§ 160-BBB — Independent livery driver benefit fund

§ 160-bbb. Independent livery driver benefit fund. 1. There is hereby\ncreated a not-for-profit corporation to be known as the New York\nindependent livery driver benefit fund. To the extent that the\nprovisions of the not-for-profit corporation law do not conflict with\nthe provisions of this article, or with the plan of operation\nestablished pursuant to this article, the not-for-profit corporation law\nshall apply to the fund, which shall be a type C corporation pursuant to\nsuch law. If an applicable provision of this article or of the fund's\nplan of operation relates to a matter embraced in a provision of the\nnot-for-profit corporation law but is not in conflict therewith, both\nprovisions shall apply. The fund shall perform its functions in\naccordance with its plan of operation, and shall exercise its powers\nthrough a board of directors established pursuant to this article.\n 2. Within thirty days of the effective date of this article, there\nshall be appointed a board of directors of the fund, consisting of nine\ndirectors appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be chosen upon\nnomination of the temporary president of the senate; one of whom shall\nbe chosen upon nomination of the speaker of the assembly; one of whom\nshall be chosen upon nomination of the chair of the workers'\ncompensation board; one of whom shall be chosen on nomination of the\nsuperintendent of financial services; one of whom shall be chosen on\nnomination of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial\nOrganizations of New York; and four of whom shall be chosen without\nprior nomination, at least two of which shall be a livery registrant or\nowner, officer or director of a livery base or livery registrant. The\ninitial terms of directors shall be staggered, the four directors\nappointed by the governor without prior nomination serving for initial\nterms of three years from the effective date of this article, the two\ndirectors appointed upon nomination of the speaker of the assembly and\ntemporary president of the senate serving for initial terms of two years\nfrom the effective date of this article, and the three directors on\nnomination of the superintendent of financial services, the chair of the\nworkers' compensation board and the American Federation of\nLabor-Congress of Industrial Organizations of New York serving for\ninitial terms of one year from the effective date of this article. The\nsubsequent terms of all directors shall be three years. The board of\ndirectors shall have the power to remove for cause any director. The\nfailure of any nominating authority to appoint a director within the\ntime set by this subdivision shall not bar the fund from operating, so\nlong as at least six directors have been appointed.\n 3. The directors shall elect annually from among their number a chair\nand a vice chair who shall act as chair in the chair's absence.\n 4. For their attendance at meetings, the directors of the fund shall\nbe entitled to compensation, as authorized by the directors, in an\namount not to exceed two hundred dollars per meeting per director and to\nreimbursement of their actual and necessary expenses.\n 5. Directors of the fund, except as otherwise provided by law, may\nengage in private or public employment or in a profession or business.\n 6. (a) All of the directors shall have equal voting rights and five or\nmore directors shall constitute a quorum. The affirmative vote of four\ndirectors shall be necessary for the transaction of any business or the\nexercise of any power or function of the fund.\n (b) A vacancy occurring in a director position shall be filled in the\nsame manner as the initial appointment to that position, provided\nhowever that no individual may serve as director for more than three\nsuccessive terms.\n (c) The board of directors may:\n (i) delegate to one or more of its directors, officers, agents or\nemployees such powers and duties as it may deem proper;\n (ii) establish the procedure by which the fund shall determine how to\nprovide the benefits due pursuant to this article;\n (iii) establish accounting and record-keeping procedures for all\nfinancial transactions of the fund, its agents and the board of\ndirectors;\n (iv) establish a procedure for determining and collecting the\nappropriate amount of assessments under and as consistent with this\narticle;\n (v) set forth the procedures by which the fund may exercise the audit\nrights granted to it under this article;\n (vi) establish procedures to ensure prompt and accurate notification\nto the fund by independent livery bases of all deaths of independent\nlivery drivers, and all injuries to livery drivers that resulted from a\ncrime for which there is a police report, and provide for full\nreimbursement of the fund by any member whose failure to provide such\nnotification results in the imposition of a penalty on the fund by the\nworkers' compensation board;\n (vii) recommend changes in the law or regulations governing workers'\ncompensation benefits with livery drivers; and\n (viii) engage in such additional actions as the board of directors may\ndeem necessary or proper for the execution of the powers and duties of\nthe fund.\n