S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
4625
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
February 8, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- 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 enacting the
metropolitan transportation authority open data act
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "metropol-
itan transportation authority open data act".
§ 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that the release of
data, in a format that is easily accessible, understandable and usable
by the public, can increase civic engagement with government. In addi-
tion, in an authority providing a public service and operating an enter-
prise as vast as that of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority,
transparency in data is in the public's best interest. It is the intent
of the legislature that the authority and its subsidiaries release as
much data as is feasible in open formats, so that the public can access
that data, analyze it, and engage with the authority with suggestions
and solutions to improve its operations.
§ 3. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section
1279-j to read as follows:
§ 1279-J. OPEN DATA REPORTING. 1. THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION
AUTHORITY AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES, INCLUDING THE NEW YORK
CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND THE TRIBOROUGH BRIDGE AND TUNNEL AUTHORITY,
SHALL FULLY COMPLY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 95 OF 2013,
"USING TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY, IMPROVE GOVERNMENT PERFORM-
ANCE AND ENHANCE CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT," AND SHALL PROVIDE THE NEW YORK
STATE OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES AND LEGISLATURE ALL DATA
AS DEFINED IN THIS SECTION.
2. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE
THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05619-03-1
S. 4625 2
(A) "OPEN DATA WEBSITE" SHALL MEAN THE WEBSITE DATA.NY.GOV OR SUCH
OTHER SUCCESSOR WEBSITE MAINTAINED BY, OR ON BEHALF OF, THE STATE, AS
DEEMED APPROPRIATE BY THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLO-
GY SERVICES UNDER EXECUTIVE ORDER 95 OF 2013, OR ANY SUCCESSOR AGENCY OR
ORDER;
(B) "DATA" SHALL MEAN FINAL VERSIONS OF STATISTICAL OR FACTUAL INFOR-
MATION THAT (I) ARE IN ALPHANUMERIC FORM REFLECTED IN A LIST, TABLE,
GRAPH, CHART OR OTHER NON-NARRATIVE FORM, THAT CAN BE DIGITALLY TRANS-
MITTED OR PROCESSED; (II) ARE REGULARLY CREATED OR MAINTAINED BY OR ON
BEHALF OF THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, ITS SUBSIDIARIES
AND AFFILIATES AND ARE CONTROLLED BY SUCH ENTITIES; AND (III) RECORD A
MEASUREMENT, TRANSACTION OR DETERMINATION RELATED TO THE MISSION OF THE
METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES.
THE TERM "DATA" SHALL NOT INCLUDE IMAGE FILES, SUCH AS DESIGNS, DRAW-
INGS, PHOTOS OR SCANNED COPIES OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS; PROVIDED, HOWEVER,
THAT THE TERM "DATA" SHALL INCLUDE STATISTICAL OR FACTUAL INFORMATION
ABOUT IMAGE FILES AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM DATA;
(C) "DATA SET" SHALL MEAN A NAMED COLLECTION OF RELATED RECORDS MAIN-
TAINED ON A STORAGE DEVICE, WITH THE COLLECTION CONTAINING DATA ORGAN-
IZED OR FORMATTED IN A SPECIFIC OR PRESCRIBED WAY, OFTEN IN TABULAR
FORM; AND
(D) "PUBLISHABLE MTA DATA" SHALL MEAN DATA THAT IS COLLECTED BY THE
METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES
WHERE THE AUTHORITY, SUBSIDIARY OR AFFILIATE IS PERMITTED, REQUIRED OR
ABLE TO MAKE THE DATA AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, CONSISTENT WITH ANY AND
ALL APPLICABLE LAWS, RULES, REGULATIONS, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, POLI-
CIES OR OTHER RESTRICTIONS, REQUIREMENTS OR RIGHTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
PUBLISHABLE MTA DATA, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CONTRACTUAL OR OTHER
LEGAL ORDERS, RESTRICTIONS OR REQUIREMENTS. DATA SHALL NOT BE PUBLISHA-
BLE MTA DATA IF MAKING SUCH DATA AVAILABLE ON THE OPEN DATA WEBSITE
WOULD VIOLATE STATUTE OR REGULATION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
DISCLOSURES THAT WOULD CONSTITUTE AN UNWARRANTED INVASION OF PERSONAL
PRIVACY, ENDANGER THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY OR WELFARE, HINDER THE OPER-
ATION OF GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING CRIMINAL AND CIVIL INVESTIGATIONS, OR
IMPOSE AN UNDUE FINANCIAL, OPERATIONAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN ON THE
AUTHORITY OR ITS SUBSIDIARIES OR AFFILIATES.
3. AS REQUIRED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER 95 OF 2013, THE METROPOLITAN TRANS-
PORTATION AUTHORITY SHALL DESIGNATE A DATA COORDINATOR, WHO SHALL:
(A) HAVE AUTHORITY EQUIVALENT TO THAT OF A DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OR THE
HEAD OF A DIVISION OR DEPARTMENT;
(B) HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF DATA AND RESOURCES IN USE BY THE ENTITY; AND
(C) BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COMPLIANCE OF THE AUTHORITY, ITS SUBSID-
IARIES AND AFFILIATES WITH THE ORDER.
4. THE AUTHORITY AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES SHALL MAKE THEIR
PUBLISHABLE MTA DATA AVAILABLE ON ITS WEBSITE AND THE OPEN DATA WEBSITE
AS FOLLOWS:
(A) THE AUTHORITY SHALL CREATE A CATALOGUE OF PUBLISHABLE MTA DATA
WITHIN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION;
(B) THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY SHALL WITHIN ONE HUNDRED
EIGHTY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, SUBMIT TO THE LEGIS-
LATURE AND PUBLISH ON ITS SHARED INTERNET WEBSITE A SCHEDULE FOR MAKING
ITS PUBLISHABLE MTA DATA PUBLICLY AVAILABLE. SUCH SCHEDULE SHALL PROVIDE
FOR UPDATING THE DATA CATALOGUE AS APPROPRIATE; AND
(C) THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY SHALL CREATE SCHEDULES
FOR PUBLISHING ALL PUBLISHABLE MTA DATA WITHIN THREE YEARS OF THE EFFEC-
TIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION.
S. 4625 3
5. THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND
AFFILIATES SHALL NOT BE PREVENTED FROM PUBLISHING DATA IN ADVANCE OF THE
DATES SET IN THEIR SCHEDULES.
§ 4. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public
authorities law, as amended by chapter 425 of the laws of 2018, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The chairman shall establish committees to assist him in the
performance of his duties and shall appoint members of the authority to
such committees. Among such committees, there shall be a committee on
operations of the New York city transit authority, the Manhattan and
Bronx surface transit operating authority and the Staten Island rapid
transit operating authority; a committee on operations of the Long
Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban bus authority; a commit-
tee on operations of the Metro-North commuter railroad; a committee on
operations of the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority; a committee on
finance; a committee on capital program oversight; A COMMITTEE ON TECH-
NOLOGY AND OPEN DATA; and a committee on safety. In addition to such
appointed members, each of the non-voting members referred to in subpar-
agraph two of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section shall
serve on the committee on capital program oversight, the committee on
finance, the committee on safety, the committee on operations of the
Triborough bridge and tunnel authority, and the operations committee
relevant to the commuter council that recommended such member. The
alternate non-voting members shall each serve on the respective oper-
ations committee relevant to the commuter council that recommended each
member. The committee on capital program oversight and the committee on
safety shall include not less than three members, and shall include the
chairpersons of the committee on operations of the New York city transit
authority, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit operating authority
and the Staten Island rapid transit operating authority, the committee
on operations of the Long Island Rail Road and the metropolitan suburban
bus authority, and the committee on operations of the Metro-North commu-
ter railroad. The committee on safety shall convene at least once annu-
ally and each committee chairperson, that is a member of the committee
on safety, shall report to the committee on safety any and all initi-
atives, concerns, improvements, or failures involving the safety of: (1)
customers; (2) employees; and (3) the public at large, in relation to
authority facilities and services. The capital program committee shall,
with respect to any approved or proposed capital program plans, (i)
monitor the current and future availability of funds to be utilized for
such plans approved or proposed to be submitted to the metropolitan
transportation capital program review board as provided in section
twelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this title; (ii) monitor the contract
awards of the metropolitan transportation authority and the New York
city transit authority to insure that such awards are consistent with
(A) provisions of law authorizing United States content and New York
state content; (B) collective bargaining agreements; (C) provisions of
law providing for participation by minority and women-owned businesses;
(D) New York state labor laws; (E) competitive bidding requirements
including those regarding sole source contracts; and (F) any other rele-
vant requirements established by law; (iii) monitor the award of
contracts to determine if such awards are consistent with the manner in
which the work was traditionally performed in the past provided, howev-
er, that any such determination shall not be admissible as evidence in
any arbitration or judicial proceeding; (iv) review the relationship
between capital expenditures pursuant to each such capital program plan
S. 4625 4
and current and future operating budget requirements; (v) monitor the
progress of capital elements described in each capital program plan
approved as provided in section twelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this
title; (vi) monitor the expenditures incurred and to be incurred for
each such element; and (vii) identify capital elements not progressing
on schedule, ascertain responsibility therefor and recommend those
actions required or appropriate to accelerate their implementation. The
capital program committee shall issue a quarterly report on its activ-
ities and findings, and shall in connection with the preparation of such
quarterly report, consult with the state division of the budget, the
state department of transportation, the members of the metropolitan
transportation authority capital program review board and any other
group the committee deems relevant, including public employee organiza-
tions, and, at least annually, with a nationally recognized independent
transit engineering firm. Such report shall be made available to the
members of the authority, to the members of the metropolitan transporta-
tion authority capital program review board, and the directors of the
municipal assistance corporation for the city of New York.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
the amendments to paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the
public authorities law made by section four of this act shall not affect
the expiration of such paragraph and shall be deemed to expire there-
with.