Senate Bill S5388

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  5388

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 14, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. PERKINS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations,  Authorities
  and Commissions

AN ACT requiring all public authorities owning, leasing, and controlling
  critical  infrastructure to study the potential consequences of priva-
  tization

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Legislative  findings. 1. New York state must have suffi-
cient numbers of properly  designed  and  maintained  bridges,  tunnels,
roads, airports, ports, container ports and railroads ("critical infras-
tructure")  in order to retain its economic competitiveness and grow its
economy.
  2. Much of the state's existing critical infrastructure is  aging,  is
experiencing capacity problems, has had maintenance problems, or in some
other  manner  has  become  a  candidate for re-engineering, rebuilding,
replacement or supplementation.
  3. The most critical and expensive infrastructure in New York state to
re-engineer, rebuild or replace is under the  control  or  ownership  of
public  authorities,  and such critical transportation infrastructure is
under consideration for sale,  long-term  lease  or  other  transfer  of
ownership or control to the private business sector ("privatization").
  S  2.  1.  All  public  authorities  shall immediately suspend issuing
concessions or selling or otherwise transferring, or issuing notices  of
inquiry ("NOIs") or requests for proposal ("RFPs") for leasing, or sell-
ing  or  otherwise  transferring  control of any critical transportation
infrastructure, until each of such public authorities has issued a study
reporting on the effects of  privatization  of  critical  transportation
infrastructure,  and  all  public authorities shall forbear from issuing
concessions or selling or otherwise transferring, or issuing notices  of
inquiry    ("NOIs")  or  requests for proposals ("RFPs") for leasing, or

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02302-01-5
              

S. 5388                             2

selling or otherwise transferring control of any critical transportation
infrastructure during the pendency of such studies  (the  "privatization
report").
  2.  (a) Each public authority shall issue its individual report to the
assembly  committees  on  corporations,  authorities  and   commissions,
economic  development,  transportation,  and  ways and means, and to the
senate committees on commerce, economic development and small  business,
corporations,  authorities  and  commissions,  and  transportation  (the
"Committees").
  (b) Each public  authority's  report  shall  evaluate  in  detail  the
following:
  (i)  the  impact  that  sale  or  transfer  of control of its critical
infrastructure would have upon the authority's ability to  pay  any  and
all  debt  it has issued, or succeeded to, that is guaranteed or secured
by any revenues arising from the authority's critical infrastructure, or
by the ownership of such critical infrastructure;
  (ii) whether the critical infrastructure involved any existing  priva-
tization initiatives in the United States are comparable in scope, scale
and  value  to  the  critical  infrastructure  controlled  by the public
authority ("comparable projects");
  (iii) the progress to date of any comparable projects and whether  any
such  projects  have  experienced  cost overruns or delays, or otherwise
have failed, or succeeded, in meeting the deadlines and costs put  forth
by the private entity.
  3.  (a)  The privatization report shall be due on or within 14 days of
December 1, 2015. Within 90 days after the date  each  public  authority
submits  the  report  provided for in subdivision one of this section to
the committees, such committees may, severally or  collectively,  submit
further issues for study and inclusion in such report, which said public
authorities  shall  study  and include within such report within 60 days
after receipt of any such submission, at which point said public author-
ities shall submit the privatization report to the governor, the  tempo-
rary  president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority
leaders of the senate and assembly, the chairperson and ranking minority
member of the senate corporations, authorities and  commissions  commit-
tee,  and  the  chairperson  and ranking minority member of the assembly
corporations, authorities and commissions committee.
  (b) The governor, the temporary president of the senate,  the  speaker
of  the  assembly,  the minority leaders of the senate and assembly, the
chairperson and ranking minority  member  of  the  senate  corporations,
authorities  and  commissions committee, and the chairperson and ranking
minority member of the assembly corporations,  authorities  and  commis-
sions  committee  shall  have a period of 90 days within which to submit
further issues for study and inclusion in such report, which said public
authorities shall study and include within such report  within  60  days
after receipt of any such submission.
  (c)  No  public authority shall take any action to privatize any crit-
ical infrastructure owned by it, leased by it, or  otherwise  controlled
by  it,  including  but  not  limited  to the actions enumerated in this
section, until the privatization  report,  including  responses  to  its
submission  by  the committees, legislators and the executives mentioned
above shall, have been completed and submitted to said persons.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
have  become  a  law.  Any  rule  or regulation necessary for the timely
implementation of this act on its effective date may be  promulgated  on
or before such date.