SENATOR LANZA, ASSEMBLYWOMAN MALLIOTAKIS PUSH FOR AUDIT OF MTA - Legislators call on agency to put their chips on the table in the public eye

Senator Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) and Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-C, 60th District) recently announced that they are sponsoring legislation calling for an independent audit of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA)’s finances. The pair highlighted developments in recent years that have led to the need for light to be shed on the way that the MTA spends taxpayer money.

“The MTA consistently deals with a deficit of its own creation and consistently comes to the taxpayers of this state with their hands out,” said Senator Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island). “They create mess after mess and then pass the buck onto taxpayers by hiking fares and cutting services. The MTA’s finances should be independently examined to seek greater efficiencies and cut expenses, just like the rest of us have had to do in our own households and businesses.”

“By decreasing services while increasing fares and tolls, the MTA has demonstrated that their problems stem not from a lack of revenue, but from mismanagement and inefficiency,” said Malliotakis. “Even with additional funding from the disastrous MTA Payroll Tax, driver’s license and registration fees, taxes on car rentals and a litany of other charges, the 60^th Assembly District has seen eight bus lines either scaled back or completely eliminated. An independent audit of the MTA’s finances would allow the public to see how their money is being spent, while enabling state government to pinpoint the waste and inefficiency that has allowed the agency’s spending to spiral out of control.”

Lanza is sponsoring Senate Bill 4637, while Malliotakis is sponsoring the Assembly companion, 7856.

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