S 7027: Adds an additional two non-voting members to the metropolitan transportation authority board, one who is the police chief of the MTA police department and the other who is chosen by the labor organization representing the majority of employees of the police department of the authority.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7027 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 28, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CHAN -- 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 adding an additional two non-voting members to the metropolitan transportation authority board who represent the police force of such authority The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of 2 section 1263 of the public authorities law, subparagraph 1 as amended by 3 chapter 68 and subparagraph 2 as amended by chapter 631 of the laws of 4 2024, are amended to read as follows: 5 (1) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation authori- 6 ty." The authority shall be a body corporate and politic constituting a 7 public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of a chair- 8 person, sixteen other voting members, and [two] four non-voting and four 9 alternate non-voting members, as described in subparagraph two of this 10 paragraph appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent 11 of the senate. Any member appointed to a term commencing on or after 12 June thirtieth, two thousand nine shall have experience in one or more 13 of the following areas: transportation, public administration, business 14 management, finance, accounting, law, engineering, land use, urban and 15 regional planning, management of large capital projects, labor 16 relations, public safety, or have experience in some other area of 17 activity central to the mission of the authority. Four of the sixteen 18 voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed on the 19 written recommendation of the mayor of the city of New York; and each of 20 seven other voting members other than the chairperson shall be appointed 21 after selection from a written list of three recommendations from the 22 chief executive officer of the county in which the particular member is 23 required to reside pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision. Of 24 the members appointed on recommendation of the chief executive officer EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07091-01-5 
 S. 7027 2 1 of a county, one such member shall be, at the time of appointment, a 2 resident of the county of Nassau, one a resident of the county of 3 Suffolk, one a resident of the county of Westchester, one a resident of 4 the county of Dutchess, one a resident of the county of Orange, one a 5 resident of the county of Putnam and one a resident of the county of 6 Rockland, provided that the term of any member who is a resident of a 7 county that has withdrawn from the metropolitan commuter transportation 8 district pursuant to section twelve hundred seventy-nine-b of this title 9 shall terminate upon the effective date of such county's withdrawal from 10 such district. Of the five voting members, other than the chairperson, 11 appointed by the governor without recommendation from any other person, 12 three shall be, at the time of appointment, residents of the city of New 13 York and two shall be, at the time of appointment, residents of such 14 city or of any of the aforementioned counties in the metropolitan commu- 15 ter transportation district. Provided however, notwithstanding the fore- 16 going residency requirement, one of the five voting members appointed by 17 the governor without recommendation from any other person, other than 18 the chairperson, may be the director of the New York state division of 19 the budget, and provided further that, in the event of such appointment, 20 the budget director's membership in the authority shall be deemed ex-of- 21 ficio. Provided further, one of the twelve voting members, other than 22 the chairperson, appointed by the governor without recommendation by any 23 other person, or on the recommendation of the mayor of the city of New 24 York, or of the chief executive officer of the counties of Westchester, 25 Nassau, or Suffolk shall be a transit dependent individual. A "transit 26 dependent individual" shall mean an individual who is limited to public 27 transit as their primary mode of transportation because the individual 28 has a permanent disability, provided that any local or statewide transit 29 advocacy organization may recommend one or more transit dependent indi- 30 viduals to be considered for appointment pursuant to this section. The 31 chairperson and each of the members shall be appointed for a term of six 32 years, provided however, that the chairperson first appointed shall 33 serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one, 34 provided that thirty days after the effective date of the chapter of the 35 laws of two thousand nine which amended this subparagraph, the term of 36 the chairperson shall expire; provided, further, that such chairperson 37 may continue to discharge the duties of [his or her] such chairperson's 38 office until the position of chairperson is filled by appointment by the 39 governor upon the advice and consent of the senate and the term of such 40 new chairperson shall terminate June thirtieth, two thousand fifteen. 41 The sixteen other members first appointed shall serve for the following 42 terms: The members from the counties of Nassau and Westchester shall 43 each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty- 44 five; the members from the county of Suffolk and from the counties of 45 Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall each serve for a term ending 46 June thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-two; two of the members 47 appointed on recommendation of the mayor of the city of New York shall 48 each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty- 49 four and, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nine- 50 teen hundred eighty-one; two of the members appointed by the governor 51 without the recommendation of any other person shall each serve for a 52 term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-two, two shall each 53 serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty and one 54 shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty- 55 five. The [two] four non-voting and four alternate non-voting members 56 shall serve until January first, two thousand one. The members from the 
 S. 7027 3 1 counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall cast one collec- 2 tive vote. 3 (2) There shall be [two] four non-voting members and four alternate 4 non-voting members of the authority, as referred to in subparagraph one 5 of this paragraph. 6 The first non-voting member shall be a regular mass transit user of 7 the facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by 8 the New York city transit authority advisory council. The first alter- 9 nate non-voting member shall be a regular mass transit user of the 10 facilities of the authority and be recommended to the governor by the 11 Metro-North commuter council. The second alternate non-voting member 12 shall be a regular mass transit user of the facilities of the authority 13 and be recommended to the governor by the Long Island Rail Road 14 commuter's council. 15 The second non-voting member shall be recommended to the governor by 16 the labor organization representing the majority of employees of the 17 Long Island Rail Road. The third alternate non-voting member shall be 18 recommended to the governor by the labor organization representing the 19 majority of employees of the New York city transit authority. The fourth 20 alternate non-voting member shall be recommended to the governor by the 21 labor organization representing the majority of employees of the Metro- 22 North Commuter Railroad Company. Notwithstanding any other provision of 23 law, the alternate non-voting member recommended by the labor organiza- 24 tion representing the majority of employees of the Metro-North Commuter 25 Railroad Company may be a resident of any state in which the Metro-North 26 Commuter Railroad Company operates. The [chairman] chairperson of the 27 authority, at [his] the chairperson's direction, may exclude such non- 28 voting member or alternate non-voting member from attending any portion 29 of a meeting of the authority or of any committee established pursuant 30 to paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this section held for the 31 purpose of discussing negotiations with labor organizations. 32 The third non-voting member shall be the police chief of the authori- 33 ty, or such police chief's designee. 34 The fourth non-voting member shall be recommended to the governor by 35 the labor organization representing the majority of employees of the 36 police department of the authority. The chairperson of the authority, at 37 the chairperson's direction, may exclude such non-voting member from 38 attending any portion of a meeting of the authority or of any committee 39 established pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this 40 section held for the purpose of discussing negotiations with labor 41 organizations. 42 The non-voting member and the two alternate non-voting members repres- 43 enting the New York [York] city transit authority advisory council, the 44 Metro-North commuter council, and the Long Island Rail Road commuter's 45 council shall serve eighteen month rotating terms, after which time an 46 alternate non-voting member shall become the non-voting member and the 47 rotation shall continue until each alternate member has served at least 48 one eighteen month term as a non-voting member. The other non-voting 49 member and alternate non-voting members representing the New York city 50 transit authority, Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, and the Long 51 Island Rail Road labor organizations shall serve eighteen month rotating 52 terms, after which time an alternate non-voting member shall become the 53 non-voting member and the rotation shall continue until each alternate 54 member has served at least one eighteen month term as a non-voting 55 member. The transit authority and the commuter railroads shall not be 56 represented concurrently by the two non-voting members during any such 
 S. 7027 4 1 eighteen month period. The other non-voting member representing the 2 labor organization of the police department of the authority shall serve 3 a term of eighteen months. 4 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public 5 authorities law, as amended by section 1 of chapter 425 of the laws of 6 2018, is amended to read as follows: 7 (b) The [chairman] chairperson shall establish committees to assist 8 [him] such chairperson in the performance of [his] such chairperson's 9 duties and shall appoint members of the authority to such committees. 10 Among such committees, there shall be a committee on operations of the 11 New York city transit authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit 12 operating authority and the Staten Island rapid transit operating 13 authority; a committee on operations of the Long Island Rail Road and 14 the metropolitan suburban bus authority; a committee on operations of 15 the Metro-North commuter railroad; a committee on operations of the 16 Triborough bridge and tunnel authority; a committee on finance; a 17 committee on capital program oversight; and a committee on safety. In 18 addition to such appointed members, each of the non-voting members 19 referred to in subparagraph two of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of 20 this section shall serve on the committee on capital program oversight, 21 the committee on finance, the committee on safety, the committee on 22 operations of the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority, and the oper- 23 ations committee relevant to the commuter council that recommended such 24 member. The alternate non-voting members shall each serve on the respec- 25 tive operations committee relevant to the commuter council that recom- 26 mended each member. The committee on capital program oversight and the 27 committee on safety shall include not less than three members, and shall 28 include the chairpersons of the committee on operations of the New York 29 city transit authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit operat- 30 ing authority and the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority, 31 the committee on operations of the Long Island Rail Road and the metro- 32 politan suburban bus authority, and the committee on operations of the 33 Metro-North commuter railroad. The committee on safety shall include 34 the police chief of the authority or such police chief's designee and 35 the non-voting member representing the labor organization of the police 36 department of the authority. The committee on safety shall convene at 37 least once annually and each committee chairperson, that is a member of 38 the committee on safety, shall report to the committee on safety any and 39 all initiatives, concerns, improvements, or failures involving the safe- 40 ty of: (1) customers; (2) employees; and (3) the public at large, in 41 relation to authority facilities and services. The capital program 42 committee shall, with respect to any approved or proposed capital 43 program plans, (i) monitor the current and future availability of funds 44 to be utilized for such plans approved or proposed to be submitted to 45 the metropolitan transportation capital program review board as provided 46 in section twelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this title; (ii) monitor the 47 contract awards of the metropolitan transportation authority and the New 48 York city transit authority to insure that such awards are consistent 49 with (A) provisions of law authorizing United States content and New 50 York state content; (B) collective bargaining agreements; (C) provisions 51 of law providing for participation by minority and women-owned busi- 52 nesses; (D) New York state labor laws; (E) competitive bidding require- 53 ments including those regarding sole source contracts; and (F) any other 54 relevant requirements established by law; (iii) monitor the award of 55 contracts to determine if such awards are consistent with the manner in 56 which the work was traditionally performed in the past provided, howev- 
 S. 7027 5 1 er, that any such determination shall not be admissible as evidence in 2 any arbitration or judicial proceeding; (iv) review the relationship 3 between capital expenditures pursuant to each such capital program plan 4 and current and future operating budget requirements; (v) monitor the 5 progress of capital elements described in each capital program plan 6 approved as provided in section twelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this 7 title; (vi) monitor the expenditures incurred and to be incurred for 8 each such element; and (vii) identify capital elements not progressing 9 on schedule, ascertain responsibility therefor and recommend those 10 actions required or appropriate to accelerate their implementation. The 11 capital program committee shall issue a quarterly report on its activ- 12 ities and findings, and shall in connection with the preparation of such 13 quarterly report, consult with the state division of the budget, the 14 state department of transportation, the members of the metropolitan 15 transportation authority capital program review board and any other 16 group the committee deems relevant, including public employee organiza- 17 tions, and, at least annually, with a nationally recognized independent 18 transit engineering firm. Such report shall be made available to the 19 members of the authority, to the members of the metropolitan transporta- 20 tion authority capital program review board, and the directors of the 21 municipal assistance corporation for the city of New York. 22 § 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public 23 authorities law, as amended by section 2 of chapter 425 of the laws of 24 2018, is amended to read as follows: 25 (b) The [chairman] chairperson shall establish committees to assist 26 [him] such chairperson in the performance of [his] such chairperson's 27 duties and shall appoint members of the authority to such committees. 28 Among such committees, there shall be a committee on operations of the 29 New York city transit authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit 30 operating authority and the Staten Island rapid transit operating 31 authority; a committee on operations of the Long Island Rail Road and 32 the metropolitan suburban bus authority; a committee on operations of 33 the Metro-North commuter railroad; a committee on operations of the 34 Triborough bridge and tunnel authority; a committee on finance; a 35 committee on capital program oversight; and a committee on safety. The 36 committee on capital program oversight shall include not less than four 37 members, and shall include the chairpersons of the committee on oper- 38 ations of the New York city transit authority, the Manhattan and Bronx 39 surface transit operating authority and the Staten Island rapid transit 40 operating authority, the committee on operations of the Long Island Rail 41 Road and the metropolitan suburban bus authority, the committee on oper- 42 ations of the Metro-North commuter railroad, and the committee on safe- 43 ty. The committee on safety shall include the police chief of the 44 authority or such police chief's designee and the non-voting member 45 representing the labor organization of the police department of the 46 authority. The committee on safety shall convene at least once annually 47 and each committee chairperson, that is a member of the committee on 48 safety, shall report to the committee on safety any and all initiatives, 49 concerns, improvements, or failures involving the safety of: (1) custom- 50 ers; (2) employees; and (3) the public at large, in relation to authori- 51 ty facilities and services. The capital program committee shall, with 52 respect to any approved or proposed capital program plans, (i) monitor 53 the current and future availability of funds to be utilized for such 54 plans approved or proposed to be submitted to the metropolitan transpor- 55 tation capital program review board as provided in section twelve 56 hundred sixty-nine-b of this title; (ii) monitor the contract awards of 
 S. 7027 6 1 the metropolitan transportation authority and the New York city transit 2 authority to insure that such awards are consistent with (A) provisions 3 of law authorizing United States content and New York state content; (B) 4 collective bargaining agreements; (C) provisions of law providing for 5 participation by minority and women-owned businesses; (D) New York state 6 labor laws; (E) competitive bidding requirements including those regard- 7 ing sole source contracts; and (F) any other relevant requirements 8 established by law; (iii) monitor the award of contracts to determine if 9 such awards are consistent with the manner in which the work was tradi- 10 tionally performed in the past provided, however, that any such determi- 11 nation shall not be admissible as evidence in any arbitration or judi- 12 cial proceeding; (iv) review the relationship between capital 13 expenditures pursuant to each such capital program plan and current and 14 future operating budget requirements; (v) monitor the progress of capi- 15 tal elements described in each capital program plan approved as provided 16 in section twelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this title; (vi) monitor the 17 expenditures incurred and to be incurred for each such element; and 18 (vii) identify capital elements not progressing on schedule, ascertain 19 responsibility therefor and recommend those actions required or appro- 20 priate to accelerate their implementation. The capital program committee 21 shall issue a quarterly report on its activities and findings, and shall 22 in connection with the preparation of such quarterly report, consult 23 with the state division of the budget, the state department of transpor- 24 tation, the members of the metropolitan transportation authority capital 25 program review board and any other group the committee deems relevant, 26 including public employee organizations, and, at least annually, with a 27 nationally recognized independent transit engineering firm. Such report 28 shall be made available to the members of the authority, to the members 29 of the metropolitan transportation authority capital program review 30 board, and the directors of the municipal assistance corporation for the 31 city of New York. 32 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 33 ing the date on which it shall have become a law; provided, however: 34 (a) the amendments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1263 35 of the public authorities law made by section one of this act shall not 36 affect the expiration of such paragraph and shall expire and be deemed 37 repealed therewith; and 38 (b) the amendments to paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 39 of the public authorities law made by section two of this act shall be 40 subject to the expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to 41 section 3 of chapter 549 of the laws of 1994, as amended, when upon such 42 date the provisions of section three of this act shall take effect.