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NYSCHSA President, Kevin Hajos testified in the NYS Joint Budget Hearings on the 2025-2026 Executive Budget for Transportation on February 7, 2025.

Statement by NYSCHSA President 

Kevin Hajos On the SFY 2026 State Budget

May, 2025

The State Budget adopted by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Hochul includes an increase in the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) of $50 million. This represents an 8% increase in the CHIPS program but just a 3% increase in the overall state funding levels available for local road, bridge and culvert maintenance and replacement work, an average of $52,000 per municipality in New York State. While any increase in CHIPS--the state funding program considered the lifeblood of local highway department budgets--is welcomed, the new funding levels are far below what is needed to compensate for the spike in construction inflation over the past few years.

Moving forward, NYSCHSA seeks to continue working with our state partners to secure increases in funding levels that truly reflect the needs of our local transportation systems, which was estimated in 2023 to be over $2 billion more annually. We will also pursue opportunities to lower our costs of construction by such reforms as increasing the CHIPS bid threshold, streamlining the process to obtain water quality permits for culvert and bridge work, allowing electronic bidding as an option for public works, expanding the State Touring Routes program to include counties, and other proposals to alleviate some of the existing legislative and regulatory burdens facing local highway departments. Working together, we can stabilize the cost of critical local transportation projects, build resiliency in our infrastructure, protect the environment, enhance the safety of the traveling public, all while reducing the pressures on our local taxpayers.

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