S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
1500
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
January 13, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to the transpor-
tation authorities
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Section 1299-a of the public authorities law is amended by
2 adding two new subdivisions 18 and 19 to read as follows:
3 18. "TRANSIT DEPENDENT" SHALL MEAN AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS LIMITED TO
4 PUBLIC TRANSIT AS THEIR PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION BECAUSE THE INDI-
5 VIDUAL, (A) HAS NO MEANS OF PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION, (B) IS ELDERLY (OVER
6 AGE 65); (C) IS A YOUTH (UNDER AGE 18); OR (D) LIVES BELOW THE POVERTY
7 OR MEDIAN INCOME LEVELS AS DEFINED BY THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU;
8 19. "PARA-TRANSIT DEPENDENT" SHALL MEAN AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS LIMITED
9 TO PUBLIC TRANSIT AS THEIR PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION AND WHO HAS
10 EITHER A PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY DISABILITY.
11 S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 1299-c of the public authorities law, as
12 amended by chapter 220 of the laws of 2012, paragraph (c) as amended by
13 chapter 176 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
14 1. (a) There is hereby created the "Niagara Frontier transportation
15 authority." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic consti-
16 tuting a public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a
17 chairman, [ten] NOT MORE THAN TWELVE other members and shall have two
18 non-voting members as described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdi-
19 vision appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of
20 the senate. The chairman and all members shall be residents of the
21 district. Of the [ten] members other than the chairman, one shall be
22 appointed upon the written recommendation of the Erie county executive
23 [and], one shall be appointed upon the written recommendation of the
24 Erie county legislature, AND AT LEAST ONE SHALL BE APPOINTED AS A REPRE-
25 SENTATIVE OF THE TRANSIT DEPENDENT COMMUNITY AND AT LEAST ONE SHALL BE
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03223-01-5
S. 1500 2
1 APPOINTED AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PARA-TRANSIT DEPENDENT COMMUNITY,
2 AS DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (D) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. The chairman and
3 each of the members shall be appointed for a term of eight years,
4 provided however, that the chairman first appointed shall serve for a
5 term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-three, and of the
6 eight other members first appointed, one shall serve for a term ending
7 June thirtieth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, two shall serve for a term
8 ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred sixty-nine, one shall serve for
9 a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy, two shall serve
10 for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-one, one
11 shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-
12 two and one shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen
13 hundred seventy-three. The term of one of the members appointed to
14 memberships first created by law after April first, nineteen hundred
15 sixty-nine shall end on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-four,
16 and the term of the other such member shall end on June thirtieth, nine-
17 teen hundred seventy-five. Following the expiration of any term ending
18 on or after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-seven, each member
19 shall be appointed for a term of five years beginning on the day after
20 the expiration date of such prior term; provided, however, that the term
21 of the member first appointed upon the written recommendation of the
22 Erie county executive and the term of the member first appointed upon
23 the written recommendation of the Erie county legislature shall be for a
24 term ending on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-six.
25 (b) The first non-voting member of the authority who shall not be
26 considered in determining a quorum, shall be recommended to the governor
27 by the labor organization representing the plurality of the employees
28 within the authority and shall be a resident of the Niagara Frontier
29 transportation district as described in section twelve hundred ninety-
30 nine-b of this title. Such first non-voting member shall be appointed
31 for a term of eight years, provided, however, that if at any time during
32 the term of appointment such non-voting member ceases to be affiliated
33 with the labor organization representing the plurality of employees
34 within the authority, then such labor organization may at any time
35 during such term recommend a new member to the governor who shall serve
36 the remainder of the term. If the local bargaining unit decertifies its
37 existing union affiliation and certifies a new union, the union which
38 represents the plurality of the employees may recommend a new member to
39 the governor who shall serve the remainder of the term. The chairman of
40 the authority, at his or her discretion, may exclude such non-voting
41 member from attending any portion of a meeting of the authority or of
42 any committee held for the purpose of discussing negotiations with labor
43 organizations, pending litigation involving the labor organization, or
44 the investigation, evaluation, or discipline of an employee.
45 (c) There shall also be a second non-voting member of the authority,
46 who shall not be considered in determining a quorum. The second non-vot-
47 ing member shall be appointed by the governor as a representative of the
48 transit dependent community and/or people with disabilities. The second
49 non-voting member shall be appointed for a term of five years.
50 (D) THERE SHALL BE AT LEST TWO MEMBERS OF THE AUTHORITY APPOINTED BY
51 THE GOVERNOR AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE TRANSIT DEPENDENT AND PARA-TRAN-
52 SIT DEPENDENT COMMUNITY. THE GOVERNOR SHALL MAKE INITIAL APPOINTMENTS TO
53 THE AUTHORITY IN SUCH NUMBER AND FROM LISTS SUBMITTED AS FOLLOWS: AT
54 LEAST TWO MEMBERS SHALL BE APPOINTED TO THE AUTHORITY FROM A LIST OF NOT
55 LESS THAN FOUR NAMES, SUBMITTED TO THE GOVERNOR BY LOCAL AND STATEWIDE
56 TRANSIT ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS. THE MEMBERS SHALL BE RESIDENTS OF A
S. 1500 3
1 COUNTY DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. THE MEMBERS
2 SHALL BE APPOINTED FOR A TERM OF FIVE YEARS. IF A VACANCY SHALL OCCUR
3 FOR THESE MEMBER POSITIONS, A REPLACEMENT SHALL BE APPOINTED WITHIN SIX
4 MONTHS.
5 S 3. Section 1299-bb of the public authorities law is amended by
6 adding two new subdivisions 25 and 26 to read as follows:
7 25. "TRANSIT DEPENDENT" SHALL MEAN AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS LIMITED TO
8 PUBLIC TRANSIT AS THEIR PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION BECAUSE THE INDI-
9 VIDUAL, (A) HAS NO MEANS OF PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION, (B) IS ELDERLY (OVER
10 AGE 65); (C) IS A YOUTH (UNDER AGE 18); OR (D) LIVES BELOW THE POVERTY
11 OR MEDIAN INCOME LEVELS AS DEFINED BY THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU;
12 26. "PARA-TRANSIT DEPENDENT" SHALL MEAN AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS LIMITED
13 TO PUBLIC TRANSIT AS THEIR PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION AND WHO HAS
14 EITHER A PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY DISABILITY.
15 S 4. Subdivision 1 of section 1299-dd of the public authorities law,
16 as amended by chapter 388 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as
17 follows:
18 1. (a) There is hereby created the Rochester-Genesee regional trans-
19 portation authority. The authority shall be a body corporate and politic
20 constituting a public benefit corporation. It shall consist of at least
21 one member from each county that elects to join the authority except
22 that the county of Monroe shall have seven members of whom three shall
23 be appointed from the city of Rochester and four at large from the coun-
24 ty of Monroe and shall have one non-voting member as described in para-
25 graph (b) of this subdivision , AND AT LEAST ONE SHALL BE APPOINTED AS A
26 REPRESENTATIVE OF THE TRANSIT DEPENDENT COMMUNITY AND AT LEAST ONE SHALL
27 BE APPOINTED AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PARA-TRANSIT DEPENDENT COMMUNI-
28 TY, AS DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. The members
29 shall be appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of
30 the senate. The governor shall make initial appointments to the authori-
31 ty in such number and from lists submitted as follows: three members
32 shall be appointed to the authority from a list of not less than six
33 names, all of whom must be residents of the city of Rochester, submitted
34 to the governor by the council of the city of Rochester; four persons
35 from a list of not less than eight persons, all of whom must be resi-
36 dents of the county of Monroe submitted by the legislature of the county
37 of Monroe. Other counties electing to participate shall each submit to
38 the governor a list of not less than two persons for each one hundred
39 thousand or major fraction of the total population, as determined by the
40 last federal decennial or federal county-wide special census. From the
41 counties outside the county of Monroe which shall elect to participate,
42 the governor shall appoint one member for each one hundred thousand or
43 major fraction of the total population, as determined by the last feder-
44 al decennial or federal county-wide special census, with a minimum of
45 one member to represent each county outside the county of Monroe so
46 electing to participate. All members of the authority shall be residents
47 of the area from which they are nominated.
48 (b) There shall also be one non-voting member of the authority, which
49 shall not be considered in determining a quorum. The non-voting member
50 shall be recommended to the governor by the labor organization repres-
51 enting the plurality of the employees within the authority and shall be
52 a resident of the Rochester-Genesee regional transportation district as
53 described in section twelve hundred ninety-nine-cc of this title. The
54 non-voting member shall be appointed for a term of five years, provided,
55 however, that if at any time during the term of appointment the non-vot-
56 ing member ceases to be affiliated with the labor organization repres-
S. 1500 4
1 enting the plurality of employees within the authority, then such labor
2 organization may at any time during such term recommend a new member to
3 the governor who shall serve the remainder of the term. If the local
4 bargaining unit decertifies its existing union affiliation and certifies
5 a new union, the union which represents the plurality of the employees
6 may recommend a new member to the governor who shall serve the remainder
7 of the term. The chairman of the authority, at his or her discretion,
8 may exclude such non-voting member from attending any portion of a meet-
9 ing of the authority or of any committee held for the purpose of
10 discussing negotiations with labor organizations, pending litigation
11 involving the labor organization, or the investigation, evaluation, or
12 discipline of an employee.
13 (C) THERE SHALL BE AT LEST TWO MEMBERS OF THE AUTHORITY APPOINTED BY
14 THE GOVERNOR AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE TRANSIT DEPENDENT AND PARA-TRAN-
15 SIT DEPENDENT COMMUNITY. THE GOVERNOR SHALL MAKE INITIAL APPOINTMENTS TO
16 THE AUTHORITY IN SUCH NUMBER AND FROM LISTS SUBMITTED AS FOLLOWS: AT
17 LEAST TWO MEMBERS SHALL BE APPOINTED TO THE AUTHORITY FROM A LIST OF NOT
18 LESS THAN FOUR NAMES, SUBMITTED TO THE GOVERNOR BY LOCAL AND STATEWIDE
19 TRANSIT ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS. THE MEMBERS SHALL BE RESIDENTS OF A
20 COUNTY DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. THE MEMBERS
21 SHALL BE APPOINTED FOR A TERM OF FIVE YEARS. IF A VACANCY SHALL OCCUR
22 FOR THESE MEMBER POSITIONS, A REPLACEMENT SHALL BE APPOINTED WITHIN SIX
23 MONTHS.
24 S 5. Section 1301 of the public authorities law is amended by adding
25 two new subdivisions 26 and 27 to read as follows:
26 26. "TRANSIT DEPENDENT" SHALL MEAN AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS LIMITED TO
27 PUBLIC TRANSIT AS THEIR PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION BECAUSE THE INDI-
28 VIDUAL, (A) HAS NO MEANS OF PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION, (B) IS ELDERLY (OVER
29 AGE 65); (C) IS A YOUTH (UNDER AGE 18); OR (D) LIVES BELOW THE POVERTY
30 OR MEDIAN INCOME LEVELS AS DEFINED BY THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU;
31 27. "PARA-TRANSIT DEPENDENT" SHALL MEAN AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS LIMITED
32 TO PUBLIC TRANSIT AS THEIR PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION AND WHO HAS
33 EITHER A PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY DISABILITY.
34 S 6. Subdivision 1 of section 1303 of the public authorities law, as
35 amended by chapter 388 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as
36 follows:
37 1. (a) There is hereby created the Capital District transportation
38 authority. The authority shall be a body corporate and politic consti-
39 tuting a public benefit corporation. It shall consist of not less than
40 eight nor more than fifteen members, including a chairman and shall have
41 one non-voting member as described in paragraph (b) of this subdivision,
42 AND AT LEAST ONE SHALL BE APPOINTED AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE TRANSIT
43 DEPENDENT COMMUNITY AND AT LEAST ONE SHALL BE APPOINTED AS A REPRESEN-
44 TATIVE OF THE PARA-TRANSIT DEPENDENT COMMUNITY, AS DESCRIBED IN PARA-
45 GRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. The members shall be appointed by the
46 governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate. The governor
47 shall make initial appointments to the authority in such number and from
48 lists submitted as follows: three members shall be appointed to the
49 authority from a list of six names, all of whom shall be residents of
50 the county of Albany, four of which names shall be submitted to the
51 governor by the majority party of the legislature of the county of Alba-
52 ny and two of which names shall be submitted by the minority party of
53 such legislature; two members shall be appointed to the authority from a
54 list of four names, all of whom shall be residents of the county of
55 Schenectady, three of which names shall be submitted to the governor by
56 the majority party of the legislature of the county of Schenectady and
S. 1500 5
1 one of which names shall be submitted by the minority party of such
2 legislature; two members shall be appointed to the authority from a list
3 of four names, all of whom shall be residents of the county of Rensse-
4 laer, three of which names shall be submitted to the governor by the
5 majority party of the legislature of the county of Rensselaer and one of
6 which names shall be submitted by the minority party of such legisla-
7 ture; two members shall be appointed to the authority from a list of
8 four names, all of whom shall be residents of the county of Saratoga,
9 three of which names shall be submitted to the governor by the majority
10 party of the legislature of the county of Saratoga and one of which
11 names shall be submitted by the minority party of such legislature.
12 Other counties electing to participate shall each submit to the governor
13 a list of two persons each of whom shall be a resident of such county,
14 one of which names shall be submitted to the governor by the majority
15 party of the legislature of such county and one of which names shall be
16 submitted by the minority party of such legislature, from which number
17 the governor shall appoint one member for each such county so electing
18 to participate.
19 (b) There shall also be one non-voting member of the authority, which
20 shall not be considered in determining a quorum. The non-voting member
21 shall be recommended to the governor by the labor organization repres-
22 enting the plurality of the employees within the authority and shall be
23 a resident of the Capital District transportation district as described
24 in section thirteen hundred two of this title. The non-voting member
25 shall be appointed for a term of five years, provided, however, that if
26 at any time during the term of appointment the non-voting member ceases
27 to be affiliated with the labor organization representing the plurality
28 of employees within the authority, then such labor organization may at
29 any time during such term recommend a new member to the governor who
30 shall serve the remainder of the term. If the local bargaining unit
31 decertifies its existing union affiliation and certifies a new union,
32 the union which represents the plurality of the employees may recommend
33 a new member to the governor who shall serve the remainder of the term.
34 The chairman of the authority, at his or her discretion, may exclude
35 such non-voting member from attending any portion of a meeting of the
36 authority or of any committee held for the purpose of discussing negoti-
37 ations with labor organizations, pending litigation involving the labor
38 organization, or the investigation, evaluation, or discipline of an
39 employee.
40 (C) THERE SHALL BE AT LEST TWO MEMBERS OF THE AUTHORITY APPOINTED BY
41 THE GOVERNOR AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE TRANSIT DEPENDENT AND PARA-TRAN-
42 SIT DEPENDENT COMMUNITY. THE GOVERNOR SHALL MAKE INITIAL APPOINTMENTS TO
43 THE AUTHORITY IN SUCH NUMBER AND FROM LISTS SUBMITTED AS FOLLOWS: AT
44 LEAST TWO MEMBERS SHALL BE APPOINTED TO THE AUTHORITY FROM A LIST OF NOT
45 LESS THAN FOUR NAMES, SUBMITTED TO THE GOVERNOR BY LOCAL AND STATEWIDE
46 TRANSIT ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS. THE MEMBERS SHALL BE RESIDENTS OF A
47 COUNTY DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. THE MEMBERS
48 SHALL BE APPOINTED FOR A TERM OF FIVE YEARS. IF A VACANCY SHALL OCCUR
49 FOR THESE MEMBER POSITIONS, A REPLACEMENT SHALL BE APPOINTED WITHIN SIX
50 MONTHS.
51 S 7. Section 1326 of the public authorities law is amended by adding
52 two new subdivisions 26 and 27 to read as follows:
53 26. "TRANSIT DEPENDENT" SHALL MEAN AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS LIMITED TO
54 PUBLIC TRANSIT AS THEIR PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION BECAUSE THE INDI-
55 VIDUAL, (A) HAS NO MEANS OF PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION, (B) IS ELDERLY (OVER
S. 1500 6
1 AGE 65); (C) IS A YOUTH (UNDER AGE 18); OR (D) LIVES BELOW THE POVERTY
2 OR MEDIAN INCOME LEVELS AS DEFINED BY THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU;
3 27. "PARA-TRANSIT DEPENDENT" SHALL MEAN AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS LIMITED
4 TO PUBLIC TRANSIT AS THEIR PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION AND WHO HAS
5 EITHER A PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY DISABILITY.
6 S 8. Subdivision 1 of section 1328 of the public authorities law, as
7 separately amended by chapters 388 and 396 of the laws of 2007, is
8 amended to read as follows:
9 1. (a) There is hereby created the central New York regional transpor-
10 tation authority. The authority shall be a body corporate and politic
11 constituting a public benefit corporation. It shall consist of not more
12 than twelve members, including a chairman and shall have one non-voting
13 member as described in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, AND AT LEAST
14 ONE SHALL BE APPOINTED AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE TRANSIT DEPENDENT
15 COMMUNITY AND AT LEAST ONE SHALL BE APPOINTED AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
16 PARA-TRANSIT DEPENDENT COMMUNITY, AS DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS
17 SUBDIVISION. The members shall be appointed by the governor by and with
18 the advice and consent of the senate. The governor shall make initial
19 appointments to the authority in such number and from lists submitted as
20 follows: three members shall be appointed to the authority from a list
21 of not less than six names, submitted to the governor by the common
22 council of the city of Syracuse, five persons from a list of not less
23 than ten names, submitted by the legislature of the county of Onondaga
24 and two members shall be appointed from a list of not less than four
25 names submitted by the legislature of the county of Oneida. Other coun-
26 ties electing to participate shall each submit to the governor a list of
27 not less than two persons for each one hundred thousand or major frac-
28 tion of the total population, as determined by the nineteen hundred
29 seventy or any subsequent federal decennial or federal county-wide
30 special census, of the counties outside the county of Onondaga which
31 shall elect to participate, from which number the governor shall appoint
32 one member for each one hundred thousand or major fraction of the total
33 population, as determined by such federal decennial or federal county-
34 wide special census, with a maximum of three members to represent such
35 counties outside the county of Onondaga so electing to participate.
36 (b) There shall also be one non-voting member of the authority, which
37 shall not be considered in determining a quorum. The non-voting member
38 shall be recommended to the governor by the labor organization repres-
39 enting the plurality of the employees within the authority. The non-vot-
40 ing member shall be appointed for a term of seven years, provided,
41 however, that if at any time during the term of appointment the non-vot-
42 ing member ceases to be affiliated with the labor organization repres-
43 enting the plurality of employees within the authority, then such labor
44 organization may at any time during such term recommend a new member to
45 the governor who shall serve the remainder of the term. If the local
46 bargaining unit decertifies its existing union affiliation and certifies
47 a new union, the union which represents the plurality of the employees
48 may recommend a new member to the governor who shall serve the remainder
49 of the term. The chairman of the authority, at his or her discretion,
50 may exclude such non-voting member from attending any portion of a meet-
51 ing of the authority or of any committee held for the purpose of
52 discussing negotiations with labor organizations, pending litigation
53 involving the labor organization, or the investigation, evaluation, or
54 discipline of an employee.
55 (C) THERE SHALL BE AT LEST TWO MEMBERS OF THE AUTHORITY APPOINTED BY
56 THE GOVERNOR AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE TRANSIT DEPENDENT AND PARA-TRAN-
S. 1500 7
1 SIT DEPENDENT COMMUNITY. THE GOVERNOR SHALL MAKE INITIAL APPOINTMENTS TO
2 THE AUTHORITY IN SUCH NUMBER AND FROM LISTS SUBMITTED AS FOLLOWS: AT
3 LEAST TWO MEMBERS SHALL BE APPOINTED TO THE AUTHORITY FROM A LIST OF NOT
4 LESS THAN FOUR NAMES, SUBMITTED TO THE GOVERNOR BY LOCAL AND STATEWIDE
5 TRANSIT ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS. THE MEMBERS SHALL BE RESIDENTS OF A
6 COUNTY DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. THE MEMBERS
7 SHALL BE APPOINTED FOR A TERM OF FIVE YEARS. IF A VACANCY SHALL OCCUR
8 FOR THESE MEMBER POSITIONS, A REPLACEMENT SHALL BE APPOINTED WITHIN SIX
9 MONTHS.
10 S 9. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
11 have become a law.