Bill Text: NY S02253 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the definition of the metropolitan commuter transportation district for the purposes of the metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax; requires the metropolitan transportation authority to renegotiate the joint service operating agreement with the state of Connecticut.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S02253 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S02253-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2253

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 19, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
          ment Operations

        AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to the definition of the metro-
          politan commuter transportation  district  for  the  purposes  of  the
          metropolitan  commuter  transportation  mobility tax; and to amend the
          public authorities 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. Pursuant to chapter 25 of the laws of
     2  2009, the legislature did enact the metropolitan mobility tax within the
     3  twelve   county  region  constituting  the  metropolitan  transportation
     4  district. The legislature hereby finds that the residents of  the  towns
     5  of  Brookhaven,  East  Hampton,  Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southold and
     6  Southampton in the  county  of  Suffolk  receive  minimal  mass  transit
     7  services  from the metropolitan transportation authority. Further, these
     8  towns already pay  substantial  taxes  to  the  MTA  for  these  minimal
     9  services,  including increased sales taxes and mortgage recording taxes.
    10  It has been estimated these six towns contribute more than  $60  million
    11  annually to the MTA than they receive back in service.
    12    In the interest of tax fairness and to avoid such additional inequita-
    13  ble  taxation  on  these  towns, it is the purpose of this act to exempt
    14  such towns from the newly adopted metropolitan  commuter  transportation
    15  mobility tax.
    16    § 2. Subsection (a) of section 800 of the tax law, as added by section
    17  1  of  part  C  of chapter 25 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as
    18  follows:
    19    (a) Metropolitan commuter transportation  district.  The  metropolitan
    20  commuter  transportation  district  ("MCTD") means the area of the state

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03797-01-3
        S. 2253                             2

     1  included in the district created and governed by section twelve  hundred
     2  sixty-two of the public authorities law, except that for the purposes of
     3  this  article, the towns of Brookhaven, East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter
     4  Island,  Southampton  and  Southold  in Suffolk County shall be excluded
     5  from the district for the purposes of  this  article  and  any  revenues
     6  previously  collected  from within these counties shall be reimbursed to
     7  each payor by March thirty-first, two thousand twenty-five.
     8    § 3.  Section 1266 of the public authorities law is amended by  adding
     9  a new subdivision 20 to read as follows:
    10    20.  The  authority  is  required  by March thirty-first, two thousand
    11  twenty-five to:
    12    (a) renegotiate the joint service agreement between the authority  and
    13  the state of Connecticut related to the operation of the Metro-North New
    14  Haven  line  to  (i)  require  Connecticut  to  set  New Haven line fare
    15  increases at levels necessary to sustain equivalent fare levels  between
    16  New  York  state  residents riding the Metro-North Commuter Railroad and
    17  Connecticut residents riding the  Metro-North  Commuter  Railroad,  (ii)
    18  require  that  Connecticut  operating  deficit subsidy payments shall be
    19  based on Connecticut resident utilization of  the  Metro-North  Commuter
    20  Railroad and Connecticut resident utilization of the New York city tran-
    21  sit  authority  with  such subsidies to be determined by multiplying the
    22  Connecticut resident utilization percentages for the Metro-North  Commu-
    23  ter  Railroad  and the New York city transit authority by the respective
    24  baseline operating deficit of these operating entities prior to  subsidy
    25  adjustments and prior to increased revenues provided to the authority by
    26  New  York state residents pursuant to payments mandated by chapter twen-
    27  ty-five of the laws of two thousand nine, and (iii) provide for retroac-
    28  tive lump sum payments due from the  state  of  Connecticut  related  to
    29  calendar year two thousand nine; or
    30    (b)  reduce services and expenses related to the Metro-North New Haven
    31  line operation by an amount which  produces  recurring  savings  to  the
    32  authority  which are equivalent to the increased joint service agreement
    33  payments which would be determined under paragraph (a) of this  subdivi-
    34  sion.
    35    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.