STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6160 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 6, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SKOUFIS, BORRELLO, GRIFFO, HELMING, MAY, OBERACKER, O'MARA, STEC, TEDISCO, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to exempting farmers from commercial driver's license requirements while operating a covered farm vehicle The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 8 of section 501-a of the vehicle and traffic 2 law, as added by section 3 of part E of chapter 58 of the laws of 2016, 3 is amended to read as follows: 4 8. Covered farm vehicle. (a) A vehicle or combination of vehicles 5 registered in this state, which (i) displays a covered farm vehicle 6 designation issued by the commissioner, (ii) is operated by the owner or 7 operator of a farm or ranch, or an employee or family member of an owner 8 or operator of a farm or ranch, (iii) is used to transport agricultural 9 commodities, livestock, machinery or supplies to or from a farm or 10 ranch, (iv) is not used in for-hire motor carrier operations, exclusive 11 of operation by a tenant pursuant to a crop share farm lease agreement 12 to transport the landlord's portion of the crops under that agreement; 13 and (v) is not used for the transportation of hazardous materials. 14 (b) A covered farm vehicle with a gross vehicle weight or gross vehi- 15 cle weight rating, whichever is greater, of more than twenty-six thou- 16 sand pounds may only be operated within one hundred fifty air miles of 17 the farm or ranch. 18 (c) [The commissioner shall, by regulation, designate an endorsement 19 or endorsements for the operation of covered farm vehicles with a gross 20 vehicle weight or gross vehicle weight rating of more than twenty-six 21 thousand pounds. Such endorsement or endorsements shall be required to 22 operate such a covered farm vehicle or combination of covered farm vehi- 23 cles. The identification and scope of such endorsement or endorsements EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04804-01-5
S. 6160 2 1 shall, at a minimum, include a distinction between the operation of a 2 covered farm vehicle having a gross vehicle weight or gross vehicle 3 weight rating of more than twenty-six thousand pounds and the operation 4 of a combination of covered farm vehicles having a gross vehicle weight 5 or gross vehicle weight rating of more than twenty-six thousand pounds. 6 (d)] For the purposes of this subdivision, the gross vehicle weight of 7 a vehicle shall mean the actual weight of the vehicle and the load. 8 § 2. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 501 of the vehicle and 9 traffic law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (iii) to read as 10 follows: 11 (iii) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subdivision, a 12 motor vehicle or combination of vehicles that is a covered farm vehicle, 13 as defined by subdivision eight of section five hundred one-a of this 14 article, that is operated by a farmer pursuant to section 383.3(d) of 15 title 49 of the code of federal regulations within one hundred fifty 16 miles of such farmer's farm, may be operated with any class license 17 other than a class DJ, M or MJ license. 18 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.