Bill Text: NY A09239 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide discounted monthly passes to college, graduate and career education students for the purpose of commuting to and from classes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-22 - referred to corporations, authorities and commissions [A09239 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A09239-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9239

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 22, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions

        AN ACT to direct the Metropolitan Transportation  Authority  to  provide
          discounted monthly passes to college and career education students for
          the purpose of commuting to and from classes

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. a. Notwithstanding  any  provision  to  the  contrary,  the
     2  Metropolitan Transportation Authority ("the Authority") shall extend the
     3  provisions   of  its  Monthly  Tickets  for  Schools  program  providing
     4  discounted monthly transportation passes to include  students  utilizing
     5  the  Long  Island Railroad and the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company
     6  to commute to  attend  post-secondary  education  classes  at  qualified
     7  colleges,  universities  and  career education schools. The extension of
     8  the program shall be known as the College and Career Education  Partner-
     9  ship Program.
    10    b.  In order to qualify for the the College and Career Education Part-
    11  nership Program, a college, university or career education school must:
    12    (i) be accredited by the New York  State  Board  of  Regents  and  the
    13  Commissioner  of  Education  or  accredited  by  a nationally recognized
    14  accrediting agency or association accepted as such by the regents of the
    15  state of New York;
    16    (ii) make application to the Authority to be  added  to  the  list  of
    17  colleges,  universities  and  career  education schools approved for the
    18  program; and
    19    (iii) upon notification of Authority approval, provide access  through
    20  its official website for full-time college and career education students
    21  attending the college, university or career education school to register
    22  through their website for the reduced fee passes.
    23    c. A qualifying college may be a community college.
    24    d. Any full-time student attending a qualifying college, university or
    25  career education school may purchase the reduced fare pass. A student in
    26  their  final term prior to graduating from a qualifying college, univer-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14562-01-4
        A. 9239                             2

     1  sity or career education school shall qualify to  purchase  the  reduced
     2  fare pass, even if such student is not carrying a full-time course load.
     3    e.  Passes issued through the College and Career Education Partnership
     4  Program shall offer a minimum monthly discount of 25% off the full-price
     5  cost of a monthly pass for students.
     6    f. The College and  Career  Education  Partnership  Program  shall  be
     7  implemented  by the Authority prior to the commencement of the 2024-2025
     8  school year and shall apply to  that  school  year  and  all  subsequent
     9  school years.  The Authority shall not pay any costs or expenses related
    10  to  the  reduced  fare program from its operating or capital budgets and
    11  may only implement the reduced fare program with funds  appropriated  to
    12  it by the State of New York for such purpose.
    13    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.