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 reports to be issued to the governor and legislature.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1056
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 7, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
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.
LBD01382-01-1
A. 1056 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 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.