S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
596
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,
RABBITT, CALHOUN, MOLINARO -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
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 recognizes
2 that transit riders within the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and
3 Rockland comprise only one percent of the combined population of these
4 counties; only ten percent of all Metro-North Commuter Railroad riders
5 and only two-tenths of one percent of New York city subway riders.
6 The legislature further recognizes that under chapter 25 of the laws
7 of 2009, these four counties have been mandated to contribute more than
8 ninety million dollars in added revenues to the metropolitan transporta-
9 tion authority to supplement the two hundred seventy-five million
10 dollars in county payments already being made to the authority every
11 year.
12 The legislature acknowledges that this level of payment totaling over
13 three hundred sixty-five million dollars annually or close to thirty-two
14 thousand dollars per transit rider reflects an unfair burden on resi-
15 dents of these counties in which the overwhelming majority of residents
16 receive no transit services from the metropolitan transportation author-
17 ity at all.
18 The legislature further recognizes that twenty-six percent of Metro-
19 North Commuter Railroad transit riders are Connecticut residents who
20 were not asked to contribute to the metropolitan transportation authori-
21 ty operating deficit bailout formulated under chapter 25 of the laws of
22 2009.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02327-01-1
A. 596 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; and requir-
7 ing the metropolitan transportation authority to renegotiate the joint
8 service operating agreement between the authority and the state of
9 Connecticut to reflect equity based on utilization.
10 S 2. Section 1266 of the public authorities law is amended by adding a
11 new subdivision 19 to read as follows:
12 19. THE AUTHORITY IS REQUIRED BY MARCH THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND
13 TWELVE TO:
14 (A) RENEGOTIATE THE JOINT SERVICE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE AUTHORITY AND
15 THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT RELATED TO THE OPERATION OF THE METRO-NORTH NEW
16 HAVEN LINE TO (I) REQUIRE CONNECTICUT TO SET NEW HAVEN LINE FARE
17 INCREASES AT LEVELS NECESSARY TO SUSTAIN EQUIVALENT FARE LEVELS BETWEEN
18 NEW YORK STATE RESIDENTS RIDING THE METRO-NORTH COMMUTER RAILROAD AND
19 CONNECTICUT RESIDENTS RIDING THE METRO-NORTH COMMUTER RAILROAD, (II)
20 REQUIRE THAT CONNECTICUT OPERATING DEFICIT SUBSIDY PAYMENTS SHALL BE
21 BASED ON CONNECTICUT RESIDENT UTILIZATION OF THE METRO-NORTH COMMUTER
22 RAILROAD AND CONNECTICUT RESIDENT UTILIZATION OF THE NEW YORK CITY TRAN-
23 SIT AUTHORITY WITH SUCH SUBSIDIES TO BE DETERMINED BY MULTIPLYING THE
24 CONNECTICUT RESIDENT UTILIZATION PERCENTAGES FOR THE METRO-NORTH COMMU-
25 TER RAILROAD AND THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY BY THE RESPECTIVE
26 BASELINE OPERATING DEFICIT OF THESE OPERATING ENTITIES PRIOR TO SUBSIDY
27 ADJUSTMENTS AND PRIOR TO INCREASED REVENUES PROVIDED TO THE AUTHORITY BY
28 NEW YORK STATE RESIDENTS PURSUANT TO PAYMENTS MANDATED BY CHAPTER TWEN-
29 TY-FIVE OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND NINE, AND (III) PROVIDE FOR RETROAC-
30 TIVE LUMP SUM PAYMENTS DUE FROM THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT RELATED TO
31 CALENDAR YEAR TWO THOUSAND NINE; OR
32 (B) REDUCE SERVICES AND EXPENSES RELATED TO THE METRO-NORTH NEW HAVEN
33 LINE OPERATION BY AN AMOUNT WHICH PRODUCES RECURRING SAVINGS TO THE
34 AUTHORITY WHICH ARE EQUIVALENT TO THE INCREASED JOINT SERVICE AGREEMENT
35 PAYMENTS WHICH WOULD BE DETERMINED UNDER PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVI-
36 SION.
37 S 3. Subsection (a) of section 800 of the tax law, as added by section
38 1 of part C of chapter 25 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as
39 follows:
40 (a) Metropolitan commuter transportation district. The metropolitan
41 commuter transportation district ("MCTD") means the area of the state
42 included in the district created and governed by section twelve hundred
43 sixty-two of the public authorities law, PROVIDED HOWEVER, THAT THE
44 COUNTIES OF DUTCHESS, ORANGE, PUTNAM AND ROCKLAND SHALL BE EXCLUDED FROM
45 THIS DISTRICT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE AND ANY REVENUES PREVI-
46 OUSLY COLLECTED FROM WITHIN THESE COUNTIES SHALL BE REIMBURSED TO EACH
47 PAYOR BY MARCH THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWELVE.
48 S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.