§ 1307 — Special powers of the authority

§ 1307. Special powers of the authority. In order to effectuate the\npurposes of this title: 1. The authority may acquire, by purchase, gift,\ngrant, transfer, contract or lease, or condemnation, any transportation\nfacility, including port or related facilities wholly or partially\nwithin the Capital District transportation district or any part thereof,\nor the use thereof, and may enter into any joint service arrangements as\nhereinafter provided. Any such acquisition or joint service arrangement\nshall be authorized only by resolution of the authority approved by not\nless than a majority of the whole number of members of the authority\nthen in office.\n 2. The authority may on such terms and conditions as the authority may\ndetermine necessary, convenient or desirable itself establish,\nconstruct, effectuate, operate, maintain, renovate, improve, extend or\nrepair any such transportation facility, or may provide for such\nestablishment, construction, effectuation, operation, maintenance,\nrenovation, improvement, extension or repair by contract, lease, or\nother arrangement on such terms as the authority may deem necessary,\nconvenient or desirable with any person, including but not limited to\nany common carrier or freight forwarder, the state, any state agency,\nthe federal government, any other state or agency or instrumentality\nthereof, any public authority of this or any other state or any\npolitical subdivision or municipality of the state. In connection with\nthe operation of any such transportation facility, the authority may\nestablish, construct, effectuate, operate, maintain, renovate, improve,\nextend or repair or may provide by contract, lease or other arrangement\nfor the establishment, construction, effectuation, operation,\nmaintenance, renovation, improvement, extension or repair of any related\nservices and activities it deems necessary, convenient or desirable,\nincluding but not limited to the transportation and storage of freight\nand the United States mail, feeder and connecting transportation,\nparking areas, transportation centers, port, stations and related\nfacilities.\n 3. The authority may establish, levy and collect or cause to be\nestablished, levied and collected and, in the case of a joint service\narrangement, join with others in the establishment, levy and collection\nof such fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges and other fees as it may\ndeem necessary, convenient or desirable for the use and operation of any\ntransportation facility and related services operated by the authority\nor by a subsidiary corporation of the authority or under contract, lease\nor other arrangement, including joint service arrangements, with the\nauthority. Any such fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges or other fees\nfor the transportation of passengers shall be established and changed\nonly if approved by resolution of the authority adopted by not less than\na majority of the whole number of members of the authority then in\noffice and only after a public hearing, provided however, that fares,\ntolls, rentals, rates, charges or other fees for the transportation of\npassengers on any transportation facility which are in effect at the\ntime that the then owner of such transportation facility becomes a\nsubsidiary corporation of the authority or at the time that operation of\nsuch transportation facility is commenced by the authority or is\ncommenced under contract, lease or other arrangement including joint\nservice arrangements, with the authority may be continued in effect\nwithout such a hearing. Such fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges and\nother fees shall be established as may in the judgment of the authority\nbe necessary to maintain the combined operations of the authority and\nits subsidiary corporations on a self-sustaining basis. The said\noperations shall be deemed to be on a self-sustaining basis as required\nby this title, when the authority is able to pay or cause to be paid\nfrom revenue or any other funds or property actually available to the\nauthority and its subsidiary corporations (a) as the same shall become\ndue, the principal of and interest on the bonds and notes and other\nobligations of the authority and of such subsidiary corporations,\ntogether with the maintenance of proper reserves therefor, (b) the cost\nand expense of keeping the properties and assets of the authority and\nits subsidiary corporations in good condition and repair, and (c) the\ncapital and operating expenses of the authority and its subsidiary\ncorporations. The authority may contract with the holders of bonds and\nnotes with respect to the exercise of the powers authorized by this\nsection.\n 4. The authority may establish and, in the case of joint service\narrangements, join with others in the establishment of such schedules\nand standards of operations and such other rules and regulations\nincluding but not limited to rules and regulations governing the conduct\nand safety of the public as it may deem necessary, convenient or\ndesirable for the use and operation of any transportation facility and\nrelated services operated by the authority or under contract, lease or\nother arrangement, including joint service arrangements, with the\nauthority. Such rules and regulations governing the conduct and safety\nof the public shall be filed with the department of state in the manner\nprovided by section one hundred two of the executive law. In the case of\nany conflict between any such rule or regulation of the authority\ngoverning the conduct or safety of the public and any local law,\nordinance, rule or regulation, such rule or regulation of the authority\nshall prevail. Violation of any such rule or regulation of the authority\ngoverning the conduct or the safety of the public in or upon any\nfacility of the authority shall constitute an offense and shall be\npunishable by fine not exceeding fifty dollars or imprisonment for not\nmore than thirty days or both.\n 5. The authority may acquire, hold, own, lease, establish, construct,\neffectuate, operate, maintain, renovate, improve, extend or repair any\nof its facilities through, and cause any one or more of its powers,\nduties, functions or activities to be exercised or performed by, one or\nmore wholly owned subsidiary corporations of the authority and may\ntransfer to or from any such corporation any moneys, real property or\nother property for any of the purposes of this title. The directors or\nmembers of each such subsidiary corporation shall be the same persons\nholding the offices of members of the authority. Each such subsidiary\ncorporation and any of its property, functions and activities shall have\nall of the privileges, immunities, tax exemptions and other exemptions\nof the authority and of the authority's property, functions and\nactivities. Each such subsidiary corporation shall be subject to the\nrestrictions and limitations to which the authority may be subject.\nEach such subsidiary corporation shall be subject to suit in accordance\nwith section thirteen hundred sixteen of this title. The employees of\nany such subsidiary corporation, except those who are also employees of\nthe authority, shall not be deemed employees of the authority.\n If the authority shall determine that one or more of its subsidiary\ncorporations should be in the form of a public benefit corporation, it\nshall create each such public benefit corporation by executing and\nfiling with the secretary of state a certificate of incorporation, which\nmay be amended from time to time by filing, which shall set forth the\nname of such public benefit subsidiary corporation, its duration, the\nlocation of its principal office, and any or all of the purposes of\nacquiring, owning, leasing, establishing, constructing, effectuating,\noperating, maintaining, renovating, improving, extending or repairing\none or more facilities of the authority. Each such public benefit\nsubsidiary corporation shall be a body politic and corporate and shall\nhave all those powers vested in the authority by the provisions of this\ntitle which the authority shall determine to include in its certificate\nof incorporation except the power to contract indebtedness.\n Whenever any state, political subdivision, municipality, commission,\nagency, officer, department, board, division or person is authorized and\nempowered for any of the purposes of this title to cooperate and enter\ninto agreements with the authority such state, political subdivision,\nmunicipality, commission, agency, officer, department, board, division\nor person shall have the same authorization and power for any of such\npurposes to cooperate and enter into agreements with a subsidiary\ncorporation of the authority.\n 6. The authority, in its own name or in the name of the state, may\napply for and receive and accept grants of property, money and services\nand other assistance offered or made available to it by any person,\ngovernment or agency whatever, which it may use to meet capital or\noperating expenses and for any other use within the scope of its powers,\nand to negotiate for the same upon such terms and conditions as the\nauthority may determine to be necessary, convenient or desirable. In no\nevent, however, shall the authority submit to the state or federal\ngovernment or any agency or instrumentality thereof an application for a\nstate or federal project unless the application shall have been first\napproved by the commissioner as being part of or consistent with such\nstatewide plan, regional plan or transportation development policy and\nplanning concept.\n 7. The authority may do all things it deems necessary, convenient or\ndesirable to manage, control and direct the maintenance and operation of\ntransportation facilities, equipment or real property operated by or\nunder contract, lease or other arrangement with the authority. Except as\nhereinafter specially provided, no municipality or political\nsubdivision, including but not limited to a county, city, village, town\nor school or other district shall have jurisdiction over any facilities\nof the authority or any of its activities or operations. In the\noperation, maintenance and control of any facilities devoted to purposes\nother than direct transportation purposes, the authority shall be\nsubject to all local laws, resolutions, ordinances, rules and\nregulations of a municipality or political subdivision. Each\nmunicipality or political subdivision, including but not limited to a\ncounty, city, village, town or district in which any facilities of the\nauthority are located shall provide for such facilities police, fire and\nhealth protection services of the same character and to the same extent\nas those provided for residents of such municipality or political\nsubdivision.\n The authority may agree with the state department of transportation\nfor the execution by such department of any grade crossing elimination\nproject or any grade crossing separation reconstruction project along\nany railroad facility operated by the authority or by one of its\nsubsidiary corporations or under contract, lease or other arrangement\nwith the authority. Any such project shall be executed as provided in\nthe grade crossing elimination act and the railroad law, respectively,\nand the costs of any such project shall be borne as provided in such\nlaws, except that the authority's share of such costs shall be borne by\nthe state.\n 8. The authority may accept unconditional grants of money or property\nas subsidy payments for expansion of service into areas where such\nservice would not be self-supporting. The authority may accept\nunconditional grants of money or property from any city, village, town\nor county not wholly contained within a city the whole or any part of\nwhich shall be served or to be served by a transportation facility\noperated by the authority. Such grants of money or property would be for\nthe purpose of assisting the authority in meeting its capital or\noperating expenses. The acceptance of any such grant shall not operate\nto make the authority an agency of the municipality making the grant.\nThe provisions of this section are intended as enabling legislation only\nand shall not be interpreted as implying that absent their enactment an\nauthority would lack the power to accept such grant or subsidy.\n 9. Notwithstanding any of the above provisions, no project may be\nundertaken by the authority unless such project is a part of or\nconsistent with the master plan.\n