STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
S. 1386--B A. 3954--B
Cal. No. 299
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
January 29, 2009
___________
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. DUANE -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation --
recommitted to the Committee on Transportation in accordance with
Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. KELLNER, TITUS, CAHILL, WEISEN-
BERG, BING, ROSENTHAL, ZEBROWSKI -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
ABBATE, ALFANO, BENEDETTO, BOYLAND, CUSICK, FINCH, GLICK, GOTTFRIED,
HOOPER, MENG, PAULIN, PHEFFER, RAIA, REILLY, J. RIVERA, P. RIVERA,
SPANO, TITONE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corpo-
rations, Authorities and Commissions -- reported from committee,
advanced to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining
its place on the order of third reading -- again amended on third
reading, ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third
reading
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to the board of
the metropolitan transportation authority; and in relation to the
establishment of the metropolitan transit authority riders' council
for people with disabilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of
2 section 1263 of the public authorities law, subparagraph 1 as amended by
3 section 3 of part H of chapter 25 of the laws of 2009 and subparagraph 2
4 as amended by chapter 549 of the laws of 1994, are amended to read as
5 follows:
6 (1) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation authori-
7 ty." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic constituting a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00007-05-0
S. 1386--B 2 A. 3954--B
1 public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of twenty-four
2 members and shall include a [chairman] chairperson, sixteen other voting
3 members, and [two] three non-voting and four alternate non-voting
4 members, as described in subparagraph two of this paragraph appointed by
5 the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate. Any
6 member appointed to a term commencing on or after June thirtieth, two
7 thousand nine shall have experience in one or more of the following
8 areas: transportation, public administration, business management,
9 finance, accounting, law, engineering, land use, urban and regional
10 planning, management of large capital projects, labor relations, or have
11 experience in some other area of activity central to the mission of the
12 authority. Four of the sixteen voting members other than the [chairman]
13 chairperson shall be appointed on the written recommendation of the
14 mayor of the city of New York; and each of seven other voting members
15 other than the [chairman] chairperson shall be appointed after selection
16 from a written list of three recommendations from the chief executive
17 officer of the county in which the particular member is required to
18 reside pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision. Of the members
19 appointed on recommendation of the chief executive officer of a county,
20 one such member shall be, at the time of appointment, a resident of the
21 county of Nassau, one a resident of the county of Suffolk, one a resi-
22 dent of the county of Westchester, one a resident of the county of
23 Dutchess, one a resident of the county of Orange, one a resident of the
24 county of Putnam and one a resident of the county of Rockland, provided
25 that the term of any member who is a resident of a county that has with-
26 drawn from the metropolitan commuter transportation district pursuant to
27 section twelve hundred seventy-nine-b of this [article] title shall
28 terminate upon the effective date of such county's withdrawal from such
29 district. Of the five voting members, other than the [chairman] chair-
30 person, appointed by the governor without recommendation from any other
31 person, three shall be, at the time of appointment, residents of the
32 city of New York and two shall be, at the time of appointment, residents
33 of such city or of any of the aforementioned counties in the metropol-
34 itan commuter transportation district. The [chairman] chairperson and
35 each of the members shall be appointed for a term of six years, provided
36 however, that the [chairman] chairperson first appointed shall serve for
37 a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one, provided that
38 thirty days after the effective date of [the] chapter twenty-five of the
39 laws of two thousand nine [which amended this subparagraph], the term of
40 the [chairman] chairperson shall expire; provided, further, that such
41 [chairman] chairperson may continue to discharge the duties of his or
42 her office until the position of [chairman] chairperson is filled by
43 appointment by the governor upon the advice and consent of the senate
44 and the term of such new [chairman] chairperson shall terminate June
45 thirtieth, two thousand fifteen. The sixteen other members first
46 appointed shall serve for the following terms: The members from the
47 counties of Nassau and Westchester shall each serve for a term ending
48 June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-five; the members from the coun-
49 ty of Suffolk and from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and
50 Rockland shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen
51 hundred ninety-two; two of the members appointed on recommendation of
52 the mayor of the city of New York shall each serve for a term ending
53 June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-four and, two shall each serve
54 for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one; two of
55 the members appointed by the governor without the recommendation of any
56 other person shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen
S. 1386--B 3 A. 3954--B
1 hundred eighty-two, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirti-
2 eth, nineteen hundred eighty and one shall serve for a term ending June
3 thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-five. The two non-voting and four
4 alternate non-voting members shall serve until January first, two thou-
5 sand one. The members from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and
6 Rockland shall cast one collective vote.
7 (2) There shall be [two] three non-voting members and four alternate
8 non-voting members of the authority, as referred to in subparagraph one
9 of this paragraph.
10 The first non-voting member shall be a regular [mass transit] user of
11 the mass transit facilities of the authority and be recommended to the
12 governor by the New York city transit authority advisory council. The
13 first alternate non-voting member shall be a regular mass transit user
14 of the facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by
15 the Metro-North commuter council. The second alternate non-voting member
16 shall be a regular mass transit user of the facilities of the authority
17 and be recommended to the governor by the Long Island Rail Road
18 commuter's council.
19 The second non-voting member shall be recommended to the governor by
20 the labor organization representing the majority of employees of the
21 Long Island Rail Road. The third alternate non-voting member shall be
22 recommended to the governor by the labor organization representing the
23 majority of employees of the New York city transit authority. The fourth
24 alternate non-voting member shall be recommended to the governor by the
25 labor organization representing the majority of employees of the Metro-
26 North Commuter Railroad Company. The [chairman] chairperson of the
27 authority, at his direction, may exclude such non-voting member or
28 alternate non-voting member from attending any portion of a meeting of
29 the authority or of any committee established pursuant to paragraph (b)
30 of subdivision four of this section held for the purpose of discussing
31 negotiations with labor organizations.
32 The non-voting member and the two alternate non-voting members repres-
33 enting the New York [York] city transit authority advisory council, the
34 Metro-North commuter council, and the Long Island Rail Road commuter's
35 council shall serve eighteen month rotating terms, after which time an
36 alternate non-voting member shall become the non-voting member and the
37 rotation shall continue until each alternate member has served at least
38 one eighteen month term as a non-voting member. The other non-voting
39 member and alternate non-voting members representing the New York city
40 transit authority, Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, and the Long
41 Island Rail Road labor organizations shall serve eighteen month rotating
42 terms, after which time an alternate non-voting member shall become the
43 non-voting member and the rotation shall continue until each alternate
44 member has served at least one eighteen month term as a non-voting
45 member. The transit authority and the commuter railroads shall not be
46 represented concurrently by the two non-voting members during any such
47 eighteen month period.
48 The third non-voting member shall be a regular user of the mass trans-
49 it facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by the
50 metropolitan transportation authority riders' council for people with
51 disabilities and shall serve an eighteen month term.
52 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 of the public
53 authorities law, as amended by section 4 of part H of chapter 25 of the
54 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
55 (a) (1) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation
56 authority." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic consti-
S. 1386--B 4 A. 3954--B
1 tuting a public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a
2 [chairman and] chairperson, sixteen other voting members appointed by
3 the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate, and three
4 non-voting and four alternate non-voting members, as described in
5 subparagraph two of this paragraph appointed by the governor by and with
6 the advice and consent of the senate. Any member appointed to a term
7 commencing on or after June thirtieth, two thousand nine shall have
8 experience in one or more of the following areas of expertise: trans-
9 portation, public administration, business management, finance, account-
10 ing, law, engineering, land use, urban and regional planning, management
11 of large capital projects, labor relations, or have experience in some
12 other area of activity central to the mission of the authority. Four of
13 the sixteen members other than the [chairman] chairperson shall be
14 appointed on the written recommendation of the mayor of the city of New
15 York; and each of seven other members other than the [chairman] chair-
16 person shall be appointed after selection from a written list of three
17 recommendations from the chief executive officer of the county in which
18 the particular member is required to reside pursuant to the provisions
19 of this subdivision. Of the members appointed on recommendation of the
20 chief executive officer of a county, one such member shall be, at the
21 time of appointment, a resident of the county of Nassau; one a resident
22 of the county of Suffolk; one a resident of the county of Westchester;
23 and one a resident of the county of Dutchess, one a resident of the
24 county of Orange, one a resident of the county of Putnam and one a resi-
25 dent of the county of Rockland, provided that the term of any member who
26 is a resident of a county that has withdrawn from the metropolitan
27 commuter transportation district pursuant to section twelve hundred
28 seventy-nine-b of this article shall terminate upon the effective date
29 of such county's withdrawal from such district. Of the five members,
30 other than the [chairman] chairperson, appointed by the governor without
31 recommendation from any other person, three shall be, at the time of
32 appointment, residents of the city of New York and two shall be, at the
33 time of appointment, residents of such city or of any of the aforemen-
34 tioned counties in the metropolitan commuter transportation district.
35 The [chairman] chairperson and each of the members shall be appointed
36 for a term of six years, provided however, that the [chairman] chair-
37 person first appointed shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth,
38 nineteen hundred eighty-one, provided that thirty days after the effec-
39 tive date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand nine which amended
40 this paragraph, the term of the [chairman] chairperson shall expire;
41 provided, further, that such [chairman] chairperson may continue to
42 discharge the duties of his office until the position of [chairman]
43 chairperson is filled by appointment by the governor upon the advice and
44 consent of the senate and the term of such new [chairman] chairperson
45 shall terminate June thirtieth, two thousand fifteen. The sixteen other
46 members first appointed shall serve for the following terms: The members
47 from the counties of Nassau and Westchester shall each serve for a term
48 ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-five; the members from
49 the county of Suffolk and from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam
50 and Rockland shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen
51 hundred ninety-two; two of the members appointed on recommendation of
52 the mayor of the city of New York shall each serve for a term ending
53 June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-four and, two shall each serve
54 for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one; two of
55 the members appointed by the governor without the recommendation of any
56 other person shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen
S. 1386--B 5 A. 3954--B
1 hundred eighty-two, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirti-
2 eth, nineteen hundred eighty and one shall serve for a term ending June
3 thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-five. The members from the counties
4 of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall cast one collective vote.
5 (2) There shall be three non-voting members and four alternate non-
6 voting members of the authority, as referred to in subparagraph one of
7 this paragraph.
8 The first non-voting member shall be a regular user of the mass trans-
9 it facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by the
10 New York city transit authority advisory council. The first alternate
11 non-voting member shall be a regular mass transit user of the facilities
12 of the authority and be recommended to the governor by the Metro-North
13 commuter council. The second alternate non-voting member shall be a
14 regular mass transit user of the facilities of the authority and be
15 recommended to the governor by the Long Island Rail Road commuter's
16 council.
17 The second non-voting member shall be recommended to the governor by
18 the labor organization representing the majority of employees of the
19 Long Island Rail Road. The third alternate non-voting member shall be
20 recommended to the governor by the labor organization representing the
21 majority of employees of the New York city transit authority. The fourth
22 alternate non-voting member shall be recommended to the governor by the
23 labor organization representing the majority of employees of the Metro-
24 North Commuter Railroad Company. The chairperson of the authority, at
25 his direction, may exclude such non-voting member or alternate non-vot-
26 ing member from attending any portion of a meeting of the authority or
27 of any committee established pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision
28 four of this section held for the purpose of discussing negotiations
29 with labor organizations.
30 The non-voting member and the two alternate non-voting members repres-
31 enting the New York city transit authority advisory council, the Metro-
32 North commuter council, and the Long Island Rail Road commuter's council
33 shall serve eighteen month rotating terms, after which time an alternate
34 non-voting member shall become the non-voting member and the rotation
35 shall continue until each alternate member has served at least one eigh-
36 teen month term as a non-voting member. The other non-voting member and
37 alternate non-voting members representing the New York city transit
38 authority, Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, and the Long Island
39 Rail Road labor organizations shall serve eighteen month rotating terms,
40 after which time an alternate non-voting member shall become the non-
41 voting member and the rotation shall continue until each alternate
42 member has served at least one eighteen month term as a non-voting
43 member. The transit authority and the commuter railroads shall not be
44 represented concurrently by the two non-voting members during any such
45 eighteen month period.
46 The third non-voting member shall be a regular user of the mass trans-
47 it facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by the
48 metropolitan transportation authority riders' council for people with
49 disabilities and shall serve an eighteen month term.
50 § 3. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section
51 1266-j to read as follows:
52 § 1266-j. Metropolitan transportation authority riders' council for
53 persons with disabilities. 1. There is hereby created the "metropolitan
54 transit authority riders' council for people with disabilities", to
55 study, investigate, monitor, and make recommendations with respect to
56 the accommodation of the needs and convenience of people with disabili-
S. 1386--B 6 A. 3954--B
1 ties to the metropolitan transportation authority and its subsidiaries
2 within the metropolitan commuter transportation district. Such council
3 shall study and investigate all aspects of the day-to-day operations of
4 such authority and its subsidiaries, monitor their performance, and
5 recommend changes to improve the efficiency of the operation thereof all
6 with respect to the accommodation of the needs and convenience of people
7 with disabilities.
8 2. Such council shall consist of fifteen members who shall be commu-
9 ters who regularly use the transportation services of such authorities
10 and who are people with disabilities as defined in any applicable state
11 or federal law. Each member shall be appointed by the governor, one
12 upon the recommendation of the mayor of the city of New York; one upon
13 the recommendation of the president of the city council of the city of
14 New York; one upon the recommendation of the New York state comptroller;
15 five other members upon the recommendation of each of the borough presi-
16 dents of the boroughs of the city of New York; one upon the recommenda-
17 tion by the county executive of Nassau; one upon the recommendation by
18 the county executive of Suffolk; one upon the recommendation by the
19 county executive of Westchester; one upon the recommendation by the
20 county executive of Rockland; one upon the recommendation by the county
21 executive of Putnam; one upon the recommendation by the county executive
22 of Dutchess; and one upon the recommendation by the county executive of
23 Orange. The chair shall be a member selected by the membership of the
24 committee. Each of the members shall serve for a term of two years.
25 Vacancies that occur other than by expiration of term shall be filled in
26 the same manner as the original appointments for the balance of the
27 unexpired term.
28 3. The members of the council shall receive no compensation for their
29 services but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses
30 incurred in the performance of their duties.
31 4. To the extent that any funds are made available to the council for
32 the purposes of this subdivision, the council may provide resources as
33 are necessary to provide support services to the council as necessary or
34 convenient to allow members to perform their duties including, but not
35 limited to, transportation, telecommunications and accessible technology
36 support, and may employ additional staff and consultants and incur other
37 expenses to carry out its duties, to be paid from amounts which may be
38 made available to the council for such purpose.
39 5. The council may request and shall receive from any department,
40 division, board, bureau, commission, agency, public authority of the
41 state or any political subdivision thereof such assistance and data as
42 will enable it properly to carry out its activities under this section
43 and effectuate the purposes set forth in this section.
44 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
45 ment to subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of
46 section 1263 of the public authorities law made by section one of this
47 act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such paragraph
48 pursuant to chapter 549 of the laws of 1994 as amended, when upon such
49 date the provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.
