New York A 8872: Directs the department of motor vehicles to create a plan to increase the availability of wheelchair accessible vehicles in New York state outside of the city of New York

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A08872 Summary:

BILL NOA08872A

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SAME ASSAME AS S07611-B

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SPONSORSolages

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COSPNSR

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MLTSPNSR

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Add §§159-b & 224-b, V & T L; amd §151, Transp L

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Directs the department of motor vehicles to develop a plan to increase the availability of wheelchair accessible vehicles, by county, in New York state outside of the city of New York; defines accessibility; requires a report to identify any existing local guidelines for accessible vehicles; directs development of benchmarks for increasing wheelchair accessible vehicles.

Go to top A08872 Actions:

BILL NOA08872A

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06/09/2025referred to transportation

01/07/2026referred to transportation

05/05/2026amend (t) and recommit to transportation

05/05/2026print number 8872a

Go to topA08872 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA08872 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA08872 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 8872--A

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 June 9, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
 tee on Transportation -- recommitted to the Committee on Transporta-
 tion in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
 discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
 to said committee

 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the transportation law,
 in relation to creating a plan to increase the availability of wheel-
 chair accessible vehicles in New York state outside of the city of New
 York

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. This Legislature finds that no uniform
 2 regulations exist across New York state outside of New York city which
 3 define wheelchair accessible vehicles. Despite the need for mobility
 4 services for the disabled population, substantive information on wheel-
 5 chair accessible vehicle standards and the number of such vehicles
 6 available does not exist in each county across New York state outside of
 7 New York City.
 8 As such, this Legislature finds that defining a wheelchair accessible
 9 vehicle, creating a plan for wheelchair accessible vehicles, creating
 10 benchmarks and granting support for counties across New York state other
 11 than New York City, would allow for local authorities to make informed
 12 policies to increase mobility transportation options for individuals who
 13 are reliant on the use of a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
 14 § 2. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
 15 159-b to read as follows:
 16 § 159-b. "Wheelchair accessible vehicle". A vehicle, including a taxi-
 17 cab, that has been inspected and approved by the municipal or local
 18 authorizing body as possessing all of the following requirements:
 19 1. Mobility and accessibility
 20 (a) The lift/ramp width shall be thirty inches minimum.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD11778-06-6

 A. 8872--A 2

 1 (b) The design load of the lift/ramp shall be at least six hundred
 2 pounds.
 3 (c) Controls for the lift/ramp shall be interlocked with the vehicle
 4 to ensure that the vehicle cannot be moved while the lift/ramp is in
 5 operation.
 6 (d) Controls for the lift/ramp shall be of the momentary contact type
 7 requiring continuous manual pressure to operate.
 8 (e) The lift/ramp shall be equipped with an emergency deployment meth-
 9 od in the event of power or mechanical failure.
 10 (f) The installation of a lift/ramp shall include provisions to
 11 prevent the lift/ramp from falling or folding any faster than twelve
 12 inches/second in the event of any failure of the load-carrying compo-
 13 nent.
 14 (g) The lift/ramp platform shall be equipped with handrails on two
 15 sides, a minimum of eight inches long and thirty inches above the plat-
 16 form and move in tandem with the lift/ramp.
 17 (h) The lift/ramp platform shall have barriers at least two inches or
 18 higher to prevent mobility aid wheels from slipping off.
 19 (i) Lift/platform surfaces shall be continuous and slip resistant and
 20 accommodate four-wheel and three-wheel