Bill Text: NY A01603 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to increasing membership on the board of the metropolitan transportation authority, including members representative of commuters' advisory councils.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 20-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to corporations, authorities and commissions [A01603 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A01603-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1603 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 11, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, ENGLEBRIGHT, STERN, GOTTFRIED, HYNDMAN, GALEF, EPSTEIN, SIMON, REYES, GLICK, WILLIAMS, CRUZ, FALL, ABINANTI, NIOU, RAMOS, GRIFFIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK, DE LA ROSA, SAYEGH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to membership on the board of the metropolitan transportation authority The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 of the 2 public authorities law, as amended by chapter 549 of the laws of 1994 3 and subparagraph 1 as amended by section 1 of part E of chapter 39 of 4 the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 5 (a) (1) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation 6 authority." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic consti- 7 tuting a public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a 8 [chairman] chairperson, [sixteen] twenty other voting members, and [two] 9 three non-voting [and four alternate non-voting members], as described 10 in subparagraph two of this paragraph appointed by the governor by and 11 with the advice and consent of the senate. Any member appointed to a 12 term commencing on or after June thirtieth, two thousand nine shall have 13 experience in one or more of the following areas: transportation, public 14 administration, business management, finance, accounting, law, engineer- 15 ing, land use, urban and regional planning, management of large capital 16 projects, labor relations, or have experience in some other area of 17 activity central to the mission of the authority. Four of the [sixteen] 18 twenty voting members other than the [chairman] chairperson shall be 19 appointed on the written recommendation of the mayor of the city of New 20 York; one of the twenty voting members other than the chairperson shall 21 be appointed on the written recommendation of the New York city transit 22 authority advisory council; one of the twenty voting members other than EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05872-01-1A. 1603 2 1 the chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommendation of the 2 Metro-North rail commuter council; one of the twenty voting members 3 other than the chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommenda- 4 tion of the Long Island Rail Road commuter's council; one of the twenty 5 voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed on the 6 written recommendation of the MTA New York city transit's paratransit 7 advisory committee's selection committee; and each of seven other voting 8 members other than the [chairman] chairperson shall be appointed after 9 selection from a written list of three recommendations from the chief 10 executive officer of the county in which the particular member is 11 required to reside pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision. Of 12 the members appointed on recommendation of the chief executive officer 13 of a county, one such member shall be, at the time of appointment, a 14 resident of the county of Nassau, one a resident of the county of 15 Suffolk, one a resident of the county of Westchester, one a resident of 16 the county of Dutchess, one a resident of the county of Orange, one a 17 resident of the county of Putnam and one a resident of the county of 18 Rockland, provided that the term of any member who is a resident of a 19 county that has withdrawn from the metropolitan commuter transportation 20 district pursuant to section twelve hundred seventy-nine-b of this title 21 shall terminate upon the effective date of such county's withdrawal from 22 such district. Of the five voting members, other than the [chairman] 23 chairperson, appointed by the governor without recommendation from any 24 other person, three shall be, at the time of appointment, residents of 25 the city of New York and two shall be, at the time of appointment, resi- 26 dents of such city or of any of the aforementioned counties in the 27 metropolitan commuter transportation district. Provided however, 28 notwithstanding the foregoing residency requirement, one of the five 29 voting members appointed by the governor without recommendation from any 30 other person, other than the [chairman] chairperson, may be the director 31 of the New York state division of the budget, and provided further that, 32 in the event of such appointment, the budget director's membership in 33 the authority shall be deemed ex-officio. The [chairman] chairperson 34 and each of the members shall be appointed for a term of six years, 35 provided however, that the [chairman] chairperson first appointed shall 36 serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one, 37 provided that thirty days after the effective date of the chapter of the 38 laws of two thousand nine which amended this subparagraph, the term of 39 the [chairman] chairperson shall expire; provided, further, that such 40 [chairman] chairperson may continue to discharge the duties of his or 41 her office until the position of [chairman] chairperson is filled by 42 appointment by the governor upon the advice and consent of the senate 43 and the term of such new [chairman] chairperson shall terminate June 44 thirtieth, two thousand fifteen. The [sixteen] twenty other members 45 first appointed shall serve for the following terms: The members from 46 the counties of Nassau and Westchester shall each serve for a term 47 ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-five; the members from 48 the county of Suffolk and from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam 49 and Rockland shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen 50 hundred ninety-two; two of the members appointed on recommendation of 51 the mayor of the city of New York shall each serve for a term ending 52 June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-four and, two shall each serve 53 for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one; two of 54 the members appointed by the governor without the recommendation of any 55 other person shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen 56 hundred eighty-two, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirti-A. 1603 3 1 eth, nineteen hundred eighty and one shall serve for a term ending June 2 thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-five; the member appointed by the 3 governor on recommendation of the New York city transit authority advi- 4 sory council shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, two thousand 5 twenty-five; the member appointed by the governor on recommendation of 6 the Metro-North rail commuter council shall serve for a term ending June 7 thirtieth, two thousand twenty-five; the member appointed by the gover- 8 nor on recommendation of the Long Island Rail Road commuter's council 9 shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-five; 10 and the member appointed by the governor on recommendation of the MTA 11 New York city transit's paratransit advisory committee selection commit- 12 tee's shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, two thousand twen- 13 ty-five. [The two non-voting and four alternate non-voting members shall14serve until January first, two thousand one.] The members from the coun- 15 ties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall cast one collective 16 vote. 17 (2) There shall be [two] three non-voting members [and four alternate18non-voting members] of the authority, as referred to in subparagraph one 19 of this paragraph. 20 The first non-voting member shall be [a regular mass transit user of21the facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by22the New York city transit authority advisory council. The first alter-23nate non-voting member shall be a regular mass transit user of the24facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by the25Metro-North commuter council. The second alternate non-voting member26shall be a regular mass transit user of the facilities of the authority27and be recommended to the governor by the Long Island Rail Road28commuter's council.29The second non-voting member shall be] recommended to the governor by 30 the labor organization representing the majority of employees of the 31 Long Island Rail Road. The [third alternate] second non-voting member 32 shall be recommended to the governor by the labor organization repres- 33 enting the majority of employees of the New York city transit authority. 34 The [fourth alternate] third non-voting member shall be recommended to 35 the governor by the labor organization representing the majority of 36 employees of the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company. The [chairman] 37 chairperson of the authority, at his or her direction, may exclude 38 [such] any non-voting member [or alternate non-voting member] from 39 attending any portion of a meeting of the authority or of any committee 40 established pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this 41 section held for the purpose of discussing negotiations with labor 42 organizations. 43 [The non-voting member and the two alternate non-voting members44representing the New York York city transit authority advisory council,45the Metro-North commuter council, and the Long Island Rail Road46commuter's council shall serve eighteen month rotating terms, after47which time an alternate non-voting member shall become the non-voting48member and the rotation shall continue until each alternate member has49served at least one eighteen month term as a non-voting member. The50other non-voting member and alternate non-voting members representing51the New York city transit authority, Metro-North Commuter Railroad52Company, and the Long Island Rail Road labor organizations shall serve53eighteen month rotating terms, after which time an alternate non-voting54member shall become the non-voting member and the rotation shall contin-55ue until each alternate member has served at least one eighteen month56term as a non-voting member. The transit authority and the commuterA. 1603 4 1railroads shall not be represented concurrently by the two non-voting2members during any such eighteen month period.] 3 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 of the public 4 authorities law, as amended by section 2 of part E of chapter 39 of the 5 laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 6 (a) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation authori- 7 ty." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic constituting a 8 public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a [chairman] 9 chairperson and [sixteen] twenty other members appointed by the governor 10 by and with the advice and consent of the senate. Any member appointed 11 to a term commencing on or after June thirtieth, two thousand nine shall 12 have experience in one or more of the following areas of expertise: 13 transportation, public administration, business management, finance, 14 accounting, law, engineering, land use, urban and regional planning, 15 management of large capital projects, labor relations, or have experi- 16 ence in some other area of activity central to the mission of the 17 authority. Four of the [sixteen] twenty members other than the [chair-18man] chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommendation of the 19 mayor of the city of New York; one of the twenty voting members other 20 than the chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommendation of 21 the New York city transit authority advisory council; one of the twenty 22 voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed on the 23 written recommendation of the Metro-North rail commuter council; one of 24 the twenty voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed 25 on the written recommendation of the Long Island Rail Road commuter's 26 council; one of the twenty voting members other than the chairperson 27 shall be appointed on the written recommendation of the MTA New York 28 city transit's paratransit advisory committee's selection committee; and 29 each of seven other members other than the [chairman] chairperson shall 30 be appointed after selection from a written list of three recommenda- 31 tions from the chief executive officer of the county in which the 32 particular member is required to reside pursuant to the provisions of 33 this subdivision. Of the members appointed on recommendation of the 34 chief executive officer of a county, one such member shall be, at the 35 time of appointment, a resident of the county of Nassau; one a resident 36 of the county of Suffolk; one a resident of the county of Westchester; 37 and one a resident of the county of Dutchess, one a resident of the 38 county of Orange, one a resident of the county of Putnam and one a resi- 39 dent of the county of Rockland, provided that the term of any member who 40 is a resident of a county that has withdrawn from the metropolitan 41 commuter transportation district pursuant to section twelve hundred 42 seventy-nine-b of this title shall terminate upon the effective date of 43 such county's withdrawal from such district. Of the five members, other 44 than the [chairman] chairperson, appointed by the governor without 45 recommendation from any other person, three shall be, at the time of 46 appointment, residents of the city of New York and two shall be, at the 47 time of appointment, residents of such city or of any of the aforemen- 48 tioned counties in the metropolitan commuter transportation district. 49 Provided however, notwithstanding the foregoing residency requirement, 50 one of the five voting members appointed by the governor without recom- 51 mendation from any other person, other than the [chairman] chairperson, 52 may be the director of the New York state division of the budget, and 53 provided further that, in the event of such appointment, the budget 54 director's membership in the authority shall be deemed ex-officio. The 55 [chairman] chairperson and each of the members shall be appointed for a 56 term of six years, provided however, that the [chairman] chairpersonA. 1603 5 1 first appointed shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen 2 hundred eighty-one, provided that thirty days after the effective date 3 of the chapter of the laws of two thousand nine which amended this para- 4 graph, the term of the [chairman] chairperson shall expire; provided, 5 further, that such [chairman] chairperson may continue to discharge the 6 duties of his or her office until the position of [chairman] chairperson 7 is filled by appointment by the governor upon the advice and consent of 8 the senate and the term of such new [chairman] chairperson shall termi- 9 nate June thirtieth, two thousand fifteen. The [sixteen] twenty other 10 members first appointed shall serve for the following terms: The members 11 from the counties of Nassau and Westchester shall each serve for a term 12 ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-five; the members from 13 the county of Suffolk and from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam 14 and Rockland shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen 15 hundred ninety-two; two of the members appointed on recommendation of 16 the mayor of the city of New York shall each serve for a term ending 17 June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-four and, two shall each serve 18 for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one; two of 19 the members appointed by the governor without the recommendation of any 20 other person shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen 21 hundred eighty-two, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirti- 22 eth, nineteen hundred eighty and one shall serve for a term ending June 23 thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-five; the member appointed by the 24 governor on recommendation of the New York city transit authority advi- 25 sory council shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, two thousand 26 twenty-five; the member appointed by the governor on recommendation of 27 the Metro-North rail commuter council shall serve for a term ending June 28 thirtieth, two thousand twenty-five; the member appointed by the gover- 29 nor on recommendation of the Long Island Rail Road commuter's council 30 shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-five; 31 and the member appointed by the governor on recommendation of the MTA 32 New York city transit's paratransit advisory committee's selection 33 committee shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, two thousand 34 twenty-five. The members from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam 35 and Rockland shall cast one collective vote. 36 § 3. Subdivision 2 of the section 1263 of the public authorities law, 37 as amended by chapter 55 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as 38 follows: 39 2. The [chairman] chairperson and the first vice [chairman] chair- 40 person shall be paid a salary in the amount determined by the authority; 41 the other members shall not receive a salary or other compensation. Each 42 member, including the [chairman] chairperson and the first vice [chair-43man] chairperson, shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual and 44 necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his or her official 45 duties. 46 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public 47 authorities law, as amended by chapter 506 of the laws of 2009, is 48 amended to read as follows: 49 (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the [chair-50man] chairperson shall be the chief executive officer of the authority 51 and shall be responsible for the discharge of the executive and adminis- 52 trative functions and powers of the authority. The [chairman] chair- 53 person may appoint an executive director and such other officials and 54 employees as shall in his or her judgment be needed to discharge the 55 executive and administrative functions and powers of the authority.A. 1603 6 1 § 5. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public 2 authorities law, as amended by section 1 of chapter 425 of the laws of 3 2018, is amended to read as follows: 4 (b) The [chairman] chairperson shall establish committees to assist 5 him or her in the performance of his or her duties and shall appoint 6 members of the authority to such committees. Among such committees, 7 there shall be a committee on operations of the New York city transit 8 authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit operating authority 9 and the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority; a committee on 10 operations of the Long Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban 11 bus authority; a committee on operations of the Metro-North commuter 12 railroad; a committee on operations of the Triborough bridge and tunnel 13 authority; a committee on finance; a committee on capital program over- 14 sight; and a committee on safety. In addition to such appointed members, 15 each of the non-voting members referred to in subparagraph two of para- 16 graph (a) of subdivision one of this section shall serve on the commit- 17 tee on capital program oversight, the committee on finance, the commit- 18 tee on safety, the committee on operations of the Triborough bridge and 19 tunnel authority, and the operations committee relevant to the commuter 20 council that recommended such member. [The alternate non-voting members21shall each serve on the respective operations committee relevant to the22commuter council that recommended each member.] The committee on capital 23 program oversight and the committee on safety shall include not less 24 than three members, and shall include the chairpersons of the committee 25 on operations of the New York city transit authority, the Manhattan and 26 Bronx surface transit operating authority and the Staten Island rapid 27 transit operating authority, the committee on operations of the Long 28 Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban bus authority, and the 29 committee on operations of the Metro-North commuter railroad. The 30 committee on safety shall convene at least once annually and each 31 committee chairperson, that is a member of the committee on safety, 32 shall report to the committee on safety any and all initiatives, 33 concerns, improvements, or failures involving the safety of: (1) custom- 34 ers; (2) employees; and (3) the public at large, in relation to authori- 35 ty facilities and services. The capital program committee shall, with 36 respect to any approved or proposed capital program plans, (i) monitor 37 the current and future availability of funds to be utilized for such 38 plans approved or proposed to be submitted to the metropolitan transpor- 39 tation capital program review board as provided in section twelve 40 hundred sixty-nine-b of this title; (ii) monitor the contract awards of 41 the metropolitan transportation authority and the New York city transit 42 authority to insure that such awards are consistent with (A) provisions 43 of law authorizing United States content and New York state content; (B) 44 collective bargaining agreements; (C) provisions of law providing for 45 participation by minority and women-owned businesses; (D) New York state 46 labor laws; (E) competitive bidding requirements including those regard- 47 ing sole source contracts; and (F) any other relevant requirements 48 established by law; (iii) monitor the award of contracts to determine if 49 such awards are consistent with the manner in which the work was tradi- 50 tionally performed in the past provided, however, that any such determi- 51 nation shall not be admissible as evidence in any arbitration or judi- 52 cial proceeding; (iv) review the relationship between capital 53 expenditures pursuant to each such capital program plan and current and 54 future operating budget requirements; (v) monitor the progress of capi- 55 tal elements described in each capital program plan approved as provided 56 in section twelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this title; (vi) monitor theA. 1603 7 1 expenditures incurred and to be incurred for each such element; and 2 (vii) identify capital elements not progressing on schedule, ascertain 3 responsibility therefor and recommend those actions required or appro- 4 priate to accelerate their implementation. The capital program committee 5 shall issue a quarterly report on its activities and findings, and shall 6 in connection with the preparation of such quarterly report, consult 7 with the state division of the budget, the state department of transpor- 8 tation, the members of the metropolitan transportation authority capital 9 program review board and any other group the committee deems relevant, 10 including public employee organizations, and, at least annually, with a 11 nationally recognized independent transit engineering firm. Such report 12 shall be made available to the members of the authority, to the members 13 of the metropolitan transportation authority capital program review 14 board, and the directors of the municipal assistance corporation for the 15 city of New York. 16 § 6. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public 17 authorities law, as amended by section 2 of chapter 425 of the laws of 18 2018, is amended to read as follows: 19 (b) The [chairman] chairperson shall establish committees to assist 20 him or her in the performance of his or her duties and shall appoint 21 members of the authority to such committees. Among such committees, 22 there shall be a committee on operations of the New York city transit 23 authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit operating authority 24 and the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority; a committee on 25 operations of the Long Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban 26 bus authority; a committee on operations of the Metro-North commuter 27 railroad; a committee on operations of the Triborough bridge and tunnel 28 authority; a committee on finance; a committee on capital program over- 29 sight; and a committee on safety. The committee on capital program over- 30 sight shall include not less than four members, and shall include the 31 chairpersons of the committee on operations of the New York city transit 32 authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit operating authority 33 and the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority, the committee 34 on operations of the Long Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban 35 bus authority, the committee on operations of the Metro-North commuter 36 railroad, and the committee on safety. The committee on safety shall 37 convene at least once annually and each committee chairperson, that is a 38 member of the committee on safety, shall report to the committee on 39 safety any and all initiatives, concerns, improvements, or failures 40 involving the safety of: (1) customers; (2) employees; and (3) the 41 public at large, in relation to authority facilities and services. The 42 capital program committee shall, with respect to any approved or 43 proposed capital program plans, (i) monitor the current and future 44 availability of funds to be utilized for such plans approved or proposed 45 to be submitted to the metropolitan transportation capital program 46 review board as provided in section twelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this 47 title; (ii) monitor the contract awards of the metropolitan transporta- 48 tion authority and the New York city transit authority to insure that 49 such awards are consistent with (A) provisions of law authorizing United 50 States content and New York state content; (B) collective bargaining 51 agreements; (C) provisions of law providing for participation by minori- 52 ty and women-owned businesses; (D) New York state labor laws; (E) 53 competitive bidding requirements including those regarding sole source 54 contracts; and (F) any other relevant requirements established by law; 55 (iii) monitor the award of contracts to determine if such awards are 56 consistent with the manner in which the work was traditionally performedA. 1603 8 1 in the past provided, however, that any such determination shall not be 2 admissible as evidence in any arbitration or judicial proceeding; (iv) 3 review the relationship between capital expenditures pursuant to each 4 such capital program plan and current and future operating budget 5 requirements; (v) monitor the progress of capital elements described in 6 each capital program plan approved as provided in section twelve hundred 7 sixty-nine-b of this title; (vi) monitor the expenditures incurred and 8 to be incurred for each such element; and (vii) identify capital 9 elements not progressing on schedule, ascertain responsibility therefor 10 and recommend those actions required or appropriate to accelerate their 11 implementation. The capital program committee shall issue a quarterly 12 report on its activities and findings, and shall in connection with the 13 preparation of such quarterly report, consult with the state division of 14 the budget, the state department of transportation, the members of the 15 metropolitan transportation authority capital program review board and 16 any other group the committee deems relevant, including public employee 17 organizations, and, at least annually, with a nationally recognized 18 independent transit engineering firm. Such report shall be made avail- 19 able to the members of the authority, to the members of the metropolitan 20 transportation authority capital program review board, and the directors 21 of the municipal assistance corporation for the city of New York. 22 § 7. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the 23 public authorities law, paragraph (c) as added by chapter 247 of the 24 laws of 1990, paragraph (d) as added by section 5 of part H of chapter 25 25 of the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows: 26 (c) The [chairman] chairperson shall ensure that at every meeting of 27 the board and at every meeting of each committee the public shall be 28 allotted a period of time, not less than thirty minutes, to speak on any 29 topic on the agenda. 30 (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section twen- 31 ty-eight hundred twenty-four of this chapter or any other provision of 32 law to the contrary, the [chairman] chairperson shall not participate in 33 establishing authority policies regarding the payment of salary, compen- 34 sation and reimbursement to, nor establish rules for the time and 35 attendance of, the chief executive officer. The salary of the [chairman] 36 chairperson, as determined pursuant to subdivision two of this section, 37 shall also be compensation for all services performed as chief executive 38 officer. 39 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend- 40 ments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 of the public 41 authorities law made by section one of this act shall be subject to the 42 expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 3 of 43 chapter 549 of the laws of 1994, as amended, when upon such date the 44 provisions of section two of this act shall take effect; and provided 45 further that the amendments to paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 46 1263 of the public authorities law made by section five of this act 47 shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such subdivision 48 pursuant to section 3 of chapter 549 of the laws of 1994, as amended, 49 when upon such date the provisions of section six of this act shall take 50 effect.
