Bill Text: NY A00596 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires the MTA to renegotiate the joint service operating agreement with the State of Connecticut; eliminates the metropolitan commuter transportation tax imposed on the residents of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland counties.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-09 - print number 596b [A00596 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-A00596-Amended.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
596--A
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 5, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER, JAFFEE, ZEBROWSKI, GALEF, CAHILL, MOLI-
NARO, RABBITT, CALHOUN -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Corporations, Authorities and Commissions -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law and the tax 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 and intent. The legislature recog-
2 nizes that transit riders within the counties of Dutchess, Orange,
3 Putnam and Rockland comprise only one percent of the combined population
4 of these counties; only ten percent of all Metro-North Commuter Railroad
5 riders and only two tenths of one percent of New York city subway
6 riders.
7 The legislature further recognizes that under chapter 25 of the laws
8 of 2009, these four counties have been mandated to contribute more than
9 ninety million dollars in added revenues to the metropolitan transporta-
10 tion authority to supplement the two hundred seventy-five million
11 dollars in county payments already being made to the authority every
12 year.
13 The legislature acknowledges that this level of payment totaling over
14 three hundred sixty-five million dollars annually or close to thirty-two
15 thousand dollars per transit rider reflects an unfair burden on resi-
16 dents of these counties in which the overwhelming majority of residents
17 receive no transit services from the metropolitan transportation author-
18 ity at all.
19 The legislature further recognizes that twenty-six percent of Metro-
20 North Commuter Railroad transit riders are Connecticut residents who
21 were not asked to contribute to the metropolitan transportation authori-
22 ty operating deficit bailout formulated under chapter 25 of the laws of
23 2009.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02327-05-1
A. 596--A 2
1 It is not the intent of the legislature within this legislation to
2 negatively impact the level of revenue flowing to the metropolitan
3 transportation authority. It is however the legislature's intent to
4 ensure fairness to the residents of the counties of Dutchess, Orange,
5 Putnam and Rockland by eliminating the metropolitan commuter transporta-
6 tion tax imposed upon the residents of these four counties; requiring
7 transit riders within these counties to pay increased fares of thirteen
8 percent; and requiring the metropolitan transportation authority to
9 renegotiate or terminate the joint service operating agreement between
10 the authority and the state of Connecticut to reflect equity based on
11 utilization.
12 S 2. Section 1266 of the public authorities law is amended by adding a
13 new subdivision 19 to read as follows:
14 19. THE AUTHORITY IS REQUIRED BY MARCH THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND
15 TWELVE TO:
16 (A) RENEGOTIATE THE JOINT SERVICE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE AUTHORITY AND
17 THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT RELATED TO THE OPERATION OF THE METRO-NORTH NEW
18 HAVEN LINE TO (I) REQUIRE CONNECTICUT TO SET NEW HAVEN LINE FARE
19 INCREASES AT LEVELS NECESSARY TO SUSTAIN EQUIVALENT FARE LEVELS BETWEEN
20 NEW YORK STATE RESIDENTS RIDING THE METRO-NORTH COMMUTER RAILROAD AND
21 CONNECTICUT RESIDENTS RIDING THE METRO-NORTH COMMUTER RAILROAD, (II)
22 REQUIRE THAT CONNECTICUT OPERATING DEFICIT SUBSIDY PAYMENTS SHALL BE
23 BASED ON CONNECTICUT RESIDENT UTILIZATION OF THE METRO-NORTH COMMUTER
24 RAILROAD AND CONNECTICUT RESIDENT UTILIZATION OF THE NEW YORK CITY TRAN-
25 SIT AUTHORITY WITH SUCH SUBSIDIES TO BE DETERMINED BY MULTIPLYING THE
26 CONNECTICUT RESIDENT UTILIZATION PERCENTAGES FOR THE METRO-NORTH COMMU-
27 TER RAILROAD AND THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY BY THE RESPECTIVE
28 BASELINE OPERATING DEFICIT OF THESE OPERATING ENTITIES PRIOR TO SUBSIDY
29 ADJUSTMENTS AND PRIOR TO INCREASED REVENUES PROVIDED TO THE AUTHORITY BY
30 NEW YORK STATE RESIDENTS PURSUANT TO PAYMENTS MANDATED BY CHAPTER TWEN-
31 TY-FIVE OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND NINE, AND (III) PROVIDE FOR RETROAC-
32 TIVE LUMP SUM PAYMENTS DUE FROM THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT RELATED TO
33 CALENDAR YEARS TWO THOUSAND TEN AND TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN; OR
34 (B) REDUCE SERVICES AND EXPENSES RELATED TO THE METRO-NORTH NEW HAVEN
35 LINE OPERATION BY AN AMOUNT WHICH PRODUCES RECURRING SAVINGS TO THE
36 AUTHORITY WHICH ARE EQUIVALENT TO THE INCREASED JOINT SERVICE AGREEMENT
37 PAYMENTS WHICH WOULD BE DETERMINED UNDER PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVI-
38 SION; OR
39 (C) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF THIS SECTION OR ANY OTHER LAW TO
40 THE CONTRARY, TERMINATE THE AMENDED AND RESTATED SERVICE AGREEMENT,
41 DATED AS OF JUNE 21, 1985, AND ANY AMENDMENTS AND/OR MODIFICATIONS THER-
42 ETO, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY AND ALL ARBITRATION OPINIONS AND
43 AWARDS, PURSUANT TO ARTICLE TWELVE OF SAID AMENDED AND RESTATED SERVICE
44 AGREEMENT.
45 S 3. Subdivision (a) of section 800 of the tax law, as added by
46 section 1 of part C of chapter 25 of the laws of 2009, is amended to
47 read as follows:
48 (a) Metropolitan commuter transportation district. The metropolitan
49 commuter transportation district ("MCTD") means the area of the state
50 included in the district created and governed by section twelve hundred
51 sixty-two of the public authorities law, PROVIDED HOWEVER, THAT THE
52 COUNTIES OF DUTCHESS, ORANGE, PUTNAM AND ROCKLAND SHALL BE EXCLUDED FROM
53 THIS DISTRICT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE AND ANY REVENUES PREVI-
54 OUSLY COLLECTED FROM WITHIN THESE COUNTIES SHALL BE REIMBURSED TO EACH
55 PAYOR BY MARCH THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWELVE.
56 S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
