Relates to the definition of the metropolitan commuter transportation district for the purposes of the metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax; requires the metropolitan transportation authority to renegotiate the joint service operating agreement with the state of Connecticut.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
S. 319--A A. 92--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 7, 2015
___________
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered print-
ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investi-
gations and Government Operations -- recommitted to the Committee on
Investigations and Government Operations in accordance with Senate
Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. THIELE, ENGLEBRIGHT -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. MURRAY -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Ways and Means -- recommitted to the Committee on Ways and Means in
accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to the definition of the metro-
politan commuter transportation district for the purposes of the
metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax; and to amend the
public authorities law, in relation to requiring the metropolitan
transportation authority to renegotiate the joint service operating
agreement with the state of Connecticut
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. Pursuant to chapter 25 of the laws of
2 2009, the legislature did enact the metropolitan mobility tax within the
3 twelve county region constituting the metropolitan transportation
4 district. The legislature hereby finds that the residents of the towns
5 of Brookhaven, East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southold and
6 Southampton in the county of Suffolk receive minimal mass transit
7 services from the metropolitan transportation authority. Further, these
8 towns already pay substantial taxes to the MTA for these minimal
9 services, including increased sales taxes and mortgage recording taxes.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00734-02-6
S. 319--A 2 A. 92--A
1 It has been estimated these six towns contribute more than $60 million
2 annually to the MTA than they receive back in service.
3 In the interest of tax fairness and to avoid such additional inequita-
4 ble taxation on these towns, it is the purpose of this act to exempt
5 such towns from the newly adopted metropolitan commuter transportation
6 mobility tax.
7 § 2. Subsection (a) of section 800 of the tax law, as added by section
8 1 of part C of chapter 25 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as
9 follows:
10 (a) Metropolitan commuter transportation district. The metropolitan
11 commuter transportation district ("MCTD") means the area of the state
12 included in the district created and governed by section twelve hundred
13 sixty-two of the public authorities law, except that for the purposes of
14 this article, the towns of Brookhaven, East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter
15 Island, Southampton and Southold in Suffolk County shall be excluded
16 from the district for the purposes of this article and any revenues
17 previously collected from within these counties shall be reimbursed to
18 each payor by March thirty-first, two thousand seventeen.
19 § 3. Section 1266 of the public authorities law is amended by adding
20 a new subdivision 19 to read as follows:
21 19. The authority is required by March thirty-first, two thousand
22 seventeen to:
23 (a) renegotiate the joint service agreement between the authority and
24 the state of Connecticut related to the operation of the Metro-North New
25 Haven line to (i) require Connecticut to set New Haven line fare
26 increases at levels necessary to sustain equivalent fare levels between
27 New York state residents riding the Metro-North Commuter Railroad and
28 Connecticut residents riding the Metro-North Commuter Railroad, (ii)
29 require that Connecticut operating deficit subsidy payments shall be
30 based on Connecticut resident utilization of the Metro-North Commuter
31 Railroad and Connecticut resident utilization of the New York city tran-
32 sit authority with such subsidies to be determined by multiplying the
33 Connecticut resident utilization percentages for the Metro-North Commu-
34 ter Railroad and the New York city transit authority by the respective
35 baseline operating deficit of these operating entities prior to subsidy
36 adjustments and prior to increased revenues provided to the authority by
37 New York state residents pursuant to payments mandated by chapter twen-
38 ty-five of the laws of two thousand nine, and (iii) provide for retroac-
39 tive lump sum payments due from the state of Connecticut related to
40 calendar year two thousand nine; or
41 (b) reduce services and expenses related to the Metro-North New Haven
42 line operation by an amount which produces recurring savings to the
43 authority which are equivalent to the increased joint service agreement
44 payments which would be determined under paragraph (a) of this subdivi-
45 sion.
46 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
