Add Art 44-C §§1701 - 1706, amd §§510 & 401, V & T L; add §82, St Fin L; add §§1265-c & 1279-d, amd §2985,
Pub Auth L; amd §1212-A, Tax L; amd §182, Exec L
Establishes the Move New York Fair Plan; creates a Move New York mobility fund, provides for outer bridges to be tolled in accordance with a specified ratio, provides for a taxi surcharge on certain vehicles, rescinds certain provisions of the tax law, and establishes authority for the receipt and disbursement of realized funds; directs the metropolitan transportation authority to contract with a certified public accounting firm for the conducting of an independent forensic audit of such authority.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A306B
SPONSOR: Rodriguez TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing
the Move New York Fair Plan; to amend the state finance law, in relation
to establishing the Move New York mobility fund; to amend the public
authorities law, in relation to the collection and disbursement of the
funds of such plan; to amend the tax law, in relation to rescinding
certain tax exemptions; to amend the executive law, in relation to
diversion of metropolitan transportation authority funds; to amend the
public authorities law, in relation to directing the metropolitan trans-
portation authority to contract for the provision of an independent
forensic audit of such authority; and providing for the repeal of
certain provisions upon the expiration thereof
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to: reduce traffic congestion in and around
New York City's Central Business District (CBD); raise revenue to help
fill the remaining gap in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's
(MTA's) 2015-2019 Capital Plan and future capital programs; extend toll
relief to drivers using the MTA's non-CBD crossings who tend to have
fewer transit options; add new transit options to better serve the
City's so-called "transit deserts"; and provide targeted fare relief for
the City's outer borough transit users.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the vehicle and traffic law to add a new article, 44B.
Section 1701 defines terms, including: boundaries of the Central Busi-
ness District (CBD), Move New York Mobility Fund, Move New York Toll
Swap and electronic and vehicle monitoring fee collection systems, among
others.
Section 1702 authorizes New York City Department of Transportation
(NYCDOT) and MTA to implement, subject to environmental review, the Move
NY Fair Plan, upon a date to be determined mutually by the MTA and
NYCDOT but not later than January 1, 2021.
Section 1703 authorizes NYCDOT to install and operate a combined elec-
tronic fee and vehicle monitoring* "pay-by-mail" system at the four East
River bridges - the Brooklyn Bridge, the Ed Koch (Queensborough) Bridge,
the Manhattan Bridge, and the Williamsburg Bridge and at the inter-
sections of all roads, including the West Side Highway and FDR Drive,
that traverse 60th Street in Manhattan; the tolls at these crossings
will be applied to vehicles moving in both directions - east-west across
the four East River bridges and north-south across 60th Street - as they
presently are on vehicles using the Queens-Midtown and Brooklyn-Battery
Tunnels. (*Any kind of digital recording technology that may exist now
or in the future - e.g., license-plate photo, GPS transponder.)
Subdivision 2 sets the cost of tolls at these points of entry as uniform
and equal to those established at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and Queens
Midtown Tunnel from time to time by the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel
Authority (TBTA).
And in accordance with the passage of this legislation, tolls shall be
reduced at those locations specified in paragraph c of subdivision one
of this section by 9.75% at the time the Move New York toll swap is
implemented. This paragraph also confirms that TBTA's authority to set
tolls upon implementation of this plan, subject to legislative approval
and in the future will remain unabridged, with the sole constraint being
that, in setting tolls, it must adhere to the newly established toll
price ratios under this plan between non-CBD tolls and CBD tolls, per
subdivision six of this section.
Paragraph 2-a provides an exception to the pricing established in para-
graph 2 for cars traveling westbound and exiting off the northbound ramp
of the Ed Koch Queensborough Bridge, where the electronic toll charged
shall be fifty-five percent of the toll charged at all other points of
entry (e.g., the East River bridges and along 60th Street); and the
"cash" (i.e., digital/pay-by mail) toll will be sixty-nine percent of
the "cash" tolls charged at the CBD bound crossings.
Subdivision 3 specifies that all revenue collected from the new tolls at
the four East River bridges and along 60th Street shall be transferred
to a newly created subsidiary of the TBTA called the Move NY Mobility
Fund. Subdivision 4 states that the tolls specified in Section 1703
Paragraph 2 shall be imposed only if, simultaneously, tolls on the
following facilities are lowered to and forever maintained at specified
and permanent percentages of the tolls established at the CBD crossings:
Subdivision 5 establishes the prices of tolls at the following bridges
as follows: *Henry Hudson Bridge: twenty-eight percent (electronic) and
fifty-six percent (pay-by-mail) of the toll at CBD-bound crossings.
*Triborough Bridge, Whitestone Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge, Verrazano
Bridge: fifty-five percent (electronic) and sixty-nine (pay-by-mail) of
the toll at CBD-bound crossings.
*Cross-Bay Bridge and Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Bridge: twenty percent a
electronic) and thirty-four percent (pay-by-mail) of the toll at
CBD-bound crossings.
*On those bridges that currently enjoy governor-approved resident
discounts, the resident discount shall remain permanent and any resident
rate for those same crossings shall be 50% of the standard toll discount
under this plan for those vehicles equipped with electronic, onsite,
direct payment technology.
Subdivision 6 further states that if the TBTA violates the above ratios
by setting tolls on the above named bridges that exceed What's allowed
under the non-CBD toll to CBD toll ratio cap, the "new" "Move NY" tolls
on the CBD crossings shall automatically be removed/deactivated. This
paragraph further provides that vehicles registered in any borough that
lacks subway service to the central business district which are travel-
ing to or from the central business district, shall be limited to one
toll per direction so long as the vehicle in question is using E-ZPass
or other form of instant, onsite payment and that the second tolled
facility the driver may cross is reached within three hours of the first
tolled facility in that direction being crossed, where the tolled facil-
ities in question are those cited in (110), (1c) or (4g) of section
seventeen hundred and three. Subdivision 7 Paragraphs 7a and 7b author-
ize the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to impose a
surcharge of twelve cents per two tenths of one mile traveled at a speed
of six miles per hour or more and twenty cents per two tenths of one
mile traveled at a speed of less than six miles per hour on all black
cars, taxis and for-hire vehicles licensed by the TLC when traveling
within the "hail exclusionary zone" as defined by the TLC (currently
Manhattan south of 96th east of central park and south of 110th Street
west of central park); and exempts these same vehicles from the newly
established tolls specified in paragraph 2 as well as those presently
charged at the Queens-Midtown and Brooklyn- Battery Tunnels. All such
revenue shall be transferred no less than once per month to the Move New
York Highway and Transit Authority (MNYHTA). Paragraph 7b further
authorizes the TLC to establish a "time-of-day" or "variable" pricing
scheme pursuant to subdivision ten of this Section.
Paragraph 7d states that consequently, said black cars, taxis and for-
hire vehicles shall be exempt from the tolls specified in Subdivision
2. Subdivision 8 Paragraph a states that commercial vehicles, as
defined by New York City traffic rules and equipped with an operational
commercial E-ZPass, shall only be charged for a single round trip (into
and out of the CBD) per day (via the TBTA/NYCDOT crossings) regardless
of the number of times such vehicle may enter and exit the CBD on that
day.
Paragraph b states that all vehicles shall be subject to the new CBD
tolls with the exception of emergency vehicles, NYC government vehicles
and any other vehicle classes the MNYHTA shall deem appropriate through
rulemaking.
Subdivision 9 says it shall be a violation not to pay the tolls charged
on any tolled bridge or road. Subdivision 10 authorizes the TBTA to
establish a "time-of-day" or "variable" pricing scheme where vehicles
are charged more during rush hour and less during non-rush hour, even-
ings and weekends - so long as the revenue raised per annum meets that
which would be raised if the rates were fixed at the same rate 24/7. The
subdivision further states that nothing herein shall be construed to
limit or modify the authority and power of the TBTA to establish tolls
at its own facilities.
Section 1704 summarizes how tolls charged but not paid will be enforced,
which includes expanding the TBTA's toll collection authority. Section
1705 states that all revenue collected under the Move NY Fair Plan,
pursuant to article forty-four-b, shall be kept in the Move NY Mobility
Fund.
Section 1706 addresses rulemaking authority of agencies involved.
Section 97-pppp establishes, by joint custody of state comptroller and
MNYHTA, a special revenue fund known as the Move NY Mobility Fund. Para-
graph 5 states that annual revenues from the Fund shall be disbursed in
the following order of priority:
a. Sufficient funds to cover the lost revenue (from reduced tolls on the
seven facilities identified in Section 1703) paid on a quarterly basis
and based on previous three years data.
b. Sufficient funds to cover the amortized cost of installing, maintain-
ing and administering the tolls on the bridges and tunnels specified in
Section 1703.
c. Up to the first three hundred million dollars per year to NYCDOT for
verifiable costs of maintaining the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge,
Williamsburg Bridge and Ed Koch (Queensborough) Bridge.
d. Four hundred eighty seven million dollars annually to the MTA,
against which up to seven billion three hundred million dollars may be
bonded by the authority.
e. Seventy-five million dollars per year plus any funds allocated under
paragraph (c) that are not required for East River bridge maintenance
costs to NYCDOT for miscellaneous road and bridge maintenance and
improvements across the five boroughs of NYC.
f. One hundred twenty-one million dollars, annually to the MTA in oper-
ating funds to implement improved transit access throughout the five
boroughs of NYC according to Section 9 below.
g. Three hundred million dollars per year to establish, via bonding, a
four billion, five hundred million dollar transit gap investment fund to
the Move NY Mobility Fund for transit improvements in New York City; a
newly established Transit Gap Investment Fund (TGIF) Board shall work
with the MTA and NYCDOT to determine how the funds can best be deployed
by those agencies to improve transit service in those communities that
are least well served by the current system, with particular attention
paid to the needs of low and middle income residents. The TGIF Board
shall consist of the following officials, or their appointed delegates,
who shall be voting members: the governor, the speaker of the Assembly,
the president pro tem of the Senate, the mayor of the City of New York,
the New York City council speaker, the New York City council transporta-
tion committee chair, and each of the New York City's five borough pres-
idents. In addition, the board will include the following ex officio
(non-voting) members: the president of Transit Workers Union, the chair
of the New York City Transit Riders Council of the Permanent Citizens
Advisory Council to the MTA, the president of the Regional. Planning
Association and a representative from transit riders advocacy community
to be appointed by the president pro term of the Senate.
(g-1) The board shall dedicate three billion five hundred million
dollars to network expansion projects. Each borough shall receive no
less than five hundred million dollars worth of such expansion projects.
The TGIF must consider the attached list of priority expansion projects
(see bottom). The listed projects will be chosen unless the MTA and/or
NYCDOT offer compelling evidence against including a given project; any
replacement project must be approved by the TGIF Board.
(g-2) The remaining billion dollars shall be allocated to the boroughs
for transit improvements in the following amounts (these figures are
based on relative population and existing transit service and are
subject to modification if revenue estimates change): three hundred
million dollars for the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, one hundred
seventy-five million dollars for the boroughs of Manhattan and the
Bronx, and fifty million dollars for the borough of Staten Island.
Projects from funds dedicated pursuant to this subdivision shall be used
for "hyper-local" transit accessibility projects. Examples include but
are not limited to: new bus shelters, subway station stairway, escalator
or elevator repair and/or replacement, streetscape improvements consist-
ent with NYCDOT's vision zero goals. Funds shall be allocated evenly
among community districts (CDs) within each borough, with an allowable
variance of up to ten percent to reflect relative transit need among
CDs.
(g-3) TGIF monies must be expended in full within five years of fund's
establishment; the TGIF shall be audited Annually until all monies are
exhausted.
h. Forty-seven million dollars annually to the metropolitan transporta-
tion authority to establish, via bonding, a seven-hundred million dollar
Suburban Transit Fund for transit improvements in the seven suburban
counties within the MTA territory. The TOW-Suburban Board shall consist
of the following officials, or their appointed delegates, who shall be
voting members: the governor, the speaker of the Assembly, the president
pro tem of the Senate, and the county executive of each of the seven
suburban counties in the MTA region.
i. Any sums remaining in the Move NY Mobility Fund above and beyond
those specified above shall be allocated three-quarters to the MTA and
one-quarter to the NYCDOT in the first year there is a surplus and every
year thereafter.
Section 3 stipulates the public authorities law shall be amended to add
a new section that establishes the MNYHTA as a public benefit corpo-
ration under the TBTA; members of the MTA board shall serve, ex-officio,
as the members of the board of the MNYHTA. MNYHTA shall have the sole
duty of (a) receiving revenue; (b) disbursing revenue according to
"waterfall" of priorities outlined in Section 97-pppp above; (c) issuing
debt; etc. Paragraphs 2 and 3 establish the duties and powers, respec-
tively, of the MNYHTA.
Paragraph 4 establishes an Agreement of the state whereby the state
pledges to uphold and honor any and all agreements with holders of
notes, bond and other, obligations.
Paragraph 5 provides a "maintenance of effort" clause that stipulates
that the state must maintain or increase funds already dedicated to the
MTA (i.e., the state cannot supplant existing dedicated revenue obli-
gated to the MTA with the new Move NY monies).
Section 4 amends the public authorities law to allow the TBTA to impose
fees on owners and operators that have violated toll collection regu-
lations.
Section 5 amends the vehicle and traffic law to allow for suspension of
registration for failure to answer of pay penalties with respect to
violation of toll collection regulations.
Section 6 amends the vehicle and traffic law to state that if, at the
time of application for a registration or renewal thereof, it is certi-
fied that the registrant or has violated toll collection regulations,
that registration shall be denied.
Section 7 rescinds the parking garage tax exemption currently extended
only to Manhattan residents using Manhattan garages such that all vehi-
cle owners will pay the same amount of taxes for using Manhattan
garages, regardless of from where they hail.
Section 8 prohibits the diversion of funds dedicated to the MTA. Para-
graph 1 specifically prohibits the director of the budget from diverting
MTA dedicated funds. Paragraph 2 stipulates requirements if any diver-
sions are made under extraordinary circumstances.
Section 9 states that the MTA shall, in cooperation with NYCDOT, and as
part of its 2015-19 capital plan:
(a) increase the number and availability of express bus routes;
(b) reduce the cost of all express bus fares by one dollar;
(c) set the cost of all Long Island Railroad (LIRR) and Metro North
Railroad (MNR) trips taken wholly within New York, under the aegis of
"CityTicket" to six dollars during peak hours and four dollars during
non-peak hours, based on present fares, or similarly proportionate fares
when present rates are increased;
(d) provide for the availability of CityTicket for any LIRR. or MNR
trips taken from any point of origin within New York City;
(e) provide for the availability of CityTicket for trips taken between
stations within New York City and including Far Rockaway and all trips
taken between and including Fordham and Manhattan;
(f) fund the "Freedom Ticket" proposal of the New York City Transit
Riders Council contained in such council's December 2015 report entitled
"Freedom Ticket: Southeast Queens Proof of Concept"; add to this
proposal inclusion of Express Buses as part of the eligible modes
covered under the plan; and expand such pilot program to extend through-
out New York City and include all Express Bus routes and stations of the
Metro North and Long Island Rail Roads located within New York City by
two thousand and nineteen.
Section 10 provides for an independent forensic audit where the authori-
ty, at its own expense, contract with a certified public accounting firm
for the provision of an independent, comprehensive, forensic audit of
the authority.
Section 11 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
It is necessary to create a sustainable revenue source for the MTA's
Capital Program and subsequent programs. Further, for the economic
health of New York City, it is necessary to reduce traffic congestion in
the Central Business District and surrounding neighborhoods, and to
aggressively fill transit gaps in underserved neighborhoods. Finally, it
is necessary to rebalance the tolling system in. New York City to
provide toll relief to drivers using the City's less congested crossings
serving areas that enjoy limited transit alternatives.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A9633b - committed to ways and means
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately provided, seven of this act shall
take effect on the first succeeding the date on which it shall have
become a law.
PROPOSED TGIF PROJECTS**:
PROJECT BOROUGH(S) COST
($M)
*Ferries Capital Citiwide $70
*North Shore BRT SI 500
*West Shore Light Rail Study SI $5
*Verrazano Ped/Bike Path SI,BK $50
*G train free out-of station BK $2
transfers to L at
Broadway/Lorimer and JMZ at
Broadway/Hewes
*Free out of station transfer BK $2
between Junius St Station on
the 3 and Livonia Av station
on the L
*Brooklyn Bridge Bike Path BK,MN $19
*Atlantic Ave LIRR-Subway
Conversion Bk,Qs $750
*G-train LIC extension
and transit hub Bk,Qs $400
*Triboro Rx Light Rail Bk,Bx,Qs $1000
*Rockaway Beach Branch Line
reactivation study Qs $2
*Sheridan Expressway
reconstruction Bx $70
*Borough SBS Bx,Qs,Bk $83
*Crosstown SBS corridors Mn $46
*Second Ave Subway Phase 2 Mn,Bx $500
Total $3,499
Allocation to Boroughs for Hyperlocal Transit Accessibility and
Streets cape Improvements
BOROUGH AMOUNT
($M)
Queens 300
Brooklyn 300
Manhattan 175
Bronx 175
Staten Island 50
Total 1,000
** Drawn primarily from Regional Plan Association's analysis of
estimated costs, as of February 2015.
REVENUES RAISED BY THE MOVE NY FAIR PLAN ACT
Source Revenues
(Millions)
CBD Tolls $1,685.00
Increased use of transit and outer $175.00
bridges
Taxi and ITV surcharges $255.00
Rescind Manhattan Parking Tax Rebate $10.00
Total $2,125.00
ANNUAL PAYGO EXPENDITURES UNDER THE MOVE NY FAIR PLAN ACT
Item Cost
(Millions)
Toll Relief on outer TBTA Bridges $615.00
Double tolling exemption for boroughs
without subway access to CBD $15.00
Toll and Fare Admin $165.00
NYC DOT(East River Bridges) $300.00
NYC DOT (Other Roads and Bridges) $75.00
MTA: Bond state's share of 2015-2019 Cap Plan($7.3B) $487.00
Fare relief on intracity commuter rail and Express $121.00
Buses
Bond $4.5B TGIF $300.00
Bond $700m Suburban Transit Investments Fund $47.00
Total $2,125.00
Total Bonded Transit Expenditures from Move NY Fair Plan, 2015-2019
($ million per year)
TGIF: Network Expansion $3,500
TGIF: Transit Accessibility and Streetscape Improvements in the
Boroughs $1,000
MTA Capital Plan $7,300
Hudson Valley and Long Island $700
Total Transit Capital Expenditures $12,500
