§ 1299-DD — Rochester-Genesee regional transportation authority

§ 1299-dd. Rochester-Genesee regional transportation authority. 1.\n(a) There is hereby created the Rochester-Genesee regional\ntransportation authority. The authority shall be a body corporate and\npolitic constituting a public benefit corporation. It shall consist of:\n(i) at least one member from each county that elects to join the\nauthority except that the county of Monroe shall have seven members of\nwhom three shall be appointed from the city of Rochester and four at\nlarge from the county of Monroe, (ii) and a voting member who is a\ntransit dependent individual appointed pursuant to paragraph (c) of this\nsubdivision, and (iii) one non-voting member as described in paragraph\n(b) of this subdivision. The members shall be appointed by the governor\nby and with the advice and consent of the senate. The governor shall\nmake initial appointments to the authority in such number and from lists\nsubmitted as follows: three members shall be appointed to the authority\nfrom a list of not less than six names, all of whom must be residents of\nthe city of Rochester, submitted to the governor by the council of the\ncity of Rochester; four persons from a list of not less than eight\npersons, all of whom must be residents of the county of Monroe submitted\nby the legislature of the county of Monroe. Other counties electing to\nparticipate shall each submit to the governor a list of not less than\ntwo persons for each one hundred thousand or major fraction of the total\npopulation, as determined by the last federal decennial or federal\ncounty-wide special census. From the counties outside the county of\nMonroe which shall elect to participate, the governor shall appoint one\nmember for each one hundred thousand or major fraction of the total\npopulation, as determined by the last federal decennial or federal\ncounty-wide special census, with a minimum of one member to represent\neach county outside the county of Monroe so electing to participate. All\nmembers of the authority shall be residents of the area from which they\nare nominated.\n (b) The non-voting member of the authority, who shall not be\nconsidered in determining a quorum, shall be recommended to the governor\nby the labor organization representing the plurality of the employees\nwithin the authority and shall be a resident of the Rochester-Genesee\nregional transportation district as described in section twelve hundred\nninety-nine-cc of this title. Such non-voting member shall be appointed\nfor a term of five years, provided, however, that if at any time during\nthe term of appointment such non-voting member ceases to be affiliated\nwith the labor organization representing the plurality of employees\nwithin the authority, then such labor organization may at any time\nduring such term recommend a new member to the governor who shall serve\nthe remainder of the term. If the local bargaining unit decertifies its\nexisting union affiliation and certifies a new union, the union which\nrepresents the plurality of the employees may recommend a new member to\nthe governor who shall serve the remainder of the term. The chairman of\nthe authority, at his or her discretion, may exclude such non-voting\nmember from attending any portion of a meeting of the authority or of\nany committee held for the purpose of discussing negotiations with labor\norganizations, pending litigation involving the labor organization, or\nthe investigation, evaluation, or discipline of an employee.\n (c) The voting member who is a transit dependent individual as\ndescribed in paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be appointed by the\ngovernor for a term of five years. Such member shall be a resident of a\ncounty within the district. If a vacancy occurs for such position, a\nreplacement shall be appointed within six months pursuant to this\nprocess. Any local or statewide transit advocacy organization may\nrecommend one or more transit dependent individuals to be considered\npursuant to this section.\n 2. The members of the authority shall continue in office until their\nsuccessors are appointed and shall have qualified. One member appointed\nfrom the city of Rochester and one member appointed from the county of\nMonroe shall be appointed for terms ending July thirty-first, nineteen\nhundred seventy-one; one member appointed from the city of Rochester and\ntwo members appointed from the county of Monroe shall be appointed for\nterms ending July thirty-first, nineteen hundred seventy-two; and one\nmember appointed from the city and one member appointed from the county\nof Monroe shall be appointed for terms ending July thirty-first,\nnineteen hundred seventy-three. The member (or members) who is (or are)\nappointed from the other counties shall be appointed for a term (or\nterms) of five years, but all terminating on the thirty-first day of\nJuly of the fifth year. Thereafter, upon expiration of the term of a\nmember of the authority a successor shall be appointed by the governor\nfor a term expiring five years after the expiration of the term of his\npredecessor. If a vacancy shall occur by reason of a death,\ndisqualification, resignation or removal of a member, the successor\nshall be appointed by the governor for the unexpired term. Persons\nsucceeding members from the city of Rochester and the county of Monroe\non the authority shall be appointed from the same area and by the same\nprocedure as the original appointments. In the event of a vacancy as\ndefined herein, the successor appointed by the governor for an unexpired\nterm shall be from the same area. The same procedure shall be followed\nfor the filling of vacancies of members appointed from other counties.\nMembers of the authority shall, before entering upon the duties of their\noffice, take the constitutional oath of office and file the same in the\noffice of the secretary of state. No person while serving in any\nelective office shall be eligible to serve as a member of the authority.\nThe members of the authority shall officially be designated and referred\nto as commissioners.\n 3. The members of the authority, including the chairman, shall not\nreceive a salary or other compensation when rendering service as a\nmember of the authority or as a member of one of its subsidiary\ncorporations, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual and\nnecessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.\n 4. A majority of the whole number of votes of members of the\nauthority, including the voting member who is a transit dependent\nindividual as described in subdivision one of this section, shall\nconstitute a quorum for the transaction of business or the exercise of\nany power of the authority. Except as otherwise specified in this act,\nfor the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power of the\nauthority, the authority shall have power to act by a majority vote of\nthe members present at any meeting at which a quorum is in attendance.\nEach member of the authority shall have one vote for each thirty-five\nthousand or major fraction thereof of the population of the county or\ncity from which he is appointed based upon the results of the last\nfederal decennial or federal county-wide special census divided by the\ntotal number of members appointed from such county or city, except that\nthe voting member who is a transit dependent individual as described in\nsubdivision one of this section shall have one vote in total. The\nminimum number of votes each member shall have, regardless of\npopulation, is one. The votes of all members shall be calculated with\nfractions being rounded to the nearest whole number. The population of a\ncounty for the purposes of this provision is the total population of\nsuch county less the population of any city which is entitled to have\nmembers appointed on the authority.\n 5. The authority shall organize by the selection from its members of a\nchairman, vice chairman, secretary and such other officers as the\nmembers may deem necessary. It shall adopt such rules as it may deem\nnecessary and proper for the government of its own proceedings, and\nshall keep a record of such proceedings.\n 6. The authority shall be a "state agency" for the purposes of\nsections seventy-three and seventy-four of the public officers law.\n 7. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of this or any other\nlaw, general, special or local, no officer or employee of the state, or\nof any public corporation as defined in the general corporation law,\nshall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his office or\nemployment or any benefits provided under the retirement and social\nsecurity law or under any public retirement system maintained by the\nstate or any of its subdivisions by reason of his acceptance of\nmembership on or chairmanship of the authority; provided, however, a\nmember or chairman who holds such other public office or employment\nshall be entitled to reimbursement for his actual and necessary expenses\nincurred in the performance of such services.\n 8. The governor may remove any member for inefficiency, neglect of\nduty or misconduct in office after giving him a copy of the charges\nagainst him and an opportunity to be heard, in person or by counsel in\nhis defense, upon not less than ten days' notice. If any member shall be\nso removed, the governor shall file in the office of the department of\nstate a complete statement of charges made against such member, and his\nfindings thereon, together with a complete record of the proceedings.\n 9. The authority shall continue so long as it shall have bonds or\nother obligations outstanding and until its existence shall be\nterminated by law. Upon the termination of the existence of the\nauthority, all its rights and properties shall pass to and be vested in\nthe state.\n 10. Each of the counties that elect to become participating members of\nthe Rochester-Genesee regional transportation district may do so by\nresolution adopted by a majority of the membership of its governing body\nand such election by a county shall take effect upon the filing of a\nduly certified copy of such resolution with the authority and with the\nsecretary of state, and the mailing of a certified copy thereof to the\ncounty clerk of each county which is granted the power of election under\nthe provisions of this act.\n