Bill Text: NY A00041 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the NYS Thruway Authority and NYS Bridge Authority to jointly study and report on methods to share services and combine functions and on feasibility of merging as a single entity; requires reports to be issued to the governor and legislature.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to corporations, authorities and commissions [A00041 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A00041-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           41
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 4, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
        AN ACT in relation to directing the New York State Thruway Authority and
          the  New  York  State  Bridge Authority to jointly study and report on
          methods that can be implemented to share services  and  combine  func-
          tions, and on the feasibility of merging into a single entity
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. 1. The New York state thruway authority and  the  New  York
     2  state  bridge  authority  shall  jointly  conduct a study to explore the
     3  sharing and consolidation of services and functions in order  to  reduce
     4  each  authority's  overall  administrative,  operational  and/or capital
     5  costs. Such authorities shall additionally conduct a  study  to  explore
     6  the  feasibility  of  a  merger of the authorities into a single entity.
     7  Such authorities may employ  the  use  of  outside  consultants  in  the
     8  conducting of either study, subject to competitive bidding requirements.
     9    a.  Sharing  and  consolidation  of services study. The joint study to
    10  explore the sharing and consolidation of services and  functions  should
    11  be designed with the ultimate goal of streamlining the functions of each
    12  authority  in  order  to reduce overall costs and increase efficiencies,
    13  and shall include, at a minimum, an examination of methods that  can  be
    14  implemented by each authority in order to:
    15    (i)  consolidate central administrative functions, such as purchasing,
    16  personnel management, hiring and employee benefits administration;
    17    (ii) consolidate or share optional  functions,  such  as  maintenance,
    18  security services, toll collections and payment processing; and
    19    (iii)  develop  and  implement  a joint capital plan whereby long term
    20  capital projects at each individual authority are jointly  designed  and
    21  constructed.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01616-01-7
        A. 41                               2
     1    b. Merger study. The joint study to explore the feasibility of a merg-
     2  er of the New York state thruway authority and the New York state bridge
     3  authority  into  a single entity may, at the discretion of each authori-
     4  ty's board of directors, be conducted in conjunction with or apart  from
     5  the  sharing  and  consolidation of services study and shall explore any
     6  and all aspects of a full  merger of the two individual authorities into
     7  a single entity.
     8    2. Reports. a. Within six months of the effective date  of  this  act,
     9  the  New  York  state  thruway  authority  and the New York state bridge
    10  authority shall jointly issue a report of the findings  of  sharing  and
    11  consolidation of services study to the governor, the temporary president
    12  of  the  senate  and  the  speaker  of  the  assembly. Such report shall
    13  include, but not be limited to, the following:
    14    (i) actions that can be implemented by each authority  immediately,  a
    15  plan  of  action  for  such  implementation,  and  the estimated cost of
    16  savings to be achieved;
    17    (ii) actions that require regulatory action by either or both authori-
    18  ties in order to be implemented, a plan of action for implementing  such
    19  actions, and the estimated cost savings to be achieved; and
    20    (iii)  actions  that  require  statutory changes in order to be imple-
    21  mented and the estimated cost savings to be achieved.
    22    b. Within one year of the effective date of this  act,  the  New  York
    23  state  thruway  authority  and the New York state bridge authority shall
    24  jointly issue a report of the findings of the merger  feasibility  study
    25  to  the  governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker
    26  of the assembly. Such report shall include a  full  examination  of  all
    27  aspects  of merging the two authorities into a single entity, a proposed
    28  plan of action for such merger, and the estimated  cost  savings  to  be
    29  achieved.
    30    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.