NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5962
SPONSOR: Carroll R TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to permitting
the governor to direct the metropolitan transportation authority to
provide free transportation to students during a state of emergency
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To give the Governor the discretion to authorize unlimited free transit
rides for students in New York City during declared states of emergen-
cies.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the public authorities law to give the Governor the
authority to allow all students within a city of more than a million to
ride for free during a declared state of emergency.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In emergency situations such as the recent flooding in September,2023,
New York City has seen students stranded without a way to get home safe-
ly following the suspension of subway and bus routes that forced them to
take multiple transit rides. Students in New York City are already
provided with a certain number of free rides per day, but this does not
account for emergencies impacting the transit system, such as extreme
weather events, which have been occurring with greater frequency.
This bill gives the Governor the ability to address such situations by
authorizing the MTA to allow New York City students to ride the transit
system for free during a declared emergency so they can get home safely.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.8107 of 2023-24
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5962
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 25, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. R. CARROLL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to permitting
the governor to direct the metropolitan transportation authority to
provide free transportation to students during a state of emergency
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new
2 section 1266-n to read as follows:
3 § 1266-n. State of emergency; student fare. Notwithstanding any other
4 provision of law to the contrary, the governor may, during a declared
5 state of emergency, direct the authority to provide each student who
6 attends kindergarten through twelfth grade in a city having a population
7 of one million or more with a fare reduction equal to the pay-per-ride
8 fare for any and all train and/or bus travel, including but not limited
9 to standard bus service and express bus service, until the end of such
10 state of emergency.
11 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07662-01-5
