Bill Text: NY A04197 | 2015-2016 | 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 a report be issued to the governor and legislature within one year from the effective date.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-06 - referred to corporations, authorities and commissions [A04197 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A04197-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         4197
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   January 29, 2015
                                      ___________
       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.
   22    b. Merger study. The joint study to explore the feasibility of a merg-
   23  er of the New York state thruway authority and the New York state bridge
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD08325-01-5
       A. 4197                             2
    1  authority  into  a single entity may, at the discretion of each authori-
    2  ty's board of directors, be conducted in conjunction with or apart  from
    3  the  sharing  and  consolidation of services study and shall explore any
    4  and all aspects of a full  merger of the two individual authorities into
    5  a single entity.
    6    2.  Reports.  a.  Within six months of the effective date of this act,
    7  the New York state thruway authority  and  the  New  York  state  bridge
    8  authority  shall  jointly  issue a report of the findings of sharing and
    9  consolidation of services study to the governor, the temporary president
   10  of the senate and  the  speaker  of  the  assembly.  Such  report  shall
   11  include, but not be limited to, the following:
   12    (i)  actions  that can be implemented by each authority immediately, a
   13  plan of action for  such  implementation,  and  the  estimated  cost  of
   14  savings to be achieved;
   15    (ii) actions that require regulatory action by either or both authori-
   16  ties  in order to be implemented, a plan of action for implementing such
   17  actions, and the estimated cost savings to be achieved; and
   18    (iii) actions that require statutory changes in  order  to  be  imple-
   19  mented and the estimated cost savings to be achieved.
   20    b.  Within  one  year  of the effective date of this act, the New York
   21  state thruway authority and the New York state  bridge  authority  shall
   22  jointly  issue  a report of the findings of the merger feasibility study
   23  to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and  the  speaker
   24  of  the  assembly.  Such  report shall include a full examination of all
   25  aspects of merging the two authorities into a single entity, a  proposed
   26  plan  of  action  for  such merger, and the estimated cost savings to be
   27  achieved.
   28    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.