Bill Text: NY A05809 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relates to the definition of the metropolitan commuter transportation district for the purposes of the metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax; requires the metropolitan transportation authority to renegotiate the joint service operating agreement with the state of Connecticut.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to ways and means [A05809 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A05809-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

            S. 5169                                                  A. 5809

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                SENATE - ASSEMBLY

                                    February 25, 2021
                                       ___________

        IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered print-
          ed,  and  when  printed  to  be committed to the Committee on Investi-
          gations and Government Operations

        IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M.
          of A. COLTON, ENGLEBRIGHT -- read once and referred to  the  Committee
          on Ways and Means

        AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to the definition of the metro-
          politan  commuter  transportation  district  for  the  purposes of the
          metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax; and  to  amend  the
          public  authorities  law,  in  relation  to requiring the metropolitan
          transportation authority to renegotiate the  joint  service  operating
          agreement with the state of Connecticut

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

     1    Section 1. Legislative findings. Pursuant to chapter 25 of the laws of
     2  2009, the legislature did enact the metropolitan mobility tax within the
     3  twelve  county  region  constituting  the  metropolitan   transportation
     4  district.  The  legislature hereby finds that the residents of the towns
     5  of Brookhaven, East Hampton, Riverhead,  Shelter  Island,  Southold  and
     6  Southampton  in  the  county  of  Suffolk  receive  minimal mass transit
     7  services from the metropolitan transportation authority. Further,  these
     8  towns  already  pay  substantial  taxes  to  the  MTA  for these minimal
     9  services, including increased sales taxes and mortgage recording  taxes.
    10  It  has  been estimated these six towns contribute more than $60 million
    11  annually to the MTA than they receive back in service.
    12    In the interest of tax fairness and to avoid such additional inequita-
    13  ble taxation on these towns, it is the purpose of  this  act  to  exempt
    14  such  towns  from the newly adopted metropolitan commuter transportation
    15  mobility tax.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05704-01-1
        S. 5169                             2                            A. 5809

     1    § 2. Subsection (a) of section 800 of the tax law, as added by section
     2  1 of part C of chapter 25 of the laws of 2009, is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    (a)  Metropolitan  commuter  transportation district. The metropolitan
     5  commuter transportation district ("MCTD") means the area  of  the  state
     6  included  in the district created and governed by section twelve hundred
     7  sixty-two of the public authorities law, except that for the purposes of
     8  this article, the towns of Brookhaven, East Hampton, Riverhead,  Shelter
     9  Island,  Southampton  and  Southold  in Suffolk County shall be excluded
    10  from the district for the purposes of  this  article  and  any  revenues
    11  previously  collected  from within these counties shall be reimbursed to
    12  each payor by March thirty-first, two thousand twenty-three.
    13    § 3.  Section 1266 of the public authorities law is amended by  adding
    14  a new subdivision 19 to read as follows:
    15    19.  The  authority  is  required  by March thirty-first, two thousand
    16  twenty-three to:
    17    (a) renegotiate the joint service agreement between the authority  and
    18  the state of Connecticut related to the operation of the Metro-North New
    19  Haven  line  to  (i)  require  Connecticut  to  set  New Haven line fare
    20  increases at levels necessary to sustain equivalent fare levels  between
    21  New  York  state  residents riding the Metro-North Commuter Railroad and
    22  Connecticut residents riding the  Metro-North  Commuter  Railroad,  (ii)
    23  require  that  Connecticut  operating  deficit subsidy payments shall be
    24  based on Connecticut resident utilization of  the  Metro-North  Commuter
    25  Railroad and Connecticut resident utilization of the New York city tran-
    26  sit  authority  with  such subsidies to be determined by multiplying the
    27  Connecticut resident utilization percentages for the Metro-North  Commu-
    28  ter  Railroad  and the New York city transit authority by the respective
    29  baseline operating deficit of these operating entities prior to  subsidy
    30  adjustments and prior to increased revenues provided to the authority by
    31  New  York state residents pursuant to payments mandated by chapter twen-
    32  ty-five of the laws of two thousand nine, and (iii) provide for retroac-
    33  tive lump sum payments due from the  state  of  Connecticut  related  to
    34  calendar year two thousand nine; or
    35    (b)  reduce services and expenses related to the Metro-North New Haven
    36  line operation by an amount which  produces  recurring  savings  to  the
    37  authority  which are equivalent to the increased joint service agreement
    38  payments which would be determined under paragraph (a) of this  subdivi-
    39  sion.
    40    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.