§ 1266-h. Authority police force. 1. The authority is hereby
authorized and empowered, to provide and maintain an authority police
department and a uniformed authority police force. Each member of such
uniformed police force shall be a "police officer" for the purposes of
the criminal procedure law, with all of the powers of such police
officers thereunder and subject to the same jurisdictional provisions on
the exercise of that power as set forth in such law. The geographical
area of employment of such police officers for the purposes of the
criminal procedure law shall embrace the metropolitan commuter
transportation district as defined in section twelve hundred sixty-two
of this title. Such department and force shall have the power, in and
about any or all of the facilities owned, occupied and/or operated by
the authority and its subsidiary corporations, the New York city transit
authority and its subsidiaries, and the triborough bridge and tunnel
authority, as determined in the discretion of the authority, to enforce
and prevent violation of all laws and ordinances. Nothing herein shall
confer upon the authority police force or upon their collective
negotiations representatives exclusive jurisdiction or claim over the
exercise of police power or security work on behalf of the authority and
its subsidiary corporations, the New York city transit authority and its
subsidiaries, and the triborough bridge and tunnel authority. Nothing
herein shall limit the authority and its subsidiary corporations, the
New York city transit authority and its subsidiaries, and the triborough
bridge and tunnel authority from continuing to rely on local police for
police services. However, traditional police functions previously
performed by the Long Island Rail Road Company and/or the Metro-North
Commuter Railroad Company police force shall continue to be performed by
the authority police forces.

2. Initial appointments to such authority police force shall be all
incumbent police officers from the Long Island Rail Road Company and/or
the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company at the time of such
appointment. The executive director of the authority, through the chief
of police, shall have the power and authority to appoint and employ such
number of police officers as he deems necessary to act as police
officers of the authority and to administer to the officers an oath or
affirmation faithfully to perform the duties of their respective
positions or offices. Unless, at the time of appointment, the person is
a police officer of Long Island Rail Road Company or Metro-North
Commuter Railroad Company, only persons who have never been convicted of
a felony and are citizens of the United States shall be appointed police
officers on the authority police force. After the initial appointments
are made, selection of police officer candidates shall be made pursuant
to an examination process to be determined at the discretion of the
authority and candidates must receive a certificate attesting to
satisfactory completion of an approved municipal police basic training
program, as described in section two hundred nine-q of the general
municipal law. No person shall be eligible for appointment unless such
person is not less than twenty years of age as of the date of
appointment nor more than thirty-five years of age as of the date when
the applicant takes the written examination, provided, however, that
time spent on military duty or on terminal leave, not exceeding a total
of six years, shall be subtracted from the age of any applicant who has
passed his or her thirty-fifth birthday as provided in subdivision ten-a
of section two hundred forty-three of the military law. Upon
appointments made by transferring an entire group of police officers
into the authority police force, thereby eliminating such other group of
police officers, the authority shall recognize any representative
previously chosen by the police officers for the purposes of collective
negotiations consistent with the bargaining units already established
and shall also assume and continue to observe any existing labor
contracts covering these police officers including such provisions which
relate to the grievance and disciplinary procedures and interest
arbitration. Subsequent to the establishment of the consolidated police
force the authority and the collective bargaining representatives shall
be authorized to negotiate a merger of the separate bargaining units.

3. The authority may appoint a chief and one or more deputy chiefs of
the authority police department who, in the discretion of the authority,
may be selected from the ranks of the authority police force, and assign
powers and duties to them and fix their compensation. The chief shall be
the head of such department. The deputy chief designated by the chief
shall possess all the powers and perform all the duties of the chief
during his absence or disability. The authority police force shall
consist of such divisions, supervisors and officers, including but not
limited to police officers, detectives, sergeants, lieutenants and
captains as designated by the authority. Notwithstanding any law or
provision to the contrary, the members of the uniformed authority police
force shall not acquire civil service status or become members of the
New York state and local employees' retirement system, except as set
forth below.

4. The authority shall provide for a twenty year retirement plan under
the same terms and conditions as provided by section three hundred
eighty-nine of the retirement and social security law as enacted by
chapter six hundred twenty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred
ninety-one; except that:

(a) any benefit provided pursuant to such plan shall be subject to an
offset, as defined in this paragraph, for any tier II benefit payable
pursuant to the federal Railroad Retirement Act to or in the respect of
a member. The offset provided for by this paragraph shall be the amount
of the tier II benefit which would be payable to or in respect to such
member pursuant to the federal Railroad Retirement Act multiplied by a
fraction, the numerator of which is the member's years of credited
service covered by the federal Railroad Retirement Act rendered to, or
credited by, the authority or any subsidiary corporation of the
authority, and the denominator of which is the member's total years of
service covered by the federal Railroad Retirement Act;

(b) references to Long Island Rail Road shall be to the authority;

(c) the transfer of funds described in subdivision f of section three
hundred eighty-nine of the retirement and social security law as enacted
by chapter six hundred twenty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred
ninety-one shall include the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company
Defined Contribution Pension Plan for Agreement Employees;

(d) the provisions of subdivision g of section three hundred
eighty-nine of the retirement and social security law as enacted by
chapter six hundred twenty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred
ninety-one to the extent of requiring contributions for past service
liability shall not be applicable; and

(e) when a police officer transferred from the Long Island Rail Road
Company police force to the authority police force reaches age sixty-two
the authority will offset the amount payable under this plan by the
amount of tier II benefit payable from the Railroad Retirement Board for
a service age annuity or disability payable at the participants age
sixty-two.

5. The authority may, in its sole discretion, establish within the
authority's defined benefit program, a retirement program consistent
with the foregoing. If the authority has not so established such program
in its defined benefit program within one hundred eighty days after
enactment, then the authority shall elect to participate in article
fourteen-B of the retirement and social security law.

6. If the authority elects to participate in the New York state and
local employees' retirement system, such election to participate shall
be made by resolution filed with the comptroller and accepted by him
pursuant to section thirty-one of the retirement and social security
law.

7. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to diminish, suspend or
abolish an existing benefit inured to a police officer, transferred from
the Long Island Rail Road Company and/or Metro-North Commuter Railroad
Company police force and subject to the provisions of this section in
and to the rights, privileges or status previously earned within a
pension or retirement system of which they were a member immediately
prior to the enactment of this section; and any such existing right,
privilege or status shall survive the effect of any decisions or
determinations lawfully made in accordance with the provisions hereof so
long as such right, privilege or status is greater in benefit to that
which would be imposed or imputed to any subject officer as a result of
actions of the authority authorized herein.