Bill Text: NY A06770 | 2019-2020 | 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 27-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to corporations, authorities and commissions [A06770 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A06770-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6770 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 19, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee 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 3 of part H of chapter 25 of 4 the laws of 2009, 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 23 the chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommendation of the 24 Metro-North rail commuter council; one of the twenty voting members 25 other than the chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommenda- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07693-01-9A. 6770 2 1 tion of the Long Island rail road commuter's council; one of the twenty 2 voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed on the 3 written recommendation of the MTA New York city transit's paratransit 4 advisory committee selection committee; and each of seven other voting 5 members other than the [chairman] chairperson shall be appointed after 6 selection from a written list of three recommendations from the chief 7 executive officer of the county in which the particular member is 8 required to reside pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision. Of 9 the members appointed on recommendation of the chief executive officer 10 of a county, one such member shall be, at the time of appointment, a 11 resident of the county of Nassau, one a resident of the county of 12 Suffolk, one a resident of the county of Westchester, one a resident of 13 the county of Dutchess, one a resident of the county of Orange, one a 14 resident of the county of Putnam and one a resident of the county of 15 Rockland, provided that the term of any member who is a resident of a 16 county that has withdrawn from the metropolitan commuter transportation 17 district pursuant to section twelve hundred seventy-nine-b of this arti- 18 cle shall terminate upon the effective date of such county's withdrawal 19 from such district. Of the five voting members, other than the [chair-20man] chairperson, appointed by the governor without recommendation from 21 any other person, three shall be, at the time of appointment, residents 22 of the city of New York and two shall be, at the time of appointment, 23 residents of such city or of any of the aforementioned counties in the 24 metropolitan commuter transportation district. The [chairman] chair- 25 person and each of the members shall be appointed for a term of six 26 years, provided however, that the [chairman] chairperson first appointed 27 shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty- 28 one, provided that thirty days after the effective date of the chapter 29 of the laws of two thousand nine which amended this subparagraph, the 30 term of the [chairman] chairperson shall expire; provided, further, that 31 such [chairman] chairperson may continue to discharge the duties of his 32 or her office until the position of [chairman] chairperson is filled by 33 appointment by the governor upon the advice and consent of the senate 34 and the term of such new [chairman] chairperson shall terminate June 35 thirtieth, two thousand fifteen. The [sixteen] twenty other members 36 first appointed shall serve for the following terms: The members from 37 the counties of Nassau and Westchester shall each serve for a term 38 ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-five; the members from 39 the county of Suffolk and from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam 40 and Rockland shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen 41 hundred ninety-two; two of the members appointed on recommendation of 42 the mayor of the city of New York shall each serve for a term ending 43 June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-four and, two shall each serve 44 for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one; two of 45 the members appointed by the governor without the recommendation of any 46 other person shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen 47 hundred eighty-two, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirti- 48 eth, nineteen hundred eighty and one shall serve for a term ending June 49 thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-five; the member appointed by the 50 governor on recommendation of the New York city transit authority advi- 51 sory council shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, two thousand 52 twenty-three; the member appointed by the governor on recommendation of 53 the Metro-North rail commuter council shall serve for a term ending June 54 thirtieth, two thousand twenty-three; the member appointed by the gover- 55 nor on recommendation of the Long Island rail road commuter's council 56 shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-three;A. 6770 3 1 and the member appointed by the governor on recommendation of the MTA 2 New York city transit's paratransit advisory committee selection commit- 3 tee shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty- 4 three. [The two non-voting and four alternate non-voting members shall5serve until January first, two thousand one.] The members from the coun- 6 ties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall cast one collective 7 vote. 8 (2) There shall be [two] three non-voting members [and four alternate9non-voting members] of the authority, as referred to in subparagraph one 10 of this paragraph. 11 The first non-voting member shall be [a regular mass transit user of12the facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by13the New York city transit authority advisory council. The first alter-14nate non-voting member shall be a regular mass transit user of the15facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by the16Metro-North commuter council. The second alternate non-voting member17shall be a regular mass transit user of the facilities of the authority18and be recommended to the governor by the Long Island Rail Road19commuter's council.20The second non-voting member shall be] recommended to the governor by 21 the labor organization representing the majority of employees of the 22 Long Island Rail Road. The [third alternate] second non-voting member 23 shall be recommended to the governor by the labor organization repres- 24 enting the majority of employees of the New York city transit authority. 25 The [fourth alternate] third non-voting member shall be recommended to 26 the governor by the labor organization representing the majority of 27 employees of the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company. The [chairman] 28 chairperson of the authority, at his or her direction, may exclude 29 [such] any non-voting member [or alternate non-voting member] from 30 attending any portion of a meeting of the authority or of any committee 31 established pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this 32 section held for the purpose of discussing negotiations with labor 33 organizations. 34 [The non-voting member and the two alternate non-voting members35representing the New York York city transit authority advisory council,36the Metro-North commuter council, and the Long Island Rail Road37commuter's council shall serve eighteen month rotating terms, after38which time an alternate non-voting member shall become the non-voting39member and the rotation shall continue until each alternate member has40served at least one eighteen month term as a non-voting member. The41other non-voting member and alternate non-voting members representing42the New York city transit authority, Metro-North Commuter Railroad43Company, and the Long Island Rail Road labor organizations shall serve44eighteen month rotating terms, after which time an alternate non-voting45member shall become the non-voting member and the rotation shall contin-46ue until each alternate member has served at least one eighteen month47term as a non-voting member. The transit authority and the commuter48railroads shall not be represented concurrently by the two non-voting49members during any such eighteen month period.] 50 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 of the public 51 authorities law, as amended by section 4 of part H of chapter 25 of the 52 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 53 (a) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation authori- 54 ty." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic constituting a 55 public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a [chairman] 56 chairperson and [sixteen] twenty other members appointed by the governorA. 6770 4 1 by and with the advice and consent of the senate. Any member appointed 2 to a term commencing on or after June thirtieth, two thousand nine shall 3 have experience in one or more of the following areas of expertise: 4 transportation, public administration, business management, finance, 5 accounting, law, engineering, land use, urban and regional planning, 6 management of large capital projects, labor relations, or have experi- 7 ence in some other area of activity central to the mission of the 8 authority. Four of the [sixteen] twenty members other than the [chair-9man] chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommendation of the 10 mayor of the city of New York; one of the twenty voting members other 11 than the chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommendation of 12 the New York city transit authority advisory council; one of the twenty 13 voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed on the 14 written recommendation of the Metro-North rail commuter council; one of 15 the twenty voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed 16 on the written recommendation of the Long Island rail road commuter's 17 council; one of the twenty voting members other than the chairperson 18 shall be appointed on the written recommendation of the MTA New York 19 city transit's paratransit advisory committee selection committee; and 20 each of seven other members other than the [chairman] chairperson shall 21 be appointed after selection from a written list of three recommenda- 22 tions from the chief executive officer of the county in which the 23 particular member is required to reside pursuant to the provisions of 24 this subdivision. Of the members appointed on recommendation of the 25 chief executive officer of a county, one such member shall be, at the 26 time of appointment, a resident of the county of Nassau; one a resident 27 of the county of Suffolk; one a resident of the county of Westchester; 28 and one a resident of the county of Dutchess, one a resident of the 29 county of Orange, one a resident of the county of Putnam and one a resi- 30 dent of the county of Rockland, provided that the term of any member who 31 is a resident of a county that has withdrawn from the metropolitan 32 commuter transportation district pursuant to section twelve hundred 33 seventy-nine-b of this article shall terminate upon the effective date 34 of such county's withdrawal from such district. Of the five members, 35 other than the [chairman] chairperson, appointed by the governor without 36 recommendation from any other person, three shall be, at the time of 37 appointment, residents of the city of New York and two shall be, at the 38 time of appointment, residents of such city or of any of the aforemen- 39 tioned counties in the metropolitan commuter transportation district. 40 The [chairman] chairperson and each of the members shall be appointed 41 for a term of six years, provided however, that the [chairman] chair- 42 person first appointed shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, 43 nineteen hundred eighty-one, provided that thirty days after the effec- 44 tive date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand nine which amended 45 this paragraph, the term of the [chairman] chairperson shall expire; 46 provided, further, that such [chairman] chairperson may continue to 47 discharge the duties of his or her office until the position of [chair-48man] chairperson is filled by appointment by the governor upon the 49 advice and consent of the senate and the term of such new [chairman] 50 chairperson shall terminate June thirtieth, two thousand fifteen. The 51 [sixteen] twenty other members first appointed shall serve for the 52 following terms: The members from the counties of Nassau and Westchester 53 shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred 54 eighty-five; the members from the county of Suffolk and from the coun- 55 ties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall each serve for a 56 term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-two; two of theA. 6770 5 1 members appointed on recommendation of the mayor of the city of New York 2 shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred 3 eighty-four and, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, 4 nineteen hundred eighty-one; two of the members appointed by the gover- 5 nor without the recommendation of any other person shall each serve for 6 a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-two, two shall 7 each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty and 8 one shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred 9 eighty-five the member appointed by the governor on recommendation of 10 the New York city transit authority advisory council shall serve for a 11 term ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-three; the member 12 appointed by the governor on recommendation of the Metro-North rail 13 commuter council shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, two thou- 14 sand twenty-three; the member appointed by the governor on recommenda- 15 tion of the Long Island rail road commuter's council shall serve for a 16 term ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-three; and the member 17 appointed by the governor on recommendation of the MTA New York city 18 transit's paratransit advisory committee selection committee shall serve 19 for a term ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-three. The members 20 from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall cast 21 one collective vote. 22 § 3. Subdivision 2 of the section 1263 of the public authorities law, 23 as amended by chapter 55 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as 24 follows: 25 2. The [chairman] chairperson and the first vice [chairman] chair- 26 person shall be paid a salary in the amount determined by the authority; 27 the other members shall not receive a salary or other compensation. Each 28 member, including the [chairman] chairperson and the first vice [chair-29man] chairperson, shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual and 30 necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his or her official 31 duties. 32 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection 4 of section 1263 of the public 33 authorities law, as amended by chapter 506 of the laws of 2009, is 34 amended to read as follows: 35 (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the [chair-36man] chairperson shall be the chief executive officer of the authority 37 and shall be responsible for the discharge of the executive and adminis- 38 trative functions and powers of the authority. The [chairman] chair- 39 person may appoint an executive director and such other officials and 40 employees as shall in his or her judgment be needed to discharge the 41 executive and administrative functions and powers of the authority. 42 § 5. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public 43 authorities law, as amended by section 1 of chapter 425 of the laws of 44 2018, is amended to read as follows: 45 (b) The [chairman] chairperson shall establish committees to assist 46 him or her in the performance of his or her duties and shall appoint 47 members of the authority to such committees. Among such committees, 48 there shall be a committee on operations of the New York city transit 49 authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit operating authority 50 and the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority; a committee on 51 operations of the Long Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban 52 bus authority; a committee on operations of the Metro-North commuter 53 railroad; a committee on operations of the Triborough bridge and tunnel 54 authority; a committee on finance; a committee on capital program over- 55 sight; and a committee on safety. In addition to such appointed members, 56 each of the non-voting members referred to in subparagraph two of para-A. 6770 6 1 graph (a) of subdivision one of this section shall serve on the commit- 2 tee on capital program oversight, the committee on finance, the commit- 3 tee on safety, the committee on operations of the Triborough bridge and 4 tunnel authority, and the operations committee relevant to the commuter 5 council that recommended such member. [The alternate non-voting members6shall each serve on the respective operations committee relevant to the7commuter council that recommended each member.] The committee on capital 8 program oversight and the committee on safety shall include not less 9 than three members, and shall include the chairpersons of the committee 10 on operations of the New York city transit authority, the Manhattan and 11 Bronx surface transit operating authority and the Staten Island rapid 12 transit operating authority, the committee on operations of the Long 13 Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban bus authority, and the 14 committee on operations of the Metro-North commuter railroad. The 15 committee on safety shall convene at least once annually and each 16 committee chairperson, that is a member of the committee on safety, 17 shall report to the committee on safety any and all initiatives, 18 concerns, improvements, or failures involving the safety of: (1) custom- 19 ers; (2) employees; and (3) the public at large, in relation to authori- 20 ty facilities and services. The capital program committee shall, with 21 respect to any approved or proposed capital program plans, (i) monitor 22 the current and future availability of funds to be utilized for such 23 plans approved or proposed to be submitted to the metropolitan transpor- 24 tation capital program review board as provided in section twelve 25 hundred sixty-nine-b of this title; (ii) monitor the contract awards of 26 the metropolitan transportation authority and the New York city transit 27 authority to insure that such awards are consistent with (A) provisions 28 of law authorizing United States content and New York state content; (B) 29 collective bargaining agreements; (C) provisions of law providing for 30 participation by minority and women-owned businesses; (D) New York state 31 labor laws; (E) competitive bidding requirements including those regard- 32 ing sole source contracts; and (F) any other relevant requirements 33 established by law; (iii) monitor the award of contracts to determine if 34 such awards are consistent with the manner in which the work was tradi- 35 tionally performed in the past provided, however, that any such determi- 36 nation shall not be admissible as evidence in any arbitration or judi- 37 cial proceeding; (iv) review the relationship between capital 38 expenditures pursuant to each such capital program plan and current and 39 future operating budget requirements; (v) monitor the progress of capi- 40 tal elements described in each capital program plan approved as provided 41 in section twelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this title; (vi) monitor the 42 expenditures incurred and to be incurred for each such element; and 43 (vii) identify capital elements not progressing on schedule, ascertain 44 responsibility therefor and recommend those actions required or appro- 45 priate to accelerate their implementation. The capital program committee 46 shall issue a quarterly report on its activities and findings, and shall 47 in connection with the preparation of such quarterly report, consult 48 with the state division of the budget, the state department of transpor- 49 tation, the members of the metropolitan transportation authority capital 50 program review board and any other group the committee deems relevant, 51 including public employee organizations, and, at least annually, with a 52 nationally recognized independent transit engineering firm. Such report 53 shall be made available to the members of the authority, to the members 54 of the metropolitan transportation authority capital program review 55 board, and the directors of the municipal assistance corporation for the 56 city of New York.A. 6770 7 1 § 6. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public 2 authorities law, as amended by section 2 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. The committee on capital program over- 15 sight shall include not less than four members, and shall include the 16 chairpersons of the committee on operations of the New York city transit 17 authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit operating authority 18 and the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority, the committee 19 on operations of the Long Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban 20 bus authority, the committee on operations of the Metro-North commuter 21 railroad, and the committee on safety. The committee on safety shall 22 convene at least once annually and each committee chairperson, that is a 23 member of the committee on safety, shall report to the committee on 24 safety any and all initiatives, concerns, improvements, or failures 25 involving the safety of: (1) customers; (2) employees; and (3) the 26 public at large, in relation to authority facilities and services. The 27 capital program committee shall, with respect to any approved or 28 proposed capital program plans, (i) monitor the current and future 29 availability of funds to be utilized for such plans approved or proposed 30 to be submitted to the metropolitan transportation capital program 31 review board as provided in section twelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this 32 title; (ii) monitor the contract awards of the metropolitan transporta- 33 tion authority and the New York city transit authority to insure that 34 such awards are consistent with (A) provisions of law authorizing United 35 States content and New York state content; (B) collective bargaining 36 agreements; (C) provisions of law providing for participation by minori- 37 ty and women-owned businesses; (D) New York state labor laws; (E) 38 competitive bidding requirements including those regarding sole source 39 contracts; and (F) any other relevant requirements established by law; 40 (iii) monitor the award of contracts to determine if such awards are 41 consistent with the manner in which the work was traditionally performed 42 in the past provided, however, that any such determination shall not be 43 admissible as evidence in any arbitration or judicial proceeding; (iv) 44 review the relationship between capital expenditures pursuant to each 45 such capital program plan and current and future operating budget 46 requirements; (v) monitor the progress of capital elements described in 47 each capital program plan approved as provided in section twelve hundred 48 sixty-nine-b of this title; (vi) monitor the expenditures incurred and 49 to be incurred for each such element; and (vii) identify capital 50 elements not progressing on schedule, ascertain responsibility therefor 51 and recommend those actions required or appropriate to accelerate their 52 implementation. The capital program committee shall issue a quarterly 53 report on its activities and findings, and shall in connection with the 54 preparation of such quarterly report, consult with the state division of 55 the budget, the state department of transportation, the members of the 56 metropolitan transportation authority capital program review board andA. 6770 8 1 any other group the committee deems relevant, including public employee 2 organizations, and, at least annually, with a nationally recognized 3 independent transit engineering firm. Such report shall be made avail- 4 able to the members of the authority, to the members of the metropolitan 5 transportation authority capital program review board, and the directors 6 of the municipal assistance corporation for the city of New York. 7 § 7. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the 8 public authorities law, paragraph (c) as added by chapter 247 of the 9 laws of 1990, paragraph (d) as added by section 5 of part H of chapter 10 25 of the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows: 11 (c) The [chairman] chairperson shall ensure that at every meeting of 12 the board and at every meeting of each committee the public shall be 13 allotted a period of time, not less than thirty minutes, to speak on any 14 topic on the agenda. 15 (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section twen- 16 ty-eight hundred twenty-four of this chapter or any other provision of 17 law to the contrary, the [chairman] chairperson shall not participate in 18 establishing authority policies regarding the payment of salary, compen- 19 sation and reimbursement to, nor establish rules for the time and 20 attendance of, the chief executive officer. The salary of the [chairman] 21 chairperson, as determined pursuant to subdivision two of this section, 22 shall also be compensation for all services performed as chief executive 23 officer. 24 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend- 25 ments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 of the public 26 authorities law made by section one of this act shall be subject to the 27 expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 3 of 28 chapter 549 of the laws of 1994, as amended, when upon such date the 29 provisions of section two of this act shall take effect; and provided 30 further that the amendments to paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 31 1263 of the public authorities law made by section five of this act 32 shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such subdivision 33 pursuant to section 3 of chapter 549 of the laws of 1994, as amended, 34 when upon such date the provisions of section six of this act shall take 35 effect.