  rights  advocacy  organizations  who
shall be appointed by the governor;
  (6)  a representative of regional transportation agencies who shall be
appointed by the speaker of the assembly;
  (7) a representative of the transportation research board who shall be
appointed by the speaker of the assembly;
  (8) a representative of the American association of state highway  and
transportation officials who shall be appointed by the governor;
  (9)  the chair of the assembly transportation committee, or his or her
designee;
  (10) the chair of the senate transportation committee, or his  or  her
designee;
  (11) a representative of the civic community who shall be appointed by
the senate majority leader;
  (12)  a  representative of transit advocates who shall be appointed by
the speaker of the assembly; and
  (13) two relevant stakeholders as determined by the governor.
  (c) The RUC advisory committee may request the department of transpor-
tation to perform such work as the advisory committee deems necessary to
carry out its duties and responsibilities.
  (d) The RUC advisory committee shall study RUC alternatives to the gas
tax. It shall gather public comment on issues and  concerns  related  to
the  pilot  program  and shall make recommendations to the department of
transportation on the design of a pilot program to test alternative  RUC
approaches.  The RUC advisory committee may also make recommendations on
the criteria to be used to evaluate the pilot program.
  (e) In studying alternatives to the current gas tax system and  devel-
oping  recommendations on the design of a pilot program to test alterna-
tive RUC approaches, pursuant to subdivision (d) of  this  section,  the
RUC  advisory  committee  shall take all of the following into consider-
ation:
  (1) The availability, adaptability, reliability, and security of meth-
ods that might be used in recording and reporting highway use.
  (2) The necessity of protecting all personally  identifiable  informa-
tion used in reporting highway use.
  (3) The ease and cost of recording and reporting highway use.

A. 9848--A                          3

  (4)  The  ease  and  cost of administering the collection of taxes and
fees as an alternative to the  current  system  of  taxing  highway  use
through motor vehicle fuel taxes.
  (5) Effective methods of maintaining compliance.
  (6)  The  ease  of  reidentifying  location data, even when personally
identifiable information has been removed from the data.
  (7) Increased privacy concerns when location data is used in  conjunc-
tion with other technologies.
  (8)  Public  and  private agency access, including law enforcement, to
data collected and stored for purposes of the RUC to  ensure  individual
privacy rights are protected.
  (f)  The  RUC  advisory committee shall consult with highway users and
transportation stakeholders, including representatives of vehicle users,
vehicle manufacturers, and fuel  distributors  as  part  of  its  duties
pursuant to subdivision (e) of this section.
  S  3.  Establishment  of a pilot program. (a) Based on the recommenda-
tions of the RUC advisory  committee,  it  shall  collaborate  with  the
department  of  transportation  to implement a pilot program to identify
and evaluate issues related to the potential implementation  of  an  RUC
program in New York by January 1, 2019.
  (b)  At  a  minimum,  the  pilot  program  shall accomplish all of the
following:
  (1) Analyze alternative means of collecting road usage data, including
at least one alternative  that  does  not  rely  on  electronic  vehicle
location data.
  (2)  Collect  a  minimum  amount  of  personal  information  including
location tracking information, necessary to implement the RUC program.
  (3) Ensure that processes for collecting, managing, storing, transmit-
ting, and destroying data are in place to protect the integrity  of  the
data and safeguard the privacy of drivers.
  (c)  The  RUC  advisory committee shall not disclose, distribute, make
available, sell,  access  or  otherwise  provide  for  another  purpose,
personal  information or data collected through the pilot program to any
private entity or individual unless authorized by a court order, as part
of a civil case, by a subpoena issued on behalf  of  a  defendant  in  a
criminal  case,  by  a  search  warrant,  or  in aggregate form with all
personal information removed for the purposes of academic research.
  S 4. Report. Eighteen months after the  implementation  of  the  pilot
program,  it  shall  be  concluded, and the RUC advisory committee shall
report its findings and recommendations to the governor and the legisla-
ture. Such report shall also be bound and made available to the  public.
The report shall include, but not be limited to, a discussion of all the
following issues:
  (a) Cost of the program.
  (b) Privacy, in including recommendations regarding public and private
access,  including  law  enforcement,  to  data collected and stored for
purposes of the RUC program to  ensure  individual  privacy  rights  are
protected.
  (c) Jurisdictional issues.
  (d) Feasibility.
  (e) Complexity.
  (f) Acceptance.
  (g) Use of revenues.
  (h)  Security  and compliance, including a discussion of processes and
security measures necessary to minimize fraud and tax evasion rates.

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  (i) Data collection technology, including a discussion of  the  advan-
tages  and  disadvantages  of various types of data collection equipment
and the privacy implications and consideration of the equipment.
  (j) Potential for additional driver services.
  (k) Implementation issues.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.