S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  1579

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 3, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation

AN ACT to amend the transportation law, in  relation  to  the  statewide
  mass transportation operating assistance program

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 18-b of the transportation law, as
amended by chapter 921 of the laws  of  1983,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  1.  Within  the  amounts  made  available therefor by appropriation, a
statewide mass transportation operating  assistance  program  is  hereby
established  for  the  purpose  of  making payments toward the operating
expenses of public transportation systems.   For the  purposes  of  this
section,  the  term  public  transportation system shall mean any public
benefit [corportion] CORPORATION constituting a transportation authority
which provides or contracts for the provision of  (under  joint  support
arrangements)  mass transportation services, or a subsidiary thereof, or
any Indian tribe which provides or any county or city which provides  or
contracts  for  the  provision of (pursuant to section one hundred nine-
teen-r of the general municipal law) mass transportation services or any
person, firm or corporation performing intercity bus  passenger  service
as  defined  in  subdivision three of section fourteen-g of this article
serving two or more counties within the state which  is  under  contract
with  the  commissioner  pursuant  to such section fourteen-g to provide
mass transportation services OR ANY PERSON, FIRM OR CORPORATION PERFORM-
ING COMMUTER FERRY SERVICES AS DEFINED IN  SUBDIVISION  TWO  OF  SECTION
FOURTEEN-N OF THIS ARTICLE WHICH IS UNDER CONTRACT WITH THE COMMISSIONER
PURSUANT TO SECTION FOURTEEN-N OF THIS ARTICLE TO PROVIDE MASS TRANSPOR-
TATION SERVICES.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06193-01-9

S. 1579                             2
              

  S  2. Paragraph (iv) of subdivision 3 of section 18-b of the transpor-
tation law, as added by chapter 791 of the laws of 1975, is  amended  to
read as follows:
  (iv)  In  the  case of commuter ferry lines with the authorization for
payment thereof for the fiscal year nineteen hundred seventy-five--nine-
teen hundred seventy-six to be in the discretion of the commissioner, by
adding the certified number of annual ferry passengers multiplied by two
cents per passenger, times the certified number of annual nautical ferry
miles, times two-one hundred thousandths.  For the purposes of computing
quarterly service payments only mileage accumulated in  revenue  service
shall  be  used. THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO COMMUTER FERRY SERVICES
FOUND IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION FOURTEEN-N OF THIS ARTICLE. FOR  THE
PURPOSES  OF  COMPUTING  QUARTERLY  SERVICE  PAYMENTS  TO COMMUTER FERRY
SERVICE AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION TWO  OF  SECTION  FOURTEEN-N  OF  THIS
ARTICLE,  THESE PAYMENTS WILL BE DETERMINED UNDER SEPARATE CONTRACT WITH
THE COMMISSIONER AND THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE  COMMUTER  FERRY
SERVICE PROVIDING SUCH SERVICES.
  S 3. Subdivision 7 of section 18-b of the transportation law, as added
by  chapter 56 of the laws of 1975 and the second undesignated paragraph
as amended by chapter 430 of the laws of 1976, is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  7.  The  commissioner  may prescribe such regulations as he OR SHE may
deem appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this  section,  including
but  not  limited  to,  a  uniform  system  of reporting pursuant to the
provisions of this section. The commissioner shall also define by  rules
and  regulations,  the terms "passenger", "vehicle or car mile", "urban-
ized area", "chief executive officer", "mass  transportation  services",
"service payment", "commuter rail system", "subway system", "rapid tran-
sit  system",  "bus  system",  "peak  hours",  "elderly", "handicapped",
"INTRABOROUGH COMMUTER FERRY SERVICE", and such other terms as he OR SHE
deems necessary for the purposes of this section.
  The commissioner, in conformance with the auditing procedures  of  the
state  comptroller,  shall  have  the  power  to  audit  and examine the
accounts, books, contracts, records, documents and papers of any partic-
ipating public transportation system in order to effectuate the purposes
and intent of this section.   Where a  county,  counties,  municipality,
municipalities, Indian tribe or Indian tribes contract for the provision
of public transportation services with a private operator, the books and
records  of  such  private  operator  shall also be subject to audit and
examination by the commissioner.
  S 4. The transportation law is amended by adding a new section 14-n to
read as follows:
  S 14-N. COMMUTER FERRY SERVICE PRESERVATION. 1. IN ORDER  TO  PRESERVE
AND  ENHANCE COMMUTER FERRY SERVICE IN A CITY HAVING A POPULATION OF ONE
MILLION OR MORE, THE COMMISSIONER IS HEREBY AUTHORIZED TO ENTER INTO  AN
AGREEMENT  WITH  THE  OPERATOR  OF  ANY  PRIVATELY-OWNED  COMMUTER FERRY
SERVICE TO PAY ON BEHALF OF THE STATE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE  PRESER-
VATION  OF INTRABOROUGH COMMUTER FERRY SERVICES IN A CITY OF ONE MILLION
OR MORE.
  2. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE TERM "COMMUTER FERRY SERVICE"
SHALL MEAN TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED TO  THE  PUBLIC  IN  A  CITY  OF  ONE
MILLION  OR MORE ON A REGULAR AND CONTINUING BASIS BY A PERSON, FIRM, OR
CORPORATION AUTHORIZED TO TRANSPORT PASSENGERS IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE BY
THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION OR  IN  INTRASTATE  COMMERCE  BY  THE
DEPARTMENT.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.