The New York State Senate

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

                                  7766

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 18, 2020
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sen. FLANAGAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation

AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in  relation  to  the  board
  submitting  a  recommendation  regarding the central business district
  toll amounts to the legislature and recommending a privacy risk plan

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

  Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds and declares that
legislative  accountability  is a core element in any democratic polity.
The commuter tax legislation passed last year  tried  to  sidestep  that
accountability  by  passing  off the burden of establishing the commuter
tax rates to unelected bureaucrats and announcing such  rates  the  week
after  the  2020  election.   This legislation would restore the crucial
element of legislative accountability by requiring  not  only  that  the
legislature  approve any rate established for the commuter tax, but also
conditioning that approval be made before the upcoming election.
  § 2. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 553-k of the  public  authorities
law, as added by section 8 of subpart A of part ZZZ of chapter 59 of the
laws of 2019, are amended to read as follows:
  2.  The  board shall make a recommendation regarding the central busi-
ness district toll amounts to be established pursuant to article  forty-
four-C  of  the vehicle and traffic law, which shall include a variable-
pricing structure, no [sooner] LATER than [November] OCTOBER  fifteenth,
two  thousand twenty [and no later than December thirty-first, two thou-
sand twenty, or no later than thirty  days  before  a  central  business
district  tolling program is initiated, whichever is later]. Such recom-
mendation shall be submitted to  the  LEGISLATURE  FOR  APPROVAL.    THE
LEGISLATURE  SHALL  VOTE ON SUCH RECOMMENDATION BY JANUARY THIRTY-FIRST,
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE. THE AUTHORITY SHALL ONLY BE PERMITTED TO ESTAB-
LISH CENTRAL BUSINESS TOLL DISTRICT AMOUNTS IF APPROVED BY THE  LEGISLA-
TURE.  IF  APPROVED  BY  THE  LEGISLATURE,  SUCH RECOMMENDATION SHALL BE
SUBMITTED TO THE board of the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority for
consideration before the Triborough bridge and  tunnel  authority  board

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

                                                           LBD14855-02-0

S. 7766                             2

may  approve  central  business district toll amounts that may be estab-
lished and adopted.
  3.  For  purposes  of recommending a central business district toll or
tolls in addition to the goal of reducing  traffic  within  the  central
business  district,  the  board  shall,  at  minimum, ensure that annual
revenues and fees collected under  such  program,  less  costs  of  such
program, provide for revenues into the central business district tolling
capital  lockbox  fund,  established  pursuant  to  section five hundred
fifty-three-j of this [chapter] TITLE, necessary to fund fifteen billion
dollars for capital projects for the 2020 to 2024 capital  program,  and
any  additional  revenues  above  that  amount  to  be available for any
successor program. The board shall consider for purposes of  its  recom-
mendations,  factors  including  but  not  limited to, traffic patterns,
traffic mitigation measures,  operating  costs,  public  impact,  public
safety,  hardships,  vehicle  type,  discounts for motorcycles, peak and
off-peak rates and environmental impacts, including but not  limited  to
air  quality  and emissions trends. The board shall recommend a plan for
credits, discounts, and/or exemptions for  tolls  paid  on  bridges  and
crossings which shall be informed by a traffic study associated with the
impact  of  any  such credits, discounts and/or exemptions on the recom-
mended toll. The board shall recommend a plan  for  credits,  discounts,
and/or  exemptions  for  for-hire  vehicles  defined,  and  subject to a
surcharge imposed by, article twenty-nine-C of the tax law  for  a  for-
hire transportation trip based on factors including, but not limited to,
initial  market  entry  costs  associated with licensing and regulation,
comparative contribution to congestion in the central business district,
and general industry impact. THE BOARD SHALL RECOMMEND  A  PRIVACY  RISK
PLAN  IN RELATION TO THE COLLECTION, PROCESSING, TRANSFER AND DISCLOSURE
OF PERSONAL DATA, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, HISTORICAL OR REAL-TIME
GEOLOCATION DATA, UNDER SUCH A PROGRAM AND REQUIRE THAT USE,  DISCLOSURE
OR  ACCESS  TO  AN INDIVIDUAL'S PERSONAL DATA SHALL REQUIRE AFFIRMATIVE,
EXPRESS CONSENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL. The board shall  produce  a  detailed
report that provides information regarding the board's review and analy-
sis  for purposes of establishing its recommendations, including but not
limited to, all of the considerations referred to in  this  subdivision.
The  board shall not recommend a toll that provides for charging passen-
ger vehicles registered pursuant to  subdivision  six  of  section  four
hundred one of the vehicle and traffic law more than once per day.
  § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.