VESTAL, NY — Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo joined Senator Fred Akshar, and Assemblymen Cliff Crouch and Christopher Friend on Friday to announce passage of a bill that will protect sanitation workers across New York State. Prior to the end of the legislative session, the Assembly and Senate passed a bill that would add refuse collection vehicles to the currently existing Move Over Law.

“Sanitation workers do a very difficult job every day," said Lupardo, the prime co-sponsor of the bill. “This bill will extend the same courtesy to a sanitation truck that is offered to emergency vehicles. We believe this will save lives as people pay closer attention to these trucks and their workers."

Last November, representatives from Taylor Garbage Services and Bert Adams Disposal met with Lupardo and other local officials after a tragic accident in which Taylor employee Sean Tilghman was struck and killed while emptying a trash can on the side of the road. The bill had previously passed the Senate, but had not advanced out of the Assembly’s Transportation Committee.

Following the November meeting, Lupardo, a Transportation Committee member, worked with the bill's prime sponsor Assemblyman Michael DenDekker to move the bill out of committee and ultimately to the floor for a vote where it passed unanimously.

“We lost Sean, and within a few weeks we contacted our local officials; within weeks they had a meeting set up for us and were very receptive,” said Jared Taylor, General Manager of Taylor Garbage Services. “We would like to thank everybody that had a role in getting this passed for us.”

The bill will now be sent to the Governor for consideration.