Assembly Bill A2157

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2157
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. RA, BRABENEC, McDONOUGH -- read once and referred
   to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
 
 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 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  legis-
 lative accountability by requiring that the legislature approve any rate
 established for the commuter tax.
   §  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] APRIL 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] TWENTY-SEVEN.
 Such recommendation shall be submitted to the LEGISLATURE FOR  APPROVAL.
 THE  LEGISLATURE SHALL VOTE ON SUCH RECOMMENDATION BY JUNE THIRTY-FIRST,
 TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SEVEN. THE AUTHORITY  SHALL  ONLY  BE  PERMITTED  TO
 ESTABLISH  CENTRAL  BUSINESS  TOLL  DISTRICT  AMOUNTS IF APPROVED BY THE
 LEGISLATURE. IF APPROVED BY THE LEGISLATURE, SUCH  RECOMMENDATION  SHALL
 BE  SUBMITTED TO THE board of the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01041-01-5
              

 A. 2157                             2
 
 for consideration before the  Triborough  bridge  and  tunnel  authority
 board  may  approve  central  business district toll amounts that may be
 established 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]  2027  capital
 program,  and  any additional revenues above that amount to be available
 for any successor program. The board shall consider for purposes of  its
 recommendations, 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 TO BE SENT TO  THE  GOVERNOR,  THE  TEMPORARY  PRESIDENT  OF  THE
 SENATE,  THE  SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY, THE MINORITY LEADER OF THE SENATE
 AND THE MINORITY LEADER  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY,  that  provides  information
 regarding  the  board's review and analysis for purposes of establishing
 its recommendations, including but not limited to, all of the  consider-
 ations  referred to in this subdivision. The board shall not recommend a
 toll that provides for charging passenger vehicles  registered  pursuant
 to  subdivision six of section four hundred one of the vehicle and traf-
 fic law more than once per day.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.