2023 New York Laws › PBA - Public Authorities › Article 5 - Public Utility Authorities › Title 11 - Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority › 1266-H - Authority Police Force.

§   1266-h.  Authority  police  force.  1.  The  authority  is  hereby
authorized and empowered, to provide and maintain  an  authority  police
department  and  a uniformed authority police force. Each member of such
uniformed police force shall be a "police officer" for the  purposes  of
the  criminal  procedure  law,  with  all  of  the powers of such police
officers thereunder and subject to the same jurisdictional provisions on
the exercise of that power as set forth in such  law.  The  geographical
area  of  employment  of  such  police  officers for the purposes of the
criminal  procedure  law  shall  embrace   the   metropolitan   commuter
transportation  district  as defined in section twelve hundred sixty-two
of this title. Such department and force shall have the  power,  in  and
about  any  or  all of the facilities owned, occupied and/or operated by
the authority and its subsidiary corporations, the New York city transit
authority and its subsidiaries, and the  triborough  bridge  and  tunnel
authority,  as determined in the discretion of the authority, to enforce
and prevent violation of all laws and ordinances. Nothing  herein  shall
confer  upon  the  authority  police  force  or  upon  their  collective
negotiations representatives exclusive jurisdiction or  claim  over  the
exercise of police power or security work on behalf of the authority and
its subsidiary corporations, the New York city transit authority and its
subsidiaries,  and  the  triborough bridge and tunnel authority. Nothing
herein shall limit the authority and its  subsidiary  corporations,  the
New York city transit authority and its subsidiaries, and the triborough
bridge  and tunnel authority from continuing to rely on local police for
police  services.  However,  traditional  police  functions   previously
performed  by  the  Long Island Rail Road Company and/or the Metro-North
Commuter Railroad Company police force shall continue to be performed by
the authority police forces.
2. Initial appointments to such authority police force  shall  be  all
incumbent  police officers from the Long Island Rail Road Company and/or
the  Metro-North  Commuter  Railroad  Company  at  the  time   of   such
appointment.  The executive director of the authority, through the chief
of police, shall have the power and authority to appoint and employ such
number of police officers  as  he  deems  necessary  to  act  as  police
officers  of  the authority and to administer to the officers an oath or
affirmation  faithfully  to  perform  the  duties  of  their  respective
positions  or offices. Unless, at the time of appointment, the person is
a police officer  of  Long  Island  Rail  Road  Company  or  Metro-North
Commuter Railroad Company, only persons who have never been convicted of
a felony and are citizens of the United States shall be appointed police
officers  on  the authority police force. After the initial appointments
are made, selection of police officer candidates shall be made  pursuant
to  an  examination  process  to  be determined at the discretion of the
authority  and  candidates  must  receive  a  certificate  attesting  to
satisfactory  completion  of an approved municipal police basic training
program, as described in section  two  hundred  nine-q  of  the  general
municipal  law.  No person shall be eligible for appointment unless such
person is not  less  than  twenty  years  of  age  as  of  the  date  of
appointment  nor  more than thirty-five years of age as of the date when
the applicant takes the written  examination,  provided,  however,  that
time  spent on military duty or on terminal leave, not exceeding a total
of six years, shall be subtracted from the age of any applicant who  has
passed his or her thirty-fifth birthday as provided in subdivision ten-a
of   section   two   hundred  forty-three  of  the  military  law.  Upon
appointments made by transferring an entire  group  of  police  officers
into the authority police force, thereby eliminating such other group of
police  officers,  the  authority  shall  recognize  any  representative
previously chosen by the police officers for the purposes of  collective

negotiations  consistent  with  the bargaining units already established
and shall also  assume  and  continue  to  observe  any  existing  labor
contracts covering these police officers including such provisions which
relate  to  the  grievance  and  disciplinary  procedures  and  interest
arbitration. Subsequent to the establishment of the consolidated  police
force  the authority and the collective bargaining representatives shall
be authorized to negotiate a merger of the separate bargaining units.
3. The authority may appoint a chief and one or more deputy chiefs  of
the authority police department who, in the discretion of the authority,
may be selected from the ranks of the authority police force, and assign
powers and duties to them and fix their compensation. The chief shall be
the  head  of  such department. The deputy chief designated by the chief
shall possess all the powers and perform all the  duties  of  the  chief
during  his  absence  or  disability.   The authority police force shall
consist of such divisions, supervisors and officers, including  but  not
limited  to  police  officers,  detectives,  sergeants,  lieutenants and
captains as designated by the authority.   Notwithstanding  any  law  or
provision to the contrary, the members of the uniformed authority police
force  shall  not  acquire civil service status or become members of the
New York state and local employees' retirement  system,  except  as  set
forth below.
4. The authority shall provide for a twenty year retirement plan under
the  same  terms  and  conditions  as  provided by section three hundred
eighty-nine of the retirement and social  security  law  as  enacted  by
chapter  six  hundred  twenty-eight  of  the  laws  of  nineteen hundred
ninety-one; except that:
(a) any benefit provided pursuant to such plan shall be subject to  an
offset,  as  defined  in this paragraph, for any tier II benefit payable
pursuant to the federal Railroad Retirement Act to or in the respect  of
a  member. The offset provided for by this paragraph shall be the amount
of the tier II benefit which would be payable to or in respect  to  such
member  pursuant  to the federal Railroad Retirement Act multiplied by a
fraction, the numerator of which  is  the  member's  years  of  credited
service  covered  by the federal Railroad Retirement Act rendered to, or
credited  by,  the  authority  or  any  subsidiary  corporation  of  the
authority,  and  the denominator of which is the member's total years of
service covered by the federal Railroad Retirement Act;
(b) references to Long Island Rail Road shall be to the authority;
(c) the transfer of funds described in subdivision f of section  three
hundred eighty-nine of the retirement and social security law as enacted
by  chapter  six  hundred  twenty-eight  of the laws of nineteen hundred
ninety-one shall  include  the  Metro-North  Commuter  Railroad  Company
Defined Contribution Pension Plan for Agreement Employees;
(d)   the  provisions  of  subdivision  g  of  section  three  hundred
eighty-nine of the retirement and social  security  law  as  enacted  by
chapter  six  hundred  twenty-eight  of  the  laws  of  nineteen hundred
ninety-one to the extent of requiring  contributions  for  past  service
liability shall not be applicable; and
(e)  when  a police officer transferred from the Long Island Rail Road
Company police force to the authority police force reaches age sixty-two
the authority will offset the amount payable  under  this  plan  by  the
amount of tier II benefit payable from the Railroad Retirement Board for
a  service  age  annuity  or  disability payable at the participants age
sixty-two.
5. The authority may, in its sole  discretion,  establish  within  the
authority's  defined  benefit  program,  a retirement program consistent
with the foregoing. If the authority has not so established such program
in its defined benefit program within  one  hundred  eighty  days  after

enactment,  then  the  authority  shall  elect to participate in article
fourteen-B of the retirement and social security law.
6.  If  the  authority elects to participate in the New York state and
local employees' retirement system, such election to  participate  shall
be  made  by  resolution  filed with the comptroller and accepted by him
pursuant to section thirty-one of the  retirement  and  social  security
law.
7.  Nothing  herein  contained shall be deemed to diminish, suspend or
abolish an existing benefit inured to a police officer, transferred from
the Long Island Rail Road Company and/or Metro-North  Commuter  Railroad
Company  police  force  and subject to the provisions of this section in
and to the rights, privileges  or  status  previously  earned  within  a
pension  or  retirement  system  of which they were a member immediately
prior to the enactment of this section; and  any  such  existing  right,
privilege  or  status  shall  survive  the  effect  of  any decisions or
determinations lawfully made in accordance with the provisions hereof so
long as such right, privilege or status is greater in  benefit  to  that
which  would be imposed or imputed to any subject officer as a result of
actions of the authority authorized herein.
* 8. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or of any
general, special or local law  to  the  contrary,  and  solely  for  the
purpose  of  determining  eligibility  for  benefits under this section,
where:
(i) a member reported in person to such member's usual place of public
employment at the direction of such member's public employer or  to  any
alternate  worksite  as  directed  by  such public employer, on or after
March first, two thousand twenty, provided that such alternate  worksite
was not such member's home or residence;
(ii)  such  member  contracted  COVID-19  within forty-five days after
reporting to work pursuant to subparagraph (i)  of  this  paragraph,  as
confirmed  by a positive laboratory test or as diagnosed before or after
such member's death by a licensed, certified, registered  or  authorized
physician,  nurse  practitioner,  or  physician's assistant currently in
good standing in any state or the District of Columbia, or a  physician,
nurse  practitioner,  or physician's assistant authorized to practice in
New York by executive  order  during  the  declared  COVID-19  state  of
emergency; and
(iii)  Such  member  died  on  or  before  December  thirty-first, two
thousand  twenty-four,  and  COVID-19  caused  or  contributed  to  such
member's  death, as documented on such member's death certificate, or as
certified by a physician, nurse practitioner, or  physician's  assistant
described  in  subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph who determines with a
reasonable  degree  of  medical  certainty  that  COVID-19   caused   or
contributed  to  the member's death, such member's statutory beneficiary
shall  receive  an  accidental  death  benefit,  unless  such  statutory
beneficiary elects to receive an ordinary death benefit.
(b) Any amount payable as a result of this section shall be reduced by
any  amount  paid by such member's retirement system to any recipient of
ordinary death benefits pursuant to this section.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this section or of  any  general,
special  or  local  law  to  the contrary, and solely for the purpose of
determining eligibility for benefits under this section, where a member:
(1) retired from his or her retirement system on or after March first,
two thousand twenty, and before July first, two thousand twenty;
(2) on or after March first, two thousand twenty, reported  in  person
to  such  member's  usual place of public employment at the direction of
such member's public employer or to any alternate worksite  as  directed

by  such  public employer, provided that such alternate worksite was not
such member's home or residence;
(3)  contracted COVID-19 within forty-five days after any such date of
reporting to work in person, as confirmed by a positive laboratory  test
or  as  diagnosed  before  or  after  such member's death by a licensed,
certified, registered or authorized physician,  nurse  practitioner,  or
physician's  assistant  currently  in  good standing in any state or the
District of Columbia, or a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician's
assistant authorized to practice in New York by executive  order  during
the declared COVID-19 state of emergency; and
(4)  Such member died on or before December thirty-first, two thousand
twenty, and COVID-19 caused or contributed to such  member's  death,  as
documented  on  such  member's  death  certificate, or as certified by a
physician, nurse practitioner, or  physician's  assistant  described  in
subparagraph  three  of  this paragraph who determines with a reasonable
degree of medical certainty that COVID-19 caused or contributed  to  the
member's  death,  such  member's  statutory beneficiary shall receive an
accidental death benefit if such statutory beneficiary elects conversion
of the  member's  service  or  disability  retirement  benefit  into  an
accidental death benefit.
(d)  Such  member's statutory beneficiary, as defined pursuant to this
section, for purposes of accidental death  benefits  payable  from  such
member's  retirement  system under this section, may, within ninety days
of such member's retirement or September  first,  two  thousand  twenty,
whichever  is later, apply to such member's retirement system to request
the conversion of such member's service or disability retirement benefit
into an accidental death benefit. For purposes of the salary  base  upon
which  the  accidental death benefit is calculated, such member shall be
deemed to have died on the date of such member's retirement. At the time
of such conversion, such  statutory  beneficiary  shall  relinquish  all
rights  to  the  prospective  benefits  payable  under  the  service  or
disability  retirement  statute,  including  any  post-retirement  death
benefits, since such member's death. If the statutory beneficiary is not
the  only  beneficiary  receiving or entitled to receive a benefit under
the service or disability retirement statute including, but not  limited
to,  a post-retirement death benefit or benefit paid or payable pursuant
to the member's option selection, the accidental death benefit  payments
to  the  statutory  beneficiary  will  be reduced by any amounts paid or
payable to any other statutory beneficiary.
(e) In order  to  be  eligible  for  the  benefit  described  in  this
subdivision,  the applicable retirement system or systems are authorized
to  promulgate  rules  and  regulations  to  administer   this   benefit
including,  but  not  limited  to,  requiring  a  statement  to be filed
confirming the member contracted COVID-19 and the dates and locations of
such member's employment.
* NB Repealed December 31, 2024