Amd Arts IV, VII-B & VII-D, §1 of Chap 154 of 1921
Relates to collective employment negotiations, notice of the issuance of debt and capital plans and projects of the port authority of New York and New Jersey.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9569
SPONSOR: Brennan (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend chapter 154 of the laws of 1921 relat-
ing to the port authority of New York and New Jersey, in relation to
collective employment negotiations, notice of the issuance of debt and
capital plans and projects
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To amend the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Transparency and
Accountability Act of 2015 to include new reforms added by the New
Jersey State legislature.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill would require that any interview conducted by
the inspector general must be in accordance with any applicable
provisions of the current collective bargaining agreement.
Section two would authorize the leader of the Assembly and Senate of
either State to request the Port Authority to appear before a standing
committee to present testimony on any topic or subject requested by the
committee. Unless otherwise agreed to by the requesting leader, the Port
Authority must be represented at the hearing by the chair or vice-chair,
the CEO, the CFO and any necessary staff.
Section three would require the Port Authority to provide sixty days
notice to the governors of both states, the leaders of each house of the
legislature, and the chair of the budget committees of both houses
before the issuance of any debt by a subsidiary of the Port Authority or
by the Port Authority on behalf of its subsidiary.
Section four would require all major capital projects, the cost of which
exceeds $500 million, to be monitored by independent engineering
consultants. The consultants shall prepare annual reports containing,
among other information, a comparison of actual and target performance
measures, costs and construction schedules, including any discrepancies.
Section four would also require the Port Authority to notify the legis-
lature of both states at least 60 days prior to the adoption of a capi-
tal plan. During the 60 days, the Port Authority must conduct a public
hearing in NY and in NJ, and would be required to conduct a "status
update" public hearing in NY and in NJ at least once every three years
after the adoption of the capital plan.
Section five sets forth the severability clause.
Section six provides that this act shall take effect upon the enactment
by the state of New Jersey of legislation having an identical effect
with this act.
JUSTIFICATION:
In December of 2015, Governor Cuomo signed into law, as chapter 559, the
PANYNJ Transparency and Accountability Act of 2015. Since similar
legislation must be enacted in New Jersey before the reforms can take
effect, the New Jersey State legislature are taking the necessary steps
to pass a similar bill.
The sponsors of the New Jersey bill have added several new provisions to
chapter 559, including clarification that any interview conducted by the
Port Authority IG shall be performed in accordance with the provisions
of existing collective bargaining agreements.
The additional provisions are consistent with the spirit of improved
transparency and accountability, and would enhance their value and
effectiveness.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Unknown
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9569
IN ASSEMBLY
March 17, 2016
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRENNAN, CUSICK, COOK, ROBINSON, ROZIC, OTIS,
BUCHWALD, MILLER, DINOWITZ, MOSLEY, LINARES -- Multi-Sponsored by --
M. of A. ABBATE, BLAKE, BRAUNSTEIN, CAHILL, ENGLEBRIGHT, FARRELL,
GALEF, GLICK, GOTTFRIED, JAFFEE, LAVINE, LENTOL, MAGEE, MARKEY,
RIVERA, SEPULVEDA, SIMON, STIRPE, THIELE, WEINSTEIN, ZEBROWSKI -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and
Commissions
AN ACT to amend chapter 154 of the laws of 1921 relating to the port
authority of New York and New Jersey, in relation to collective
employment negotiations, notice of the issuance of debt and capital
plans and projects
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph 4 of paragraph e of subdivision 6 of article
2 IV of section 1 of chapter 154 of the laws of 1921 relating to the port
3 authority of New York and New Jersey, as amended by chapter 559 of the
4 laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
5 (4) interview any officer or employee of the port authority or its
6 subsidiaries on any matter related to the performance of such officer or
7 employee's official duties. [To the extent that any portion of this
8 paragraph is inconsistent with any current contractual obligations of
9 the port authority, this paragraph shall not be applicable to those
10 obligations until the earliest expiration of those terms under the
11 contract] To the extent that the terms and conditions of employment of
12 any employee are established by collective negotiations, any interview
13 conducted pursuant to this paragraph must be in accordance with any
14 applicable provisions of the current, or most recent, if expired,
15 collective negotiations agreement covering the terms and conditions of
16 employment of the employee;
17 § 2. Subdivision 8 of article IV of section 1 of chapter 154 of the
18 laws of 1921 relating to the port authority of New York and New Jersey,
19 as added by chapter 559 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as
20 follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13869-02-6
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1 8. a. The port authority, at the request of the assembly or senate of
2 the New York state legislature or the general assembly or senate of the
3 New Jersey state legislature, shall be required to appear before a
4 committee of the requesting state legislative house, upon request by the
5 presiding officer of that state legislative house, to present testimony
6 on any topic or subject requested by the committee or to respond to
7 questions by members of the committee. The assembly of the New York
8 state legislature, the senate of the New York state legislature, the
9 general assembly of the New Jersey state legislature, and the senate of
10 the New Jersey state legislature shall each be entitled to two such
11 requests per calendar year.
12 b. Unless otherwise agreed to by the presiding officer of the state
13 legislative house requesting the appearance of the port authority, the
14 port authority shall, at a minimum, be represented by the chair or vice-
15 chair of the board, chief executive officer, the chief financial offi-
16 cer, and any staff deemed necessary by the chair or vice-chair of the
17 board, chief executive officer, or the chief financial officer to pres-
18 ent testimony or respond to questions at any appearance required pursu-
19 ant to this subdivision. The presiding officer may request the appear-
20 ance of any officer or employee of the port authority. For purposes of
21 this subdivision, as applicable to New York state, "presiding officer"
22 shall mean speaker of the assembly of the New York state legislature or
23 temporary president of the senate of the New York state legislature. For
24 purposes of this subdivision, as applicable to the state of New Jersey
25 "presiding officer" shall mean the president of the senate or the speak-
26 er of the general assembly of the state of New Jersey.
27 9. Barrier-free access. The port authority shall make or cause to be
28 made all reasonable efforts to ensure that meetings are held in facili-
29 ties that permit barrier-free physical access to people with disabili-
30 ties. If the board determines to use video conferencing or similar tech-
31 nology to conduct its meeting, it shall provide an opportunity for the
32 public to attend, listen and observe such a meeting.
33 § 3. Subdivision 3 of article VII-B of section 1 of chapter 154 of the
34 laws of 1921 relating to the port authority of New York and New Jersey
35 is amended by adding a new paragraph d to read as follows:
36 d. 60 days prior to the issuance of any debt by the subsidiary corpo-
37 ration, or the port authority on behalf of the subsidiary corporation,
38 the port authority shall provide notice to the governor of each state,
39 the majority leader of each house of the legislature of each state, the
40 chair of the senate finance committee of New York, the chair of the
41 senate budget and appropriations committee of New Jersey, the chair of
42 the assembly ways and means committee of New York, and the chair of the
43 assembly budget committee of New Jersey. For purposes of this section,
44 as applicable to New York state "majority leader" shall mean speaker of
45 the assembly of the New York state legislature or temporary president of
46 the senate of the New York state legislature. For purposes of this
47 section, as applicable to the state of New Jersey "majority leader"
48 shall mean the president of the senate or the speaker of the general
49 assembly of the state of New Jersey.
50 § 4. Subdivision 3 of article VII-D of section 1 of chapter 154 of the
51 laws of 1921 relating to the port authority of New York and New Jersey,
52 as added by chapter 559 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as
53 follows:
54 3. Capital plan. a. The port authority shall adopt a ten-year capital
55 plan that is developed using a comprehensive planning process and risk-
56 based prioritization that considers asset condition, operational and
A. 9569 3
1 revenue impact, threat assessment, customer service, regional benefit,
2 and regulatory or statutory requirements. The capital plan shall be
3 dependent upon the availability of sufficient funding and other
4 resources to pursue the capital projects proposed for the ten-year peri-
5 od. Performance progress and revisions to reflect changes in programs,
6 policies and projects and the environment in which the port authority
7 operates shall be reviewed regularly by a committee designated by the
8 board of commissioners, and the capital plan shall be revised period-
9 ically as necessary and appropriate, and shall be reviewed with the
10 board of commissioners annually. The port authority shall publish an
11 annual report on the status of the capital program and such report shall
12 be made publicly available on the port authority's website. Prior to
13 adoption of a capital plan, the port authority shall make such proposed
14 plan available for public review and comments on its public website for
15 at least two weeks prior to approval, and all comments received are to
16 be distributed to the board of commissioners for review prior to consid-
17 eration of the capital plan.
18 b. The port authority shall also provide that major capital projects
19 are monitored by independent engineering consultants. The independent
20 consultants shall prepare annual reports to be provided to the board and
21 made available to the public. The annual reports prepared by independ-
22 ent consultants shall include, but not be limited to, a comparison of
23 actual and target performance measures including, but not limited to,
24 costs and construction schedules, and a narrative explanation of any
25 discrepancy thereof. For the purposes of this subdivision, "major capi-
26 tal project" means an undertaking or program for the acquisition,
27 creation, or development of any crossing, transportation facility, or
28 commerce facility or any part thereof, with an estimated total project
29 cost in excess of $500,000,000.
30 c. No less than 60 days prior to any board adoption of a capital plan,
31 as described in paragraph a of this subdivision, or any major revision
32 of the last adopted capital plan, the port authority shall notify the
33 assembly and senate of the state of New York and the general assembly
34 and senate of the New Jersey state legislature of its intention to adopt
35 a capital plan, or any major revision of the last adopted capital plan.
36 In either case, the notice shall recite the major elements of the capi-
37 tal plan to be adopted.
38 d. Within 60 days of the notice provided in paragraph c of this subdi-
39 vision, the port authority shall conduct a public hearing about the
40 capital plan or any major revision thereof in the state of New York and
41 in the the state of New Jersey.
42 e. The port authority shall conduct a status update public hearing in
43 the state of New York and in the state of New Jersey at least once every
44 three years after the adoption of the capital plan by the port authori-
45 ty. Such public hearing shall be known as "capital status update hear-
46 ing" and at such hearing the port authority shall provide in detail a
47 written description of the status of all capital plan projects and the
48 costs and the expected costs of those projects. At such public hearing,
49 the port authority shall provide a financing plan that identifies the
50 source of funding for each project. The port authority shall provide an
51 analysis that compares actual and target performance measures, and a
52 detailed written explanation of any discrepancy thereof at the public
53 hearing.
54 § 5. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
55 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
56 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
A. 9569 4
1 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
2 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
3 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
4 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
5 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
6 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
7 § 6. This act shall take effect upon the enactment into law by the
8 state of New Jersey of legislation having an identical effect with this
9 act, and upon the enactment into law by the state of New Jersey of
10 legislation having an identical effect with chapter 559 of the laws of
11 2015 pursuant to section 6 of such chapter, but if the state of New
12 Jersey shall have already enacted such legislation, then this act shall
13 take effect immediately. The chairperson of the port authority shall
14 notify the legislative bill drafting commission upon the enactment into
15 law of such legislation by both such states in order that the commission
16 may maintain an accurate and timely effective data base of the official
17 text of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effecting
18 the provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of
19 the public officers law.
