Bill Text: NY S05106 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires the appointment of a transit dependent and para-transit dependent representative on various transportation authorities.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-06-22 - PRINT NUMBER 5106A [S05106 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S05106-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5106--A 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 8, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KENNEDY, MARCHIONE, VALESKY -- 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 commit- tee AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to various transportation authorities The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1299-a of the public authorities law is amended by 2 adding two new subdivisions 18 and 19 to read as follows: 3 18. "Transit dependent" shall mean an individual who is limited to 4 public transit as their primary mode of transportation because the indi- 5 vidual, (a) has no means of private transportation; (b) is elderly (over 6 age 65); (c) is a youth (under age 18); or (d) lives below the poverty 7 or median income levels as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. 8 19. "Para-transit dependent" shall mean an individual who is limited 9 to public transit as their primary mode of transportation and who has 10 either a permanent or temporary disability. 11 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 1299-c of the public authorities law, as 12 amended by chapter 220 of the laws of 2012, paragraph (b) as amended by 13 chapter 197 of the laws of 2017, and paragraph (c) as amended by chapter 14 176 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows: 15 1. (a) There is hereby created the "Niagara Frontier transportation 16 authority." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic consti- 17 tuting a public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a 18 chairman, [ten] not more than twelve other members and shall have two 19 non-voting members as described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdi- 20 vision appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of 21 the senate. The chairman and all members shall be residents of the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00888-02-8S. 5106--A 2 1 district. Of the [ten] members other than the chairman, one shall be 2 appointed upon the written recommendation of the Erie county executive 3 [and], one shall be appointed upon the written recommendation of the 4 Erie county legislature, at least one shall be appointed as a represen- 5 tative of the transit dependent community and at least one shall be 6 appointed as a representative of the para-transit dependent community, 7 as described in paragraph (d) of this subdivision. The chairman and 8 each of the members shall be appointed for a term of eight years, 9 provided however, that the chairman first appointed shall serve for a 10 term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-three, and of the 11 eight other members first appointed, one shall serve for a term ending 12 June thirtieth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, two shall serve for a term 13 ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred sixty-nine, one shall serve for 14 a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy, two shall serve 15 for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-one, one 16 shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy- 17 two and one shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen 18 hundred seventy-three. The term of one of the members appointed to 19 memberships first created by law after April first, nineteen hundred 20 sixty-nine shall end on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-four, 21 and the term of the other such member shall end on June thirtieth, nine- 22 teen hundred seventy-five. Following the expiration of any term ending 23 on or after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-seven, each member 24 shall be appointed for a term of five years beginning on the day after 25 the expiration date of such prior term; provided, however, that the term 26 of the member first appointed upon the written recommendation of the 27 Erie county executive and the term of the member first appointed upon 28 the written recommendation of the Erie county legislature shall be for a 29 term ending on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-six. 30 (b) The first non-voting member of the authority who shall not be 31 considered in determining a quorum, shall be recommended to the governor 32 by the labor organization representing the plurality of the employees 33 within the authority and shall be a resident of the Niagara Frontier 34 transportation district as described in section twelve hundred ninety- 35 nine-b of this title. Such first non-voting member shall be appointed 36 for a term of five years, provided, however, that if at any time during 37 the term of appointment such non-voting member ceases to be affiliated 38 with the labor organization representing the plurality of employees 39 within the authority, then such labor organization may at any time 40 during such term recommend a new member to the governor who shall serve 41 the remainder of the term. If the local bargaining unit decertifies its 42 existing union affiliation and certifies a new union, the union which 43 represents the plurality of the employees may recommend a new member to 44 the governor who shall serve the remainder of the term. The chairman of 45 the authority, at his or her discretion, may exclude such non-voting 46 member from attending any portion of a meeting of the authority or of 47 any committee held for the purpose of discussing negotiations with labor 48 organizations, pending litigation involving the labor organization, or 49 the investigation, evaluation, or discipline of an employee. 50 (c) There shall also be a second non-voting member of the authority, 51 who shall not be considered in determining a quorum. The second non-vot- 52 ing member shall be appointed by the governor as a representative of the 53 transit dependent community and/or people with disabilities. The second 54 non-voting member shall be appointed for a term of five years. 55 (d) There shall be at least two members of the authority appointed by 56 the governor as representatives of the transit dependent and para-tran-S. 5106--A 3 1 sit dependent community. The governor shall make initial appointments to 2 the authority in such number and from lists submitted as follows: at 3 least two members shall be appointed to the authority from a list of not 4 less than four names, submitted to the governor by local and statewide 5 transit advocacy organizations. The members shall be residents of a 6 county described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision. The members 7 shall be appointed for a term of five years. If a vacancy shall occur 8 for these member positions, a replacement shall be appointed within six 9 months. 10 § 3. Section 1299-bb of the public authorities law is amended by 11 adding two new subdivisions 25 and 26 to read as follows: 12 25. "Transit dependent" shall mean an individual who is limited to 13 public transit as their primary mode of transportation because the indi- 14 vidual, (a) has no means of private transportation; (b) is elderly (over 15 age 65); (c) is a youth (under age 18); or (d) lives below the poverty 16 or median income levels as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. 17 26. "Para-transit dependent" shall mean an individual who is limited 18 to public transit as their primary mode of transportation and who has 19 either a permanent or temporary disability. 20 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 1299-dd of the public authorities law, 21 as amended by chapter 388 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as 22 follows: 23 1. (a) There is hereby created the Rochester-Genesee regional trans- 24 portation authority. The authority shall be a body corporate and politic 25 constituting a public benefit corporation. It shall consist of at least 26 one member from each county that elects to join the authority except 27 that the county of Monroe shall have seven members of whom three shall 28 be appointed from the city of Rochester and four at large from the coun- 29 ty of Monroe and shall have one non-voting member as described in para- 30 graph (b) of this subdivision, at least one shall be appointed as a 31 representative of the transit dependent community and at least one shall 32 be appointed as a representative of the para-transit dependent communi- 33 ty, as described in paragraph (c) of this subdivision. The members 34 shall be appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of 35 the senate. The governor shall make initial appointments to the authori- 36 ty in such number and from lists submitted as follows: three members 37 shall be appointed to the authority from a list of not less than six 38 names, all of whom must be residents of the city of Rochester, submitted 39 to the governor by the council of the city of Rochester; four persons 40 from a list of not less than eight persons, all of whom must be resi- 41 dents of the county of Monroe submitted by the legislature of the county 42 of Monroe. Other counties electing to participate shall each submit to 43 the governor a list of not less than two persons for each one hundred 44 thousand or major fraction of the total population, as determined by the 45 last federal decennial or federal county-wide special census. From the 46 counties outside the county of Monroe which shall elect to participate, 47 the governor shall appoint one member for each one hundred thousand or 48 major fraction of the total population, as determined by the last feder- 49 al decennial or federal county-wide special census, with a minimum of 50 one member to represent each county outside the county of Monroe so 51 electing to participate. All members of the authority shall be residents 52 of the area from which they are nominated. 53 (b) There shall also be one non-voting member of the authority, which 54 shall not be considered in determining a quorum. The non-voting member 55 shall be recommended to the governor by the labor organization repres- 56 enting the plurality of the employees within the authority and shall beS. 5106--A 4 1 a resident of the Rochester-Genesee regional transportation district as 2 described in section twelve hundred ninety-nine-cc of this title. The 3 non-voting member shall be appointed for a term of five years, provided, 4 however, that if at any time during the term of appointment the non-vot- 5 ing member ceases to be affiliated with the labor organization repres- 6 enting the plurality of employees within the authority, then such labor 7 organization may at any time during such term recommend a new member to 8 the governor who shall serve the remainder of the term. If the local 9 bargaining unit decertifies its existing union affiliation and certifies 10 a new union, the union which represents the plurality of the employees 11 may recommend a new member to the governor who shall serve the remainder 12 of the term. The chairman of the authority, at his or her discretion, 13 may exclude such non-voting member from attending any portion of a meet- 14 ing of the authority or of any committee held for the purpose of 15 discussing negotiations with labor organizations, pending litigation 16 involving the labor organization, or the investigation, evaluation, or 17 discipline of an employee. 18 (c) There shall be at least two members of the authority appointed by 19 the governor as representatives of the transit dependent and para-tran- 20 sit dependent community. The governor shall make initial appointments to 21 the authority in such number and from lists submitted as follows: at 22 least two members shall be appointed to the authority from a list of not 23 less than four names, submitted to the governor by local and statewide 24 transit advocacy organizations. The members shall be residents of a 25 county described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision. The members 26 shall be appointed for a term of five years. If a vacancy shall occur 27 for these member positions, a replacement shall be appointed within six 28 months. 29 § 5. Section 1301 of the public authorities law is amended by adding 30 two new subdivisions 26 and 27 to read as follows: 31 26. "Transit dependent" shall mean an individual who is limited to 32 public transit as their primary mode of transportation because the indi- 33 vidual, (a) has no means of private transportation; (b) is elderly (over 34 age 65); (c) is a youth (under age 18); or (d) lives below the poverty 35 or median income levels as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. 36 27. "Para-transit dependent" shall mean an individual who is limited 37 to public transit as their primary mode of transportation and who has 38 either a permanent or temporary disability. 39 § 6. Subdivision 1 of section 1303 of the public authorities law, as 40 amended by chapter 388 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as 41 follows: 42 1. (a) There is hereby created the Capital District transportation 43 authority. The authority shall be a body corporate and politic consti- 44 tuting a public benefit corporation. It shall consist of not less than 45 eight nor more than fifteen members, including a chairman and shall have 46 one non-voting member as described in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, 47 at least one shall be appointed as a representative of the transit 48 dependent community and at least one shall be appointed as a represen- 49 tative of the para-transit dependent community, as described in para- 50 graph (c) of this subdivision. The members shall be appointed by the 51 governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate. The governor 52 shall make initial appointments to the authority in such number and from 53 lists submitted as follows: three members shall be appointed to the 54 authority from a list of six names, all of whom shall be residents of 55 the county of Albany, four of which names shall be submitted to the 56 governor by the majority party of the legislature of the county of Alba-S. 5106--A 5 1 ny and two of which names shall be submitted by the minority party of 2 such legislature; two members shall be appointed to the authority from a 3 list of four names, all of whom shall be residents of the county of 4 Schenectady, three of which names shall be submitted to the governor by 5 the majority party of the legislature of the county of Schenectady and 6 one of which names shall be submitted by the minority party of such 7 legislature; two members shall be appointed to the authority from a list 8 of four names, all of whom shall be residents of the county of Rensse- 9 laer, three of which names shall be submitted to the governor by the 10 majority party of the legislature of the county of Rensselaer and one of 11 which names shall be submitted by the minority party of such legisla- 12 ture; two members shall be appointed to the authority from a list of 13 four names, all of whom shall be residents of the county of Saratoga, 14 three of which names shall be submitted to the governor by the majority 15 party of the legislature of the county of Saratoga and one of which 16 names shall be submitted by the minority party of such legislature. 17 Other counties electing to participate shall each submit to the governor 18 a list of two persons each of whom shall be a resident of such county, 19 one of which names shall be submitted to the governor by the majority 20 party of the legislature of such county and one of which names shall be 21 submitted by the minority party of such legislature, from which number 22 the governor shall appoint one member for each such county so electing 23 to participate. 24 (b) There shall also be one non-voting member of the authority, which 25 shall not be considered in determining a quorum. The non-voting member 26 shall be recommended to the governor by the labor organization repres- 27 enting the plurality of the employees within the authority and shall be 28 a resident of the Capital District transportation district as described 29 in section thirteen hundred two of this title. The non-voting member 30 shall be appointed for a term of five years, provided, however, that if 31 at any time during the term of appointment the non-voting member ceases 32 to be affiliated with the labor organization representing the plurality 33 of employees within the authority, then such labor organization may at 34 any time during such term recommend a new member to the governor who 35 shall serve the remainder of the term. If the local bargaining unit 36 decertifies its existing union affiliation and certifies a new union, 37 the union which represents the plurality of the employees may recommend 38 a new member to the governor who shall serve the remainder of the term. 39 The chairman of the authority, at his or her discretion, may exclude 40 such non-voting member from attending any portion of a meeting of the 41 authority or of any committee held for the purpose of discussing negoti- 42 ations with labor organizations, pending litigation involving the labor 43 organization, or the investigation, evaluation, or discipline of an 44 employee. 45 (c) There shall be at least two members of the authority appointed by 46 the governor as representatives of the transit dependent and para-tran- 47 sit dependent community. The governor shall make initial appointments to 48 the authority in such number and from lists submitted as follows: at 49 least two members shall be appointed to the authority from a list of not 50 less than four names, submitted to the governor by local and statewide 51 transit advocacy organizations. The members shall be residents of a 52 county described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision. The members 53 shall be appointed for a term of five years. If a vacancy shall occur 54 for these member positions, a replacement shall be appointed within six 55 months.S. 5106--A 6 1 § 7. Section 1326 of the public authorities law is amended by adding 2 two new subdivisions 26 and 27 to read as follows: 3 26. "Transit dependent" shall mean an individual who is limited to 4 public transit as their primary mode of transportation because the indi- 5 vidual, (a) has no means of private transportation; (b) is elderly (over 6 age 65); (c) is a youth (under age 18); or (d) lives below the poverty 7 or median income levels as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. 8 27. "Para-transit dependent" shall mean an individual who is limited 9 to public transit as their primary mode of transportation and who has 10 either a permanent or temporary disability. 11 § 8. Subdivision 1 of section 1328 of the public authorities law, as 12 separately amended by chapters 388 and 396 of the laws of 2007, is 13 amended to read as follows: 14 1. (a) There is hereby created the central New York regional transpor- 15 tation authority. The authority shall be a body corporate and politic 16 constituting a public benefit corporation. It shall consist of not more 17 than twelve members, including a chairman and shall have one non-voting 18 member as described in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, at least one 19 shall be appointed as a representative of the transit dependent communi- 20 ty and at least one shall be appointed as a representative of the para- 21 transit dependent community, as described in paragraph (c) of this 22 subdivision. The members shall be appointed by the governor by and with 23 the advice and consent of the senate. The governor shall make initial 24 appointments to the authority in such number and from lists submitted as 25 follows: three members shall be appointed to the authority from a list 26 of not less than six names, submitted to the governor by the common 27 council of the city of Syracuse, five persons from a list of not less 28 than ten names, submitted by the legislature of the county of Onondaga 29 and two members shall be appointed from a list of not less than four 30 names submitted by the legislature of the county of Oneida. Other coun- 31 ties electing to participate shall each submit to the governor a list of 32 not less than two persons for each one hundred thousand or major frac- 33 tion of the total population, as determined by the nineteen hundred 34 seventy or any subsequent federal decennial or federal county-wide 35 special census, of the counties outside the county of Onondaga which 36 shall elect to participate, from which number the governor shall appoint 37 one member for each one hundred thousand or major fraction of the total 38 population, as determined by such federal decennial or federal county- 39 wide special census, with a maximum of three members to represent such 40 counties outside the county of Onondaga so electing to participate. 41 (b) There shall also be one non-voting member of the authority, which 42 shall not be considered in determining a quorum. The non-voting member 43 shall be recommended to the governor by the labor organization repres- 44 enting the plurality of the employees within the authority. The non-vot- 45 ing member shall be appointed for a term of seven years, provided, 46 however, that if at any time during the term of appointment the non-vot- 47 ing member ceases to be affiliated with the labor organization repres- 48 enting the plurality of employees within the authority, then such labor 49 organization may at any time during such term recommend a new member to 50 the governor who shall serve the remainder of the term. If the local 51 bargaining unit decertifies its existing union affiliation and certifies 52 a new union, the union which represents the plurality of the employees 53 may recommend a new member to the governor who shall serve the remainder 54 of the term. The chairman of the authority, at his or her discretion, 55 may exclude such non-voting member from attending any portion of a meet- 56 ing of the authority or of any committee held for the purpose ofS. 5106--A 7 1 discussing negotiations with labor organizations, pending litigation 2 involving the labor organization, or the investigation, evaluation, or 3 discipline of an employee. 4 (c) There shall be at least two members of the authority appointed by 5 the governor as representatives of the transit dependent and para-tran- 6 sit dependent community. The governor shall make initial appointments to 7 the authority in such number and from lists submitted as follows: at 8 least two members shall be appointed to the authority from a list of not 9 less than four names, submitted to the governor by local and statewide 10 transit advocacy organizations. The members shall be residents of a 11 county described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision. The members 12 shall be appointed for a term of five years. If a vacancy shall occur 13 for these member positions, a replacement shall be appointed within six 14 months. 15 § 9. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 16 have become a law.
