Bill Text: NY S03837 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to increasing membership on the board of the metropolitan transportation authority, including members representative of commuters' advisory councils.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-10 - PRINT NUMBER 3837A [S03837 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S03837-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3837--A 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 19, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. GOUNARDES, BIAGGI, GIANARIS, KAPLAN, KAVANAGH, MONT- GOMERY, RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation -- recommitted to the Committee on Transportation in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to membership on the board of the metropolitan transportation authority The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 of the 2 public authorities law, as amended by chapter 549 of the laws of 1994 3 and subparagraph 1 as amended by section 1 of part E of chapter 39 of 4 the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 5 (a)(1) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation 6 authority." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic consti- 7 tuting a public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a 8 [chairman] chairperson, [sixteen] twenty other voting members, and [two] 9 three non-voting [and four alternate non-voting members], as described 10 in subparagraph two of this paragraph appointed by the governor by and 11 with the advice and consent of the senate. Any member appointed to a 12 term commencing on or after June thirtieth, two thousand nine shall have 13 experience in one or more of the following areas: transportation, public 14 administration, business management, finance, accounting, law, engineer- 15 ing, land use, urban and regional planning, management of large capital 16 projects, labor relations, or have experience in some other area of 17 activity central to the mission of the authority. Four of the [sixteen] 18 twenty voting members other than the [chairman] chairperson shall be 19 appointed on the written recommendation of the mayor of the city of New 20 York; one of the twenty voting members other than the chairperson shall 21 be appointed on the written recommendation of the New York city transit EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07693-02-0S. 3837--A 2 1 authority advisory council; one of the twenty voting members other than 2 the chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommendation of the 3 Metro-North rail commuter council; one of the twenty voting members 4 other than the chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommenda- 5 tion of the Long Island Rail Road commuter's council; one of the twenty 6 voting members other than the chairperson shall be a New York city tran- 7 sit authority user with a publicly disclosed disability appointed on the 8 written recommendation of the head of an independent living center 9 located in New York city; and each of seven other voting members other 10 than the [chairman] chairperson shall be appointed after selection from 11 a written list of three recommendations from the chief executive officer 12 of the county in which the particular member is required to reside 13 pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision. Of the members appointed 14 on recommendation of the chief executive officer of a county, one such 15 member shall be, at the time of appointment, a resident of the county of 16 Nassau, one a resident of the county of Suffolk, one a resident of the 17 county of Westchester, one a resident of the county of Dutchess, one a 18 resident of the county of Orange, one a resident of the county of Putnam 19 and one a resident of the county of Rockland, provided that the term of 20 any member who is a resident of a county that has withdrawn from the 21 metropolitan commuter transportation district pursuant to section twelve 22 hundred seventy-nine-b of this title shall terminate upon the effective 23 date of such county's withdrawal from such district. Of the five voting 24 members, other than the [chairman] chairperson, appointed by the gover- 25 nor without recommendation from any other person, three shall be, at the 26 time of appointment, residents of the city of New York and two shall be, 27 at the time of appointment, residents of such city or of any of the 28 aforementioned counties in the metropolitan commuter transportation 29 district. Provided however, notwithstanding the foregoing residency 30 requirement, one of the five voting members appointed by the governor 31 without recommendation from any other person, other than the [chairman] 32 chairperson, may be the director of the New York state division of the 33 budget, and provided further that, in the event of such appointment, the 34 budget director's membership in the authority shall be deemed ex-offi- 35 cio. The [chairman] chairperson and each of the members shall be 36 appointed for a term of six years, provided however, that the [chairman] 37 chairperson first appointed shall serve for a term ending June thirti- 38 eth, nineteen hundred eighty-one, provided that thirty days after the 39 effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand nine which 40 amended this subparagraph, the term of the [chairman] chairperson shall 41 expire; provided, further, that such [chairman] chairperson may continue 42 to discharge the duties of his or her office until the position of 43 [chairman] chairperson is filled by appointment by the governor upon the 44 advice and consent of the senate and the term of such new [chairman] 45 chairperson shall terminate June thirtieth, two thousand fifteen. The 46 [sixteen] twenty other members first appointed shall serve for the 47 following terms: The members from the counties of Nassau and Westchester 48 shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred 49 eighty-five; the members from the county of Suffolk and from the coun- 50 ties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall each serve for a 51 term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-two; two of the 52 members appointed on recommendation of the mayor of the city of New York 53 shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred 54 eighty-four and, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, 55 nineteen hundred eighty-one; two of the members appointed by the gover- 56 nor without the recommendation of any other person shall each serve forS. 3837--A 3 1 a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-two, two shall 2 each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty and 3 one shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred 4 eighty-five; the member appointed by the governor on recommendation of 5 the New York city transit authority advisory council shall serve for a 6 term ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-four, and no more than 7 two six-year terms; the member appointed by the governor on recommenda- 8 tion of the Metro-North rail commuter council shall serve for a term 9 ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-four, and no more than two 10 six-year terms; the member appointed by the governor on recommendation 11 of the Long Island Rail Road commuter's council shall serve for a term 12 ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-four, and no more than two 13 six-year terms; and the member with a publicly disclosed disability 14 appointed on the written recommendation of the head of an independent 15 living center located in New York city shall serve for a term ending 16 June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-four. [The two non-voting and four17alternate non-voting members shall serve until January first, two thou-18sand one.] The members from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and 19 Rockland shall cast one collective vote. 20 (2) There shall be [two] three non-voting members [and four alternate21non-voting members] of the authority, as referred to in subparagraph one 22 of this paragraph. 23 The first non-voting member shall be [a regular mass transit user of24the facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by25the New York city transit authority advisory council. The first alter-26nate non-voting member shall be a regular mass transit user of the27facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by the28Metro-North commuter council. The second alternate non-voting member29shall be a regular mass transit user of the facilities of the authority30and be recommended to the governor by the Long Island Rail Road31commuter's council.32The second non-voting member shall be] recommended to the governor by 33 the labor organization representing the majority of employees of the 34 Long Island Rail Road. The [third alternate] second non-voting member 35 shall be recommended to the governor by the labor organization repres- 36 enting the majority of employees of the New York city transit authority. 37 The [fourth alternate] third non-voting member shall be recommended to 38 the governor by the labor organization representing the majority of 39 employees of the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company. The [chairman] 40 chairperson of the authority, at his or her direction, may exclude 41 [such] any non-voting member [or alternate non-voting member] from 42 attending any portion of a meeting of the authority or of any committee 43 established pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this 44 section held for the purpose of discussing negotiations with labor 45 organizations. 46 [The non-voting member and the two alternate non-voting members47representing the New York York city transit authority advisory council,48the Metro-North commuter council, and the Long Island Rail Road49commuter's council shall serve eighteen month rotating terms, after50which time an alternate non-voting member shall become the non-voting51member and the rotation shall continue until each alternate member has52served at least one eighteen month term as a non-voting member. The53other non-voting member and alternate non-voting members representing54the New York city transit authority, Metro-North Commuter Railroad55Company, and the Long Island Rail Road labor organizations shall serve56eighteen month rotating terms, after which time an alternate non-votingS. 3837--A 4 1member shall become the non-voting member and the rotation shall contin-2ue until each alternate member has served at least one eighteen month3term as a non-voting member. The transit authority and the commuter4railroads shall not be represented concurrently by the two non-voting5members during any such eighteen month period.] 6 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 of the public 7 authorities law, as amended by section 2 of part E of chapter 39 of the 8 laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 9 (a) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation authori- 10 ty." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic constituting a 11 public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a [chairman] 12 chairperson and [sixteen] twenty other members appointed by the governor 13 by and with the advice and consent of the senate. Any member appointed 14 to a term commencing on or after June thirtieth, two thousand nine shall 15 have experience in one or more of the following areas of expertise: 16 transportation, public administration, business management, finance, 17 accounting, law, engineering, land use, urban and regional planning, 18 management of large capital projects, labor relations, or have experi- 19 ence in some other area of activity central to the mission of the 20 authority. Four of the [sixteen] twenty members other than the [chair-21man] chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommendation of the 22 mayor of the city of New York; one of the twenty voting members other 23 than the chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommendation of 24 the New York city transit authority advisory council; one of the twenty 25 voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed on the 26 written recommendation of the Metro-North rail commuter council; one of 27 the twenty voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed 28 on the written recommendations of the Long Island Rail Road commuter's 29 council; one of the twenty voting members other than the chairperson 30 shall be a New York city transit authority user with a publicly 31 disclosed disability appointed on the written recommendation of the head 32 of an independent living center located in New York city; and each of 33 seven other members other than the [chairman] chairperson shall be 34 appointed after selection from a written list of three recommendations 35 from the chief executive officer of the county in which the particular 36 member is required to reside pursuant to the provisions of this subdivi- 37 sion. Of the members appointed on recommendation of the chief executive 38 officer of a county, one such member shall be, at the time of appoint- 39 ment, a resident of the county of Nassau; one a resident of the county 40 of Suffolk; one a resident of the county of Westchester; and one a resi- 41 dent of the county of Dutchess, one a resident of the county of Orange, 42 one a resident of the county of Putnam and one a resident of the county 43 of Rockland, provided that the term of any member who is a resident of a 44 county that has withdrawn from the metropolitan commuter transportation 45 district pursuant to section twelve hundred seventy-nine-b of this title 46 shall terminate upon the effective date of such county's withdrawal from 47 such district. Of the five members, other than the [chairman] chair- 48 person, appointed by the governor without recommendation from any other 49 person, three shall be, at the time of appointment, residents of the 50 city of New York and two shall be, at the time of appointment, residents 51 of such city or of any of the aforementioned counties in the metropol- 52 itan commuter transportation district. Provided however, notwithstanding 53 the foregoing residency requirement, one of the five voting members 54 appointed by the governor without recommendation from any other person, 55 other than the [chairman] chairperson, may be the director of the New 56 York state division of the budget, and provided further that, in theS. 3837--A 5 1 event of such appointment, the budget director's membership in the 2 authority shall be deemed ex-officio. The [chairman] chairperson and 3 each of the members shall be appointed for a term of six years, provided 4 however, that the [chairman] chairperson first appointed shall serve for 5 a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one, provided that 6 thirty days after the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two 7 thousand nine which amended this paragraph, the term of the [chairman] 8 chairperson shall expire; provided, further, that such [chairman] chair- 9 person may continue to discharge the duties of his or her office until 10 the position of [chairman] chairperson is filled by appointment by the 11 governor upon the advice and consent of the senate and the term of such 12 new [chairman] chairperson shall terminate June thirtieth, two thousand 13 fifteen. The [sixteen] twenty other members first appointed shall serve 14 for the following terms: The members from the counties of Nassau and 15 Westchester shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen 16 hundred eighty-five; the members from the county of Suffolk and from the 17 counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall each serve for a 18 term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-two; two of the 19 members appointed on recommendation of the mayor of the city of New York 20 shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred 21 eighty-four and, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, 22 nineteen hundred eighty-one; two of the members appointed by the gover- 23 nor without the recommendation of any other person shall each serve for 24 a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-two, two shall 25 each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty and 26 one shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred 27 eighty-five; the member appointed by the governor on recommendation of 28 the New York city transit authority advisory council shall serve for a 29 term ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-four, and no more than 30 two six-year terms; the member appointed by the governor on recommenda- 31 tion of the Metro-North rail commuter council shall serve for a term 32 ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-four, and no more than two 33 six-year terms the member appointed by the governor on recommendation of 34 the Long Island Rail Road commuter's council shall serve for a term 35 ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-four, and no more than two 36 six-year terms; and the member appointed by the governor on the written 37 recommendation of the head of an independent living center in New York 38 city shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty- 39 four. The members from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and 40 Rockland shall cast one collective vote. 41 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 1263 of the public authorities law, as 42 amended by chapter 55 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as 43 follows: 44 2. The [chairman] chairperson and the first vice [chairman] chair- 45 person shall be paid a salary in the amount determined by the authority; 46 the other members shall not receive a salary or other compensation. Each 47 member, including the [chairman] chairperson and the first vice [chair-48man] chairperson, shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual and 49 necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his or her official 50 duties. 51 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public 52 authorities law, as amended by chapter 506 of the laws of 2009, is 53 amended to read as follows: 54 (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the [chair-55man] chairperson shall be the chief executive officer of the authority 56 and shall be responsible for the discharge of the executive and adminis-S. 3837--A 6 1 trative functions and powers of the authority. The [chairman] chair- 2 person may appoint an executive director and such other officials and 3 employees as shall in his or her judgment be needed to discharge the 4 executive and administrative functions and powers of the authority. 5 § 5. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public 6 authorities law, as amended by section 1 of chapter 425 of the laws of 7 2018, is amended to read as follows: 8 (b) The [chairman] chairperson shall establish committees to assist 9 him or her in the performance of his or her duties and shall appoint 10 members of the authority to such committees. Among such committees, 11 there shall be a committee on operations of the New York city transit 12 authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit operating authority 13 and the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority; a committee on 14 operations of the Long Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban 15 bus authority; a committee on operations of the Metro-North commuter 16 railroad; a committee on operations of the Triborough bridge and tunnel 17 authority; a committee on finance; a committee on capital program over- 18 sight; and a committee on safety. In addition to such appointed members, 19 each of the non-voting members referred to in subparagraph two of para- 20 graph (a) of subdivision one of this section shall serve on the commit- 21 tee on capital program oversight, the committee on finance, the commit- 22 tee on safety, the committee on operations of the Triborough bridge and 23 tunnel authority, and the operations committee relevant to the commuter 24 council that recommended such member. [The alternate non-voting members25shall each serve on the respective operations committee relevant to the26commuter council that recommended each member.] The committee on capital 27 program oversight and the committee on safety shall include not less 28 than three members, and shall include the chairpersons of the committee 29 on operations of the New York city transit authority, the Manhattan and 30 Bronx surface transit operating authority and the Staten Island rapid 31 transit operating authority, the committee on operations of the Long 32 Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban bus authority, and the 33 committee on operations of the Metro-North commuter railroad. The 34 committee on safety shall convene at least once annually and each 35 committee chairperson, that is a member of the committee on safety, 36 shall report to the committee on safety any and all initiatives, 37 concerns, improvements, or failures involving the safety of: (1) custom- 38 ers; (2) employees; and (3) the public at large, in relation to authori- 39 ty facilities and services. The capital program committee shall, with 40 respect to any approved or proposed capital program plans, (i) monitor 41 the current and future availability of funds to be utilized for such 42 plans approved or proposed to be submitted to the metropolitan transpor- 43 tation capital program review board as provided in section twelve 44 hundred sixty-nine-b of this title; (ii) monitor the contract awards of 45 the metropolitan transportation authority and the New York city transit 46 authority to insure that such awards are consistent with (A) provisions 47 of law authorizing United States content and New York state content; (B) 48 collective bargaining agreements; (C) provisions of law providing for 49 participation by minority and women-owned businesses; (D) New York state 50 labor laws; (E) competitive bidding requirements including those regard- 51 ing sole source contracts; and (F) any other relevant requirements 52 established by law; (iii) monitor the award of contracts to determine if 53 such awards are consistent with the manner in which the work was tradi- 54 tionally performed in the past provided, however, that any such determi- 55 nation shall not be admissible as evidence in any arbitration or judi- 56 cial proceeding; (iv) review the relationship between capitalS. 3837--A 7 1 expenditures pursuant to each such capital program plan and current and 2 future operating budget requirements; (v) monitor the progress of capi- 3 tal elements described in each capital program plan approved as provided 4 in section twelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this title; (vi) monitor the 5 expenditures incurred and to be incurred for each such element; and 6 (vii) identify capital elements not progressing on schedule, ascertain 7 responsibility therefor and recommend those actions required or appro- 8 priate to accelerate their implementation. The capital program committee 9 shall issue a quarterly report on its activities and findings, and shall 10 in connection with the preparation of such quarterly report, consult 11 with the state division of the budget, the state department of transpor- 12 tation, the members of the metropolitan transportation authority capital 13 program review board and any other group the committee deems relevant, 14 including public employee organizations, and, at least annually, with a 15 nationally recognized independent transit engineering firm. Such report 16 shall be made available to the members of the authority, to the members 17 of the metropolitan transportation authority capital program review 18 board, and the directors of the municipal assistance corporation for the 19 city of New York. 20 § 6. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public 21 authorities law, as amended by section 2 of chapter 425 of the laws of 22 2018, is amended to read as follows: 23 (b) The [chairman] chairperson shall establish committees to assist 24 him or her in the performance of his or her duties and shall appoint 25 members of the authority to such committees. Among such committees, 26 there shall be a committee on operations of the New York city transit 27 authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit operating authority 28 and the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority; a committee on 29 operations of the Long Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban 30 bus authority; a committee on operations of the Metro-North commuter 31 railroad; a committee on operations of the Triborough bridge and tunnel 32 authority; a committee on finance; a committee on capital program over- 33 sight; and a committee on safety. The committee on capital program over- 34 sight shall include not less than four members, and shall include the 35 chairpersons of the committee on operations of the New York city transit 36 authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit operating authority 37 and the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority, the committee 38 on operations of the Long Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban 39 bus authority, the committee on operations of the Metro-North commuter 40 railroad, and the committee on safety. The committee on safety shall 41 convene at least once annually and each committee chairperson, that is a 42 member of the committee on safety, shall report to the committee on 43 safety any and all initiatives, concerns, improvements, or failures 44 involving the safety of: (1) customers; (2) employees; and (3) the 45 public at large, in relation to authority facilities and services. The 46 capital program committee shall, with respect to any approved or 47 proposed capital program plans, (i) monitor the current and future 48 availability of funds to be utilized for such plans approved or proposed 49 to be submitted to the metropolitan transportation capital program 50 review board as provided in section twelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this 51 title; (ii) monitor the contract awards of the metropolitan transporta- 52 tion authority and the New York city transit authority to insure that 53 such awards are consistent with (A) provisions of law authorizing United 54 States content and New York state content; (B) collective bargaining 55 agreements; (C) provisions of law providing for participation by minori- 56 ty and women-owned businesses; (D) New York state labor laws; (E)S. 3837--A 8 1 competitive bidding requirements including those regarding sole source 2 contracts; and (F) any other relevant requirements established by law; 3 (iii) monitor the award of contracts to determine if such awards are 4 consistent with the manner in which the work was traditionally performed 5 in the past provided, however, that any such determination shall not be 6 admissible as evidence in any arbitration or judicial proceeding; (iv) 7 review the relationship between capital expenditures pursuant to each 8 such capital program plan and current and future operating budget 9 requirements; (v) monitor the progress of capital elements described in 10 each capital program plan approved as provided in section twelve hundred 11 sixty-nine-b of this title; (vi) monitor the expenditures incurred and 12 to be incurred for each such element; and (vii) identify capital 13 elements not progressing on schedule, ascertain responsibility therefor 14 and recommend those actions required or appropriate to accelerate their 15 implementation. The capital program committee shall issue a quarterly 16 report on its activities and findings, and shall in connection with the 17 preparation of such quarterly report, consult with the state division of 18 the budget, the state department of transportation, the members of the 19 metropolitan transportation authority capital program review board and 20 any other group the committee deems relevant, including public employee 21 organizations, and, at least annually, with a nationally recognized 22 independent transit engineering firm. Such report shall be made avail- 23 able to the members of the authority, to the members of the metropolitan 24 transportation authority capital program review board, and the directors 25 of the municipal assistance corporation for the city of New York. 26 § 7. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the 27 public authorities law, paragraph (c) as added by chapter 247 of the 28 laws of 1990, paragraph (d) as added by section 5 of part H of chapter 29 25 of the laws of 2009, are amended to read as follows: 30 (c) The [chairman] chairperson shall ensure that at every meeting of 31 the board and at every meeting of each committee the public shall be 32 allotted a period of time, not less than thirty minutes, to speak on any 33 topic on the agenda. 34 (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section twen- 35 ty-eight hundred twenty-four of this chapter or any other provision of 36 law to the contrary, the [chairman] chairperson shall not participate in 37 establishing authority policies regarding the payment of salary, compen- 38 sation and reimbursement to, nor establish rules for the time and 39 attendance of, the chief executive officer. The salary of the [chairman] 40 chairperson, as determined pursuant to subdivision two of this section, 41 shall also be compensation for all services performed as chief executive 42 officer. 43 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend- 44 ments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 of the public 45 authorities law made by section one of this act shall be subject to the 46 expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 3 of 47 chapter 549 of the laws of 1994, as amended, when upon such date the 48 provisions of section two of this act shall take effect; and provided 49 further that the amendments to paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 50 1263 of the public authorities law made by section five of this act 51 shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such subdivision 52 pursuant to section 3 of chapter 549 of the laws of 1994, as amended, 53 when upon such date the provisions of section six of this act shall take 54 effect.