A 10194 New York Assembly · 2025 Regular Session

Adds the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad scenic byway into the state scenic byways system

This bill ceremonially designates a specific highway route across multiple New York counties as the "Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway" for historical recognition. It defines the exact segments - spanning from Auburn through Geneva, Buffalo, and Niagara Falls - using existing state and county routes. The bill requires signage bearing the byway name but clarifies this is purely ceremonial, with no change to the roads' official names or impact on transportation operations.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 12, 2026 Last action Jun 4, 2026

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What changed between versions

A10194 → A10194A · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to change its legal mechanism from dedicating specific highway segments to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway to officially adding that byway to the state scenic byways system. This revision also updated the route description to include a segment through Rochester and corrected the bill's title to reflect the new 'scenic byway' designation rather than a simple dedication.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from a ceremonial dedication of specific road segments to an official inclusion in the state scenic byways system, which may carry different administrative implications regarding signage and recognition.

REQUIREMENT

The legal action changed from 'dedicating' portions of the highway system to 'adding' the byway into the state scenic byways system.

The requirement for the Commissioner of Transportation to install and maintain specific signage was removed.

The clause clarifying that the dedication is ceremonial and the official highway name will not change was removed.

DEFINITION

The bill title was updated to specify the 'Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad scenic byway' instead of just the 'Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway'.

TECHNICAL

The route description was significantly rewritten to include a path through Rochester and to use written-out numbers (e.g., 'state route five') instead of numerals.

TIMELINE

The specific section stating the act takes effect immediately was removed and replaced with a standard immediate effective date clause.

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

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Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 4, 2026

Committee

REPORTED REFERRED TO RULES

lower

Jun 3, 2026

Committee

REFERENCE CHANGED TO WAYS AND MEANS

lower

May 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

PRINT NUMBER 10194A

lower

May 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO TRANSPORTATION

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION

lower

1 primary · 21 co-sponsors