NY Pub Auth L § 1299-EEE (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBA - Public Authorities Article 5 - Public Utility Authorities Title 11-A - Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority 1299-EEE - Transit Adjudication Bureau.

§  1299-eee.  Transit  adjudication bureau. 1. Establishment. There is   hereby created in the authority a transit adjudication bureau. The  head   of  such  bureau  shall  be  the director, who shall be appointed by the   chairman of the authority. The director  may  delegate  the  powers  and   duties  conferred  upon  the  director by this section to such qualified   officers and employees of the bureau as he may designate.2. Hearing officers. The  chairman  of  the  authority  shall  appoint   hearing  officers  who shall preside at hearings for the adjudication of   charges of transit infractions, as  hereinafter  defined,  and  who,  as   provided  below,  may be designated to serve on the appeals board of the   bureau. Every hearing officer shall have been admitted to  the  practice   of  law  in this state for a period of at least five years, and shall be   compensated for his services on a  per  diem  basis  determined  by  the   bureau.3.  Jurisdiction.  The  bureau  shall  have,  with  respect to acts or   incidents  in  or  on  the  transit   facilities   of   the   authority,   non-exclusive  jurisdiction  over violations of the rules which may from   time to time  be  established  by  the  authority.  Matters  within  the   jurisdiction  of  the bureau shall be known for purposes of this section   as transit infractions. Nothing herein  shall  be  construed  to  divest   jurisdiction  from  any  court now having jurisdiction over any criminal   charge relating to any act committed in a transit facility, or to impair   the ability of a police officer to conduct a lawful search of  a  person   in  a transit facility. The criminal court within which jurisdiction the   transit authority shall operate transit  facilities  shall  continue  to   have  jurisdiction over any criminal charge brought for violation of the   rules of the authority, as well as  jurisdiction  relating  to  any  act   which may constitute a crime or an offense under any law of the state of   New  York or any municipality or political subdivision thereof and which   may also constitute a violation of such rules.4. General powers. The bureau  shall  have  the  following  functions,   powers and duties:a. To accept pleas (whether made in person or by mail) to, and to hear   and determine, charges of transit infractions within its jurisdiction;b.  To  impose  civil  penalties  not to exceed a total of two hundred   fifty dollars for any transit infraction  within  its  jurisdiction,  in   accordance with a penalty schedule established by the authority;c.  In  its  sole  discretion,  to suspend or forgive penalties or any   portion of penalties  imposed  on  the  condition  that  the  respondent   voluntarily  agrees  to perform and actually does satisfactorily perform   unpaid services on transit facilities as assigned by the authority, such   as, without limitation, cleaning of rolling stock;d. To adopt, amend and rescind rules and regulations not  inconsistent   with  any  applicable provision of law to carry out the purposes of this   section, including but not limited to rules and regulations  prescribing   the  internal  procedures and organization of the bureau, the manner and   time of entering pleas, the conduct of  hearings,  and  the  amount  and   manner of payment of penalties;e.  To enter judgments and enforce them, without court proceedings, in   the same manner as the enforcement of money judgments in civil  actions,   as provided below;f.  To  compile and maintain complete and accurate records relating to   all charges and dispositions, which records shall be deemed exempt  from   disclosure  under the freedom of information law as records compiled for   law enforcement purposes;g. To apply to a court of competent jurisdiction  for  enforcement  of   any decision or order issued by such bureau or of any subpoena issued by    a  hearing  officer  as  provided in paragraph d of subdivision seven of   this section;h.  To  enter  into  contracts  with  other  government agencies, with   private organizations, or with individuals to undertake  on  its  behalf   such  functions  as  data  processing,  debt  collections,  mailing, and   general administration, as the director deems appropriate,  except  that   the  conduct  by  hearing officers of hearings and of appeals may not be   performed by outside contractors; andi. To accept payment of penalties and to remit same to the authority.5. Notices of violation.  The  bureau  shall  prepare  and  distribute   notices  of  violation  in  blank to the Niagara Frontier transportation   authority security officer,  ticket  inspector,  and  any  other  person   empowered  by  law,  rule and regulation to serve such notices. The form   and wording of the notice  of  violation  shall  be  prescribed  by  the   director,  and  it  may  be the same as any other notice of violation or   summons form already in use if said form meets the requirements  hereof.   The  notice  of  violation  may include provisions to record information   which will facilitate the identification and  location  of  respondents,   including  but  not limited to name, address, telephone numbers, date of   birth, social security number if otherwise permitted by  law,  place  of   employment  or  school, and name and address of parents or guardian if a   minor. Notices of violation shall be served  by  delivering  the  notice   within  the  state  to the person to be served. A copy of each notice of   violation served hereunder shall be filed and retained by  said  bureau,   and  shall  be  deemed a record kept in the ordinary course of business,   and, if sworn to or affirmed, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts   contained herein. Said notice of  violation  shall  contain  information   advising the person charged of the manner and the time within which such   person  may either admit or deny the offense charged in the notice. Such   notice of violation shall also contain a warning to  advise  the  person   charged  that  failure to plead in the manner and within the time stated   in the notice may result in a default decision and order  being  entered   against such person.6.  Defaults.  Where  a respondent has failed to plead within the time   allowed by the rules of said  bureau  or  has  failed  to  appear  on  a   designated  hearing  date or a subsequent date following an adjournment,   such failure to plead or appear shall be deemed, for all purposes, to be   an admission of liability and shall be grounds for rendering  a  default   decision  and  order  imposing  a  penalty  in  such  amount  as  may be   prescribed by the authority.7. Hearings. a. Whenever a person charged with  a  transit  infraction   returnable  to  the bureau enters a plea of not guilty, the bureau shall   advise such person personally, or by registered or  certified  mail,  of   the  date  on  which  he  or  she  must appear to answer the charge at a   hearing. The form and  content  of  such  notice  of  hearing  shall  be   prescribed  by  the  director, and shall contain a warning to advise the   person so pleading that failure to appear on the date designated, or any   subsequent  adjourned  date,  shall  be  deemed  for  all  purposes,  an   admission  of liability, and that a default judgment may be rendered and   penalty may be prescribed.b. Every hearing for  the  adjudication  of  a  charge  of  a  transit   infraction   hereunder  shall  be  held  before  a  hearing  officer  in   accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the bureau.c. The hearing officer shall not be bound by the rules of evidence  in   the  conduct  of  the  hearing,  except  rules  relating  to  privileged   communications.d. The hearing officer when the defendant refuses to stipulate to  the   contents  of  the  notice  of  violation,  unless  the  hearing  officer    determines that the notice  of  violation  should  be  dismissed,  shall   require the person who served the petition to attend the hearing and may   issue  subpoenas  to  compel  the  appearance of that person or of other   persons to give testimony, and issue subpoenas duces tecum to compel the   production  for  examination  or introduction into evidence of any book,   paper or other thing relevant to the charges.e. In the case of a refusal to obey a subpoena, the  bureau  may  make   application  to  the  Supreme  Court  pursuant  to  section twenty-three   hundred eight of  the  civil  practice  law  and  rules,  for  an  order   requiring such appearance, testimony or production of evidence.f.  The  bureau  shall  make  and  maintain a sound recording or other   record of every hearing.g. After due consideration of the evidence and arguments, the  hearing   officer  shall  determine  whether the charges have been established. No   charge may be established except upon  clear  and  convincing  evidence.   Where  the  charges  have  not been established, an order dismissing the   charges shall be entered. Where a determination is made  that  a  charge   has  been  established  or  if  an  answer admitting the charge has been   received, the hearing officer shall set a penalty in accordance with the   penalty schedule established by the authority, and an appropriate  order   shall  be  entered in the records of the bureau. The respondent shall be   given notice of such entry in  person  or  by  mail.  This  order  shall   constitute  the  final  determination  of  the  hearing officer, and for   purposes of review it shall be deemed to  incorporate  any  intermediate   determinations  made  by  said  officer in the course of the proceeding.   When no appeal is filed this order shall  be  the  final  order  of  the   bureau.8.  Administrative  and  judicial  review.  a.  There shall be appeals   boards within the bureau which shall consist of three  or  more  hearing   officers,  as  the director shall determine. The director shall select a   chairman for each appeals  board  from  the  members  so  appointed.  No   hearing officer may sit on an appeals board considering an appeal from a   determination made by said hearing officer.b. A party aggrieved by a final determination of a hearing officer may   obtain a review thereof by serving upon the bureau within thirty days of   the  sending  of  the  notice  of entry of such order a notice of appeal   setting forth the reasons why the determination should  be  reversed  or   modified. There shall be no interlocutory appeals.c.  An appeal from a final determination of a hearing officer shall be   submitted to the appeals board, which shall have  power  to  review  the   facts  and  the  law,  but shall not consider any evidence which was not   presented to the hearing officer, and shall have  power  to  reverse  or   modify any judgment appealed from for error of fact or law.d.  Appeals  shall be made without the appearance of the appellant and   appellant's attorney unless the presence of either or both are requested   by the appellant, appellant's attorney, or the appeals  board.    Within   twenty  days  after  a request for an appearance, made by the appellant,   appellant's attorney or the board, the bureau shall advise the appellant   or appellant's attorney, either personally or by registered or certified   mail, of the date on which he or she shall appear. The  appellant  shall   be notified in writing of the decision of the appeals board.e.  A  party  may  request  and  obtain  a  record  of the proceedings   resulting in a determination for which an  appeal  is  sought,  but  the   party  shall pay to the bureau the cost of providing such record. When a   record is timely requested for the purpose of preparing an  appeal,  the   bureau  shall  not  thereafter cause the appeal to be heard or submitted   less than ten days after the  delivery  or  mailing  of  the  record  to   appellant or appellant's attorney. f. The service of a notice of appeal shall not stay the enforcement of   an  order appealed from unless the appellant shall have posted a bond in   the amount of penalties imposed in the order appealed from at  the  time   of, or before, the service of such notice.g. No determination of a hearing officer which is appealable under the   provisions  of  this  section  shall  be reviewed in any court unless an   appeal  has  been  filed  and  determined  in   accordance   with   this   subdivision.  When  an  appeal  has been filed, the order of the appeals   board shall be the final order of the bureau.  Judicial  review  may  be   sought  pursuant  to article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and   rules.9. Enforcement of judgments. a. The bureau shall  have  the  power  to   enforce  its  final  decisions  and  orders imposing civil penalties for   violations of laws, rules and regulations enforced by it as if they were   money judgments, without court  proceedings,  in  the  manner  described   herein.b. Any final order of the bureau imposing a civil penalty, whether the   adjudication  was  had  by  hearing  or upon default or otherwise, shall   constitute a judgment rendered by the bureau which may be entered in the   county court of Erie or Niagara county or any other place  provided  for   the  entry  of  civil  judgments  within  the  state,  provided  that no   proceeding for judicial  review  shall  be  pending  and  the  time  for   initiation  of  such  proceeding shall have expired, and may be enforced   without court proceedings in the same manner as the enforcement of money   judgments entered in civil actions. Any final order shall be  a  bar  to   any criminal proceeding for conduct upon which the order was based.c.  Notwithstanding  the foregoing provisions, before a judgment based   upon a default may be so entered  the  bureau  must  have  attempted  to   notify  the  respondent  by first class mail, in such form as the bureau   may direct: (i) of the  default  decision  and  order  and  the  penalty   imposed;  (ii)  that  a  judgment will be entered in the county court of   Erie or Niagara county or any other place  provided  for  the  entry  of   civil  judgments within the state; and (iii) the entry of such judgments   may be avoided by requesting a stay of default for good cause shown  and   either  requesting a hearing or entering a plea pursuant to the rules of   the bureau within thirty days of the mailing of such notice.10. Funds. All penalties collected pursuant to the provisions of  this   section shall be paid to the authority.