Assembly Member Jim Brennan (D-Bkyn) introduced legislation to protect dedicated mass transit funding from being diverted to the general fund of the State (A.6766).
Over the past several years, State government has been “sweeping” money from funds that were set up specifically to provide funding for mass transit systems in order to fill shortfalls in the general fund of the State. This bill would require a vote by the State Legislature in order to use these funds for other than their intended purpose.
“Unfortunately, New York has a history of raiding the MTA’s funds. This bill requires that funds raised by taxes for the express purpose of funding the MTA or its subsidiaries be used for their intended purpose. By retaining these funds for the system, we stabilize fares and protect funding for the system’s operation,” said Mr. Brennan
“As transit riders have suffered service cuts and fare hikes, Albany has raided funds that were dedicated to transit. That's wrong and this bill seeks to prevent that from happening in the future,” said Gene Russianoff, staff attorney for the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign.
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