S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         6213
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                    March 17, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced by M. of A. BRABENEC -- read once and referred to the Commit-
         tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
       AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to the metropol-
         itan transportation authority
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section
    2  1263 of the public authorities law, as amended by section 3 of part H of
    3  chapter 25 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
    4    (1) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation  authori-
    5  ty."  The authority shall be a body corporate and politic constituting a
    6  public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist of  a  chairman,
    7  sixteen  other  voting  members,  and  two non-voting and four alternate
    8  non-voting members, as described in subparagraph two of  this  paragraph
    9  appointed  by  the  governor  by  and with the advice and consent of the
   10  senate. Any member appointed to a term commencing on or after June thir-
   11  tieth, two thousand nine shall have experience in one  or  more  of  the
   12  following areas: transportation, public administration, business manage-
   13  ment,  finance,  accounting,  law,  engineering,  land  use,  urban  and
   14  regional  planning,  management  of  large   capital   projects,   labor
   15  relations,  or have experience in some other area of activity central to
   16  the mission of the authority. Four of the sixteen voting  members  other
   17  than  the  chairman  shall be appointed on the written recommendation of
   18  the mayor of the city of New  York;  and  each  of  seven  other  voting
   19  members  other than the chairman shall be appointed after selection from
   20  a written list of three recommendations from the chief executive officer
   21  of the county in which the  particular  member  is  required  to  reside
   22  pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision. Of the members appointed
   23  on  recommendation  of the chief executive officer of a county, one such
   24  member shall be, at the time of appointment, a resident of the county of
   25  Nassau, one a resident of the county of Suffolk, one a resident  of  the
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD09227-02-5
       A. 6213                             2
    1  county  of  Westchester, one a resident of the county of Dutchess, one a
    2  resident of the county of Orange, one a resident of the county of Putnam
    3  and one a resident of the county of Rockland, provided that the term  of
    4  any  member  who  is  a resident of a county that has withdrawn from the
    5  metropolitan commuter transportation district pursuant to section twelve
    6  hundred seventy-nine-b of this article shall terminate upon  the  effec-
    7  tive  date  of  such county's withdrawal from such district. Of the five
    8  voting members, other than the chairman, appointed by the governor with-
    9  out recommendation from any other person, three shall be, at the time of
   10  appointment, residents of the city of New York and two shall be, at  the
   11  time  of  appointment, residents of such city or of any of the aforemen-
   12  tioned counties in the metropolitan  commuter  transportation  district.
   13  The  chairman  and  each of the members shall be appointed for a term of
   14  six years, provided however, that the  chairman  first  appointed  shall
   15  serve  for  a  term  ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one,
   16  provided that thirty days after the effective date of the chapter of the
   17  laws of two thousand nine which amended this subparagraph, the  term  of
   18  the  chairman  shall  expire;  provided, further, that such chairman may
   19  continue to discharge the duties of his or her office until the position
   20  of chairman is filled by appointment by the governor upon the advice and
   21  consent of the senate and the term of such new chairman shall  terminate
   22  June  thirtieth,  two  thousand fifteen. The sixteen other members first
   23  appointed shall serve for the following  terms:  The  members  from  the
   24  counties  of  Nassau  and Westchester shall each serve for a term ending
   25  June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-five; the members from the coun-
   26  ty of Suffolk and from the counties  of  Dutchess,  Orange,  Putnam  and
   27  Rockland  shall  each  serve  for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen
   28  hundred ninety-two; two of the members appointed  on  recommendation  of
   29  the  mayor  of  the  city of New York shall each serve for a term ending
   30  June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-four and, two shall  each  serve
   31  for  a  term  ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-one; two of
   32  the members appointed by the governor without the recommendation of  any
   33  other person shall each serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen
   34  hundred  eighty-two, two shall each serve for a term ending June thirti-
   35  eth, nineteen hundred eighty and one shall serve for a term ending  June
   36  thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-five.  The two non-voting and four
   37  alternate non-voting members shall serve until January first, two  thou-
   38  sand  one. The members from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and
   39  Rockland shall EACH cast one [collective] vote.
   40    S 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of  section  1263  of  the  public
   41  authorities  law, as amended by section 4 of part H of chapter 25 of the
   42  laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   43    (a) There is hereby created the "metropolitan transportation  authori-
   44  ty."  The authority shall be a body corporate and politic constituting a
   45  public benefit corporation. The authority shall consist  of  a  chairman
   46  and  sixteen  other  members  appointed  by the governor by and with the
   47  advice and consent of  the  senate.  Any  member  appointed  to  a  term
   48  commencing  on  or  after  June  thirtieth, two thousand nine shall have
   49  experience in one or more of the following areas of expertise:    trans-
   50  portation, public administration, business management, finance, account-
   51  ing, law, engineering, land use, urban and regional planning, management
   52  of  large  capital projects, labor relations, or have experience in some
   53  other area of activity central to the mission of the authority. Four  of
   54  the  sixteen  members  other than the chairman shall be appointed on the
   55  written recommendation of the mayor of the city of New York; and each of
   56  seven other members other than the chairman  shall  be  appointed  after
       A. 6213                             3
    1  selection  from  a  written list of three recommendations from the chief
    2  executive officer of the  county  in  which  the  particular  member  is
    3  required  to  reside  pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision. Of
    4  the  members  appointed on recommendation of the chief executive officer
    5  of a county, one such member shall be, at the  time  of  appointment,  a
    6  resident  of  the  county  of  Nassau;  one  a resident of the county of
    7  Suffolk; one a resident of the county of Westchester; and one a resident
    8  of the county of Dutchess, one a resident of the county of Orange, one a
    9  resident of the county of Putnam and one a resident  of  the  county  of
   10  Rockland,  provided  that  the term of any member who is a resident of a
   11  county that has withdrawn from the metropolitan commuter  transportation
   12  district pursuant to section twelve hundred seventy-nine-b of this arti-
   13  cle  shall terminate upon the effective date of such county's withdrawal
   14  from such district. Of  the  five  members,  other  than  the  chairman,
   15  appointed  by the governor without recommendation from any other person,
   16  three shall be, at the time of appointment, residents of the city of New
   17  York and two shall be, at the time of  appointment,  residents  of  such
   18  city or of any of the aforementioned counties in the metropolitan commu-
   19  ter  transportation district. The chairman and each of the members shall
   20  be appointed for a term of six years, provided however, that the  chair-
   21  man  first appointed shall serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nine-
   22  teen hundred eighty-one, provided that thirty days after  the  effective
   23  date  of the chapter of the laws of two thousand nine which amended this
   24  paragraph, the term of the chairman  shall  expire;  provided,  further,
   25  that  such  chairman  may continue to discharge the duties of his office
   26  until the position of chairman is filled by appointment by the  governor
   27  upon  the  advice  and  consent  of  the senate and the term of such new
   28  chairman shall terminate  June  thirtieth,  two  thousand  fifteen.  The
   29  sixteen  other  members  first  appointed  shall serve for the following
   30  terms: The members from the counties of  Nassau  and  Westchester  shall
   31  each  serve  for  a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-
   32  five; the members from the county of Suffolk and from  the  counties  of
   33  Dutchess, Orange, Putnam and Rockland shall each serve for a term ending
   34  June   thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-two;  two  of  the  members
   35  appointed on recommendation of the mayor of the city of New  York  shall
   36  each  serve  for  a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-
   37  four and, two shall each serve for a term ending June  thirtieth,  nine-
   38  teen  hundred  eighty-one;  two of the members appointed by the governor
   39  without the recommendation of any other person shall each  serve  for  a
   40  term  ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-two, two shall each
   41  serve for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty and  one
   42  shall  serve  for a term ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-
   43  five. The members from the counties  of  Dutchess,  Orange,  Putnam  and
   44  Rockland shall EACH cast one [collective] vote.
   45    S  3.  Subdivision 3 of section 1263 of the public authorities law, as
   46  amended by chapter 929 of the laws of 1986, paragraph (b) as amended  by
   47  chapter 14 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
   48    3.  [(a)]  A  majority of the whole number of members of the authority
   49  then in office shall constitute a quorum  for  the  transaction  of  any
   50  business or the exercise of any power of the authority. Except as other-
   51  wise specified in this title, for the transaction of any business or the
   52  exercise  of  any power of the authority, the authority shall have power
   53  to act by a majority vote of the members present at any meeting at which
   54  a quorum is in attendance and except further, that in the event of a tie
   55  vote the chairman shall cast one additional vote.
       A. 6213                             4
    1    [(b) For purposes of determining the presence of  a  quorum,  and  for
    2  purposes  of  participation  on  any  committee  or  subcommittee, those
    3  members who collectively cast a single vote pursuant to  the  provisions
    4  of  paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section shall be considered
    5  to  be  a single member, and the presence of such member shall be deter-
    6  mined as provided in this subdivision. Except as otherwise provided in a
    7  by-law adopted as hereinafter provided, such single member  constituting
    8  those members entitled to a collective vote shall be deemed present as a
    9  single  member  for  purposes  of a quorum if one or more of the members
   10  then in office entitled to cast such collective  vote  is  present,  and
   11  such  collective  vote  shall  be  cast  in accordance with the majority
   12  agreement of the members entitled to a collective vote who  are  present
   13  or in the event a single member entitled to a collective vote is present
   14  it  shall  be  cast  by  that  member. To evidence the existence of such
   15  majority agreement among the members entitled to a collective vote, each
   16  such member shall be polled as to  his  vote  and  such  poll  shall  be
   17  recorded in the minutes. In the event a majority vote is not achieved by
   18  the members entitled to a collective vote who are present, then the vote
   19  shall not be cast. Nothing herein shall limit the right of an individual
   20  member  to  participate  in board meetings or in other activities of the
   21  authority when the other members then in office entitled to collectively
   22  cast a vote are not present. At any meeting of the  authority  at  which
   23  there  is  a quorum including all the members then in office entitled to
   24  cast a collective vote, the authority may  adopt  a  by-law  or  by-laws
   25  regulating  the  casting  of  such collective vote, provided all members
   26  then in office entitled to cast a collective vote affirmatively  approve
   27  such  by-law or by-laws. Any action taken by the authority in accordance
   28  with any such by-law or by-laws adopted pursuant to  the  provisions  of
   29  this  paragraph shall take effect in the same manner as any other action
   30  of the authority. Any such by-law or by-laws shall not provide  for  the
   31  casting  of  any  fractional  vote.  Nor  shall such a by-law or by-laws
   32  provide for the amendment, repeal or adoption in the future  of  such  a
   33  by-law  or  by-laws  in a manner other than that set forth in this para-
   34  graph.
   35    (c) No provision of paragraph (b) of this subdivision relating to  the
   36  adoption  of certain by-laws by the authority shall affect the manner in
   37  which by-laws of the authority are adopted concerning any subject  other
   38  than the voting and presence for quorum purposes of the members from the
   39  counties of Dutchess, Putnam, Orange and Rockland.
   40    (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of subdivision one
   41  of  this  section,  any  member  appointed  from the county of Dutchess,
   42  Orange, Putnam or Rockland prior  to  the  increase  in  the  number  of
   43  members of the authority to include a member from each such county shall
   44  continue  in office as the member from such counties pursuant to section
   45  five of the public officers law until the appointment  and  confirmation
   46  of  all of the new members from such counties pursuant to the provisions
   47  of this section, and no individual member exercising a  collective  vote
   48  appointed  and confirmed pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision one of
   49  this section shall take office until all such new members are  appointed
   50  and confirmed.]
   51    S  4. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that the amend-
   52  ments to paragraph a of subdivision 1 of  section  1263  of  the  public
   53  authorities  law made by section one of this act shall be subject to the
   54  expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to  chapter  549  of
   55  the  laws  of  1994,  as  amended, when upon such date the provisions of
   56  section two of this act shall take effect.