§ 18-A — Statewide mass transportation operating assistance program

*§ 18-a. Statewide mass transportation operating assistance program.\n1. Within the amounts made available therefor by appropriation, a\nstatewide mass transportation operating assistance program is hereby\nestablished for the purpose of making payments toward the operating\nexpenses of public transportation systems. For the purposes of this\nsection, the term public transportation system shall mean any public\nbenefit corporation constituting a transportation authority which\nprovides or contracts for the provision of (under joint support\narrangements) mass transportation services, or a subsidiary thereof, or\nany county or city which provides or contracts for the provision of\n(pursuant to section one hundred nineteen-r of the general municipal\nlaw) mass transportation services.\n 2. a. On and after May first, nineteen hundred seventy-four, the\ncommissioner shall pay to each public transportation system that makes\nan application therefor, in quarterly installments, a mass\ntransportation operating assistance service payment to be determined and\ncomputed as follows: the chief executive officer of each such system\nshall certify to the commissioner not more than thirty days nor less\nthan fifteen days prior to the date of commencement of any quarter for\nwhich an installment is payable, the total number of passengers such\nsystem estimates that it will carry and the total number of vehicle or\ncar miles such system estimates that its equipment will travel in\nrevenue service during the quarter for which such installment is to be\npaid. Upon receipt of any such certification, the commissioner shall\nprovide to the public transportation system a service payment, which\npayment shall be computed by adding the sum of (i) the certified number\nof passengers multiplied by one and four-tenths cents per passenger,\n(ii) the certified number of vehicle or car miles multiplied by nine\ncents per vehicle or car mile, and (iii) the amount obtained by\nmultiplying the total number of persons within the urban area served by\nthe public transportation system, as determined by the most current\nfederal decennial census, by ten cents per capita; provided, however,\nthat any service payment made by the commissioner to any county or city\non account of such county's or city's contracts for mass transportation\nservices (pursuant to section one hundred nineteen-r of the general\nmunicipal law), shall not include an amount computed under item (iii)\nabove. Such quarterly installments shall be payable not later than the\ntenth day of each successive quarter, with the quarters commencing on\nthe first day of May, August, November and February, respectively;\nprovided, however, that for the first quarter of May first through July\nthirty-first, nineteen hundred seventy-four, such quarterly installment\nmay be made on or before June fifteenth, nineteen hundred seventy-four\nand the chief executive officer of any public transportation system\nmaking application hereunder shall make the required certifications not\nmore than thirty nor less than fifteen days prior to such date.\n b. Each public transportation system receiving a quarterly service\npayment pursuant to this subdivision shall certify to the commissioner,\nwithin five days of the end of each quarter for which a service payment\nwas received, the actual total number of passengers carried by the\nsystem during such quarter and the actual total vehicle or car miles the\nsystem's equipment traveled in revenue service during such quarter, and\nbased upon such actual totals, the commissioner shall make such\nadjustments as may be appropriate in the amount of the service payment\nfor such system for the succeeding quarter.\n 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this section,\nthe commissioner may establish with respect to any public transportation\nsystem a maximum service payment, limiting the amount of state\nassistance for which such system may qualify, where it appears that the\ntotal amount of money appropriated or allocated to a group of\nunspecified public transportation systems is less than the total amount\nof money for which the entire group is eligible. Such maximum service\npayments may be established on a quarterly or annual basis, in the\ndiscretion of the commissioner; provided, however, that the sum of all\nof the maximum service payments established during the period covered by\nthe appropriation, shall equal the amount of the appropriation or\nallocation.\n 4. a. For any quarter commencing on or after May first, nineteen\nhundred seventy-four, any county or city served by a public\ntransportation system that receives a service payment pursuant to\nsubdivision two of this section shall, not later than the fifteenth day\nfollowing the commencement of the quarter for which the payment is made\nor the date on which the payment is made, whichever is later, pay to the\npublic transportation system a sum equal to such service payment, except\nthat in the case of a service payment made to a public transportation\nsystem on account of mass transportation services provided to more than\none county (considering the city of New York to be one county), each\ncounty receiving such services from such system shall pay to the system\na sum equal to its share of the service payment, which sum shall be\ndetermined in accordance with the percentage or dollar amounts\nestablished for such county by the legislature.\n b. The payment required of any county or city by paragraph a of this\nsubdivision shall be in addition to all other forms of assistance now\nprovided or scheduled to be provided to any public transportation system\nby any county or city, whether directly or indirectly; provided,\nhowever, that where any county or city pays all of the operating deficit\nof a public transportation system within such county or city, the amount\nof assistance provided by such county or city to such public\ntransportation system may be reduced to the extent of the service\npayment, but in no event to an amount less than the service payment.\n c. In the event that a county or city shall fail to make to a public\ntransportation system any of the payments required to be made by it\nunder this subdivision, the chief executive officer of the public\ntransportation system or such other person as the commissioner shall\ndesignate shall certify to the state comptroller such amount due and\nowing such public transportation system and the state comptroller shall\nwithhold an equivalent amount from state aid allocated to such county or\ncity from highway aid, the motor fuel tax and the motor vehicle\nregistration fee distributed pursuant to section one hundred twelve of\nthe highway law, or per capita local assistance pursuant to section\nfifty-four of the state finance law subject to the following\nlimitations: prior to withholding amounts allocated to carry such county\nor city, the comptroller shall pay in full any amount due the state of\nNew York municipal bond bank agency, on account of any such county's or\ncity's obligation to such agency; the city university construction fund,\npursuant to the provisions of the city university construction fund act;\nthe New York city housing development corporation, pursuant to the\nprovisions of the New York city housing development corporation act\n(article twelve of the private housing finance law); and the transit\nconstruction fund, pursuant to the provisions of article two, title nine\nof the public authorities law. The comptroller shall give the director\nof the budget notification of any such payment. Such amount or amounts\nso withheld by the state comptroller shall be paid to such public\ntransportation system, which system shall use such amount or amounts for\nthe payment of the county or city share of its operating expenses as\ndetermined by the legislature or by the formula or formulae developed by\nthe commissioner. When such amount or amounts are received by such\npublic transportation system, it shall credit such amounts against any\namounts due and owing such system by the county or city on whose account\nsuch amount was withheld and paid.\n 5. Any federal financial assistance granted for the specific purpose\nof paying the operating expenses of any county, city or public benefit\ncorporation eligible to receive service payments as a public\ntransportation system pursuant to this section, received by the state or\nany municipality after the effective date of this section, and made\navailable to any such county, city or public benefit corporation for\napplication in accordance with the terms of the grant, shall be combined\nwith any similar federal grant made directly to the county, city or\npublic benefit corporation to help meet the operating expenses of any\nmass transportation services provided for by any such county, city or\npublic benefit corporation whether directly or by contract. In the event\nthat the total revenues of any public transportation system, including\nsubsidies from federal, state or local governments, exceed the total\noperating expenses for any such system, excluding depreciation, such\nexcess shall be utilized by the system to reduce fares or to extend or\nincrease mass transportation services. A plan to effectuate any such\nfare reduction or extension or increase in services shall be submitted\nto the commissioner by a public transportation system within thirty days\nof receiving notice from the commissioner to prepare and submit such a\nplan. Upon approval by the commissioner, such plan with any\nmodifications made by the commissioner shall be implemented as soon as\npractical. Upon the failure of a public transportation system to submit\na plan in the manner provided by this subdivision, the surplus shall be\nutilized by such system to reduce the proportionate shares of the state\nand the county or city required to make matching payments to the system,\nor in the event that no future payments are to be made to such public\ntransportation system, the system shall proportionately refund such\nsurplus to the state and the county or city involved.\n 6. The commissioner may prescribe such regulations as he may deem\nappropriate to effectuate the purposes of this section, including, but\nnot limited to, a uniform system of accounting for the purposes of\nreporting pursuant to the provisions of this section. The commissioner\nshall also define by rules and regulations, the terms "passenger",\n"vehicle or car mile", "the urban area served by any such public\ntransportation system", "passenger-mile", "chief executive officer",\n"mass transportation services", and "service payment", and such other\nterms as he deems necessary to carry out the statewide operating\nassistance program.\n 7. The commissioner shall have the power to audit and examine the\naccounts, books, contracts, records, documents and papers of any\nparticipating public transportation system in order to effectuate the\npurposes and intent of this section.\n 8. The commissioner is hereby authorized to enter into contracts or\notherwise cooperate with the federal government or any agency or\ninstrumentality thereof for the purposes set forth in this section. Such\nauthorization shall include the power to apply for, receive, distribute\nor expend federal money available or which may hereafter become\navailable for such purposes. The distribution of federal monies shall be\nin accordance with the requirements of the federal grant, except that in\nthe absence of any required distribution the commissioner shall\ndistribute such federal monies in a manner designed to have the maximum\neffect on fare stabilization throughout the state.\n * NB Expired May 1, 1975\n