Relates to the metropolitan transit authority; provides that the members from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall each cast one vote apiece, instead of one collective vote.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5464
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 10, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRABENEC -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to the metropol-
itan transportation authority
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section
2 1263 of the public authorities law, as amended by section 1 of part E of
3 chapter 39 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
4 (1) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation authori-
5 ty." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic constituting a
6 public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a chairman,
7 sixteen other voting members, and two non-voting and four alternate
8 non-voting members, as described in subparagraph two of this paragraph
9 appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the
10 senate. Any member appointed to a term commencing on or after June thir-
11 tieth, two thousand nine shall have experience in one or more of the
12 following areas: transportation, public administration, business manage-
13 ment, finance, accounting, law, engineering, land use, urban and
14 regional planning, management of large capital projects, labor
15 relations, or have experience in some other area of activity central to
16 the mission of the authority. Four of the sixteen voting members other
17 than the chairman shall be appointed on the written recommendation of
18 the mayor of the city of New York; and each of seven other voting
19 members other than the chairman shall be appointed after selection from
20 a written list of three recommendations from the chief executive officer
21 of the county in which the particular member is required to reside
22 pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision. Of the members appointed
23 on recommendation of the chief executive officer of a county, one such
24 member shall be, at the time of appointment, a resident of the county of
25 Nassau, one a resident of the county of Suffolk, one a resident of the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08885-01-3
A. 5464 2
1 county of Westchester, one a resident of the county of Dutchess, one a
2 resident of the county of Orange, one a resident of the county of Putnam
3 and one a resident of the county of Rockland, provided that the term of
4 any member who is a resident of a county that has withdrawn from the
5 metropolitan commuter transportation district pursuant to section twelve
6 hundred seventy-nine-b of this title shall terminate upon the effective
7 date of such county's withdrawal from such district. Of the five voting
8 members, other than the chairman, appointed by the governor without
9 recommendation from any other person, three shall be, at the time of
10 appointment, residents of the city of New York and two shall be, at the
11 time of appointment, residents of such city or of any of the aforemen-
12 tioned counties in the metropolitan commuter transportation district.
13 Provided however, notwithstanding the foregoing residency requirement,
14 one of the five voting members appointed by the governor without recom-
15 mendation from any other person, other than the chairman, may be the
16 director of the New York state division of the budget, and provided
17 further that, in the event of such appointment, the budget director's
18 membership in the authority shall be deemed ex-officio. The chairman and
19 each of the members shall be appointed for a term of six years, provided
20 however, that the chairman first appointed shall serve for a term ending
21 June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one, provided that thirty days
22 after the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand nine
23 which amended this subparagraph, the term of the chairman shall expire;
24 provided, further, that such chairman may continue to discharge the
25 duties of his or her office until the position of chairman is filled by
26 appointment by the governor upon the advice and consent of the senate
27 and the term of such new chairman shall terminate June thirtieth, two
28 thousand fifteen. The sixteen other members first appointed shall serve
29 for the following terms: The members from the counties of Nassau and
30 Westchester shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen
31 hundred eighty-five; the members from the county of Suffolk and from the
32 counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall each serve for a
33 term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-two; two of the
34 members appointed on recommendation of the mayor of the city of New York
35 shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred
36 eighty-four and, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth,
37 nineteen hundred eighty-one; two of the members appointed by the gover-
38 nor without the recommendation of any other person shall each serve for
39 a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-two, two shall
40 each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty and
41 one shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred
42 eighty-five. The two non-voting and four alternate non-voting members
43 shall serve until January first, two thousand one. The members from the
44 counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall each cast one
45 [collective] vote.
46 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 of the public
47 authorities law, as amended by section 2 of part E of chapter 39 of the
48 laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
49 (a) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation authori-
50 ty." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic constituting a
51 public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a chairman
52 and sixteen other members appointed by the governor by and with the
53 advice and consent of the senate. Any member appointed to a term
54 commencing on or after June thirtieth, two thousand nine shall have
55 experience in one or more of the following areas of expertise: trans-
56 portation, public administration, business management, finance, account-
A. 5464 3
1 ing, law, engineering, land use, urban and regional planning, management
2 of large capital projects, labor relations, or have experience in some
3 other area of activity central to the mission of the authority. Four of
4 the sixteen members other than the chairman shall be appointed on the
5 written recommendation of the mayor of the city of New York; and each of
6 seven other members other than the chairman shall be appointed after
7 selection from a written list of three recommendations from the chief
8 executive officer of the county in which the particular member is
9 required to reside pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision. Of
10 the members appointed on recommendation of the chief executive officer
11 of a county, one such member shall be, at the time of appointment, a
12 resident of the county of Nassau; one a resident of the county of
13 Suffolk; one a resident of the county of Westchester; and one a resident
14 of the county of Dutchess, one a resident of the county of Orange, one a
15 resident of the county of Putnam and one a resident of the county of
16 Rockland, provided that the term of any member who is a resident of a
17 county that has withdrawn from the metropolitan commuter transportation
18 district pursuant to section twelve hundred seventy-nine-b of this title
19 shall terminate upon the effective date of such county's withdrawal from
20 such district. Of the five members, other than the chairman, appointed
21 by the governor without recommendation from any other person, three
22 shall be, at the time of appointment, residents of the city of New York
23 and two shall be, at the time of appointment, residents of such city or
24 of any of the aforementioned counties in the metropolitan commuter
25 transportation district. Provided however, notwithstanding the foregoing
26 residency requirement, one of the five voting members appointed by the
27 governor without recommendation from any other person, other than the
28 chairman, may be the director of the New York state division of the
29 budget, and provided further that, in the event of such appointment, the
30 budget director's membership in the authority shall be deemed ex-offi-
31 cio. The chairman and each of the members shall be appointed for a term
32 of six years, provided however, that the chairman first appointed shall
33 serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one,
34 provided that thirty days after the effective date of the chapter of the
35 laws of two thousand nine which amended this paragraph, the term of the
36 chairman shall expire; provided, further, that such chairman may contin-
37 ue to discharge the duties of his office until the position of chairman
38 is filled by appointment by the governor upon the advice and consent of
39 the senate and the term of such new chairman shall terminate June thir-
40 tieth, two thousand fifteen. The sixteen other members first appointed
41 shall serve for the following terms: The members from the counties of
42 Nassau and Westchester shall each serve for a term ending June thirti-
43 eth, nineteen hundred eighty-five; the members from the county of
44 Suffolk and from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland
45 shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred
46 ninety-two; two of the members appointed on recommendation of the mayor
47 of the city of New York shall each serve for a term ending June thirti-
48 eth, nineteen hundred eighty-four and, two shall each serve for a term
49 ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one; two of the members
50 appointed by the governor without the recommendation of any other person
51 shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred
52 eighty-two, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nine-
53 teen hundred eighty and one shall serve for a term ending June thirti-
54 eth, nineteen hundred eighty-five. The members from the counties of
55 Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall each cast one [collective]
56 vote.
A. 5464 4
1 § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 1263 of the public authorities law, as
2 amended by chapter 929 of the laws of 1986, paragraph (b) as amended by
3 chapter 14 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
4 3. [(a)] A majority of the whole number of members of the authority
5 then in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any
6 business or the exercise of any power of the authority. Except as other-
7 wise specified in this title, for the transaction of any business or the
8 exercise of any power of the authority, the authority shall have power
9 to act by a majority vote of the members present at any meeting at which
10 a quorum is in attendance and except further, that in the event of a tie
11 vote the chairman shall cast one additional vote.
12 [(b) For purposes of determining the presence of a quorum, and for
13 purposes of participation on any committee or subcommittee, those
14 members who collectively cast a single vote pursuant to the provisions
15 of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section shall be considered
16 to be a single member, and the presence of such member shall be deter-
17 mined as provided in this subdivision. Except as otherwise provided in a
18 by-law adopted as hereinafter provided, such single member constituting
19 those members entitled to a collective vote shall be deemed present as a
20 single member for purposes of a quorum if one or more of the members
21 then in office entitled to cast such collective vote is present, and
22 such collective vote shall be cast in accordance with the majority
23 agreement of the members entitled to a collective vote who are present
24 or in the event a single member entitled to a collective vote is present
25 it shall be cast by that member. To evidence the existence of such
26 majority agreement among the members entitled to a collective vote, each
27 such member shall be polled as to his vote and such poll shall be
28 recorded in the minutes. In the event a majority vote is not achieved by
29 the members entitled to a collective vote who are present, then the vote
30 shall not be cast. Nothing herein shall limit the right of an individual
31 member to participate in board meetings or in other activities of the
32 authority when the other members then in office entitled to collectively
33 cast a vote are not present. At any meeting of the authority at which
34 there is a quorum including all the members then in office entitled to
35 cast a collective vote, the authority may adopt a by-law or by-laws
36 regulating the casting of such collective vote, provided all members
37 then in office entitled to cast a collective vote affirmatively approve
38 such by-law or by-laws. Any action taken by the authority in accordance
39 with any such by-law or by-laws adopted pursuant to the provisions of
40 this paragraph shall take effect in the same manner as any other action
41 of the authority. Any such by-law or by-laws shall not provide for the
42 casting of any fractional vote. Nor shall such a by-law or by-laws
43 provide for the amendment, repeal or adoption in the future of such a
44 by-law or by-laws in a manner other than that set forth in this para-
45 graph.
46 (c) No provision of paragraph (b) of this subdivision relating to the
47 adoption of certain by-laws by the authority shall affect the manner in
48 which by-laws of the authority are adopted concerning any subject other
49 than the voting and presence for quorum purposes of the members from the
50 counties of Dutchess, Putnam, Orange and Rockland.
51 (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of subdivision one
52 of this section, any member appointed from the county of Dutchess,
53 Orange, Putnam or Rockland prior to the increase in the number of
54 members of the authority to include a member from each such county shall
55 continue in office as the member from such counties pursuant to section
56 five of the public officers law until the appointment and confirmation
A. 5464 5
1 of all of the new members from such counties pursuant to the provisions
2 of this section, and no individual member exercising a collective vote
3 appointed and confirmed pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision one of
4 this section shall take office until all such new members are appointed
5 and confirmed.]
6 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that the amend-
7 ments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 of the public
8 authorities law made by section one of this act shall be subject to the
9 expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to chapter 549 of
10 the laws of 1994, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of
11 section two of this act shall take effect.