Bill Text: NY S02340 | 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 TRANSPORTATION [S02340 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S02340-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2340
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   January 22, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
       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
       S. 2340                             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.