2023 New York Laws › STF - State Finance › Article 6 - Funds of the State › 88-A - Mass Transportation Operating Assistance Fund.

§  88-a.  Mass  transportation  operating assistance fund. 1. There is
hereby established in the joint custody of the commissioner of  taxation
and  finance and the state comptroller a special fund to be known as the
"mass transportation operating assistance fund".
2. Moneys in the mass transportation operating assistance  fund  shall
be  kept  separately  from  and  shall  not be commingled with any other
moneys in the joint or sole custody of  the  state  comptroller  or  the
commissioner of taxation and finance.
3.  Except for moneys in the account established by subdivision six of
this section,  moneys  of  the  fund,  following  appropriation  by  the
legislature,  shall  be  allocated  upon  a  certificate  of approval of
availability by the director of the budget solely for the transportation
assistance purposes set forth within  the  specific  accounts  contained
within the fund established by this section.
4.  The mass transportation operating assistance fund shall consist of
three separate and distinct accounts:  (a)  the  "public  transportation
systems  operating  assistance  account",  (b)  the  "urban mass transit
operating  assistance  account",  and   (c)   the   "metropolitan   mass
transportation  operating  assistance  account".  Moneys  in each of the
accounts shall be kept separately from and not commingled with any other
moneys in the mass transportation operating assistance fund.
5.  (a)  The  "public  transportation  systems  operating   assistance
account"  shall  consist  of  revenues  required to be deposited therein
pursuant to the provisions of section one hundred  eighty-two-a  of  the
tax  law  and  all other moneys credited or transferred thereto from any
other fund or source pursuant to law.
(b) Moneys in the public transportation systems  operating  assistance
account  shall  be  paid  on  a quarterly basis beginning October first,
nineteen hundred eighty-one. However, if there is  a  demonstrated  cash
shortfall  in  any  eligible  system,  payments  to  such  system may be
accelerated. Such payments shall be made in accordance with  a  schedule
as  specified  by  appropriation  for  the payment of operating costs of
public mass transportation systems  outside  the  metropolitan  commuter
transportation  district  as defined by section twelve hundred sixty-two
of the public authorities law, eligible to receive operating  assistance
pursuant to section eighteen-b of the transportation law.
(c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the comptroller is hereby
authorized  and  directed  to transfer from the general fund for deposit
into the public transportation system operating assistance account, upon
request of the director of the budget, on or before  March  31  of  each
year, an amount equal to the following:
(i) For the state fiscal year ending March 31, 2015, two million eight
hundred eight thousand ninety-six dollars;
(ii)  In  each  succeeding state fiscal year, the transfer shall equal
the product of the dollar amount in (i)  and  one  plus  the  sales  tax
growth  factor.  For  the  purposes  of this subparagraph, the sales tax
growth factor is the percentage, if any, by which the  aggregate  amount
of sales and compensating use taxes imposed pursuant to the authority of
subpart  B  of  part  I of article twenty-nine of the tax law, excluding
such sales and compensating use taxes collected in the  twelve  counties
that  comprise the metropolitan transportation commuter district created
and established pursuant to section  twelve  hundred  sixty-two  of  the
public  authorities  law, for the twelve month period ending on December
thirty-first of the immediately  preceding  calendar  year  exceeds  the
aggregate amount of such sales and compensating use taxes for the twelve
month  period ending on December thirty-first, two thousand thirteen. In
no year will the amount of the deposit authorized under this section  be
less than the amount made in the prior year.
6.  (a)  The  "urban  mass transit operating assistance account" shall
consist of the revenues required to be deposited therein pursuant to the
provisions of article thirty-one-a of the tax law, and all other  moneys
credited  or  transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant
to law.
(b)  Moneys  in  the  urban  mass transit operating assistance account
shall be available only for payment by the comptroller  of  refunds  of,
and  of  judgments  awarded  for  claims for refund of, taxes paid on or
after  October  first,  nineten  hundred  eighty-one  but  before  April
thirteenth,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-two pursuant to the provisions of
article thirty-one-A of the tax law, provided that, in  the  case  of  a
refund,  application  for  such  refund has been made to the comptroller
prior to April first, nineteen hundred eighty-six. Interest at the  rate
authorized  by section sixteen of the state finance law shall be payable
with such refunds and shall be computed from  February  first,  nineteen
hundred  eighty-two  or the date on which the tax was paid, whichever is
later.
(c) When the comptroller determines that moneys  of  the  account  are
insufficient  for the payment of any such refunds or judgments, he shall
certify to the commissioner of finance of  the  city  of  New  York  the
amount  of such insufficiency and, from moneys in the special account or
accounts established by and pursuant to sections W46-2.0 and II46-4.0 of
the administrative code of the city of New York,  such  commissioner  of
finance  shall,  within twelve days of such certification, pay over such
amount to  the  comptroller  for  deposit  in  the  urban  mass  transit
operating  assistance  account  of  the  mass  transportation  operating
assistance fund to meet such insufficiency.
7. (a) The  "metropolitan  mass  transportation  operating  assistance
account"  shall  consist  of the revenues derived from the taxes for the
metropolitan transportation district imposed by section  eleven  hundred
nine  of  the  tax  law  and  that  proportion  of the receipts received
pursuant to the tax imposed by article nine-a of such law  as  specified
in section one hundred seventy-one-a of such law, and that proportion of
the  receipts  received  pursuant  to the tax imposed by article nine of
such law as specified in section two hundred five of such law,  and  the
receipts  required to be deposited pursuant to the provisions of section
one hundred eighty-two-a, and all other moneys credited  or  transferred
thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
(b)   Moneys   in   the  metropolitan  mass  transportation  operating
assistance account shall be paid on a quarterly basis beginning  October
first,  nineteen  hundred eight-one. However, if there is a demonstrated
cash shortfall in any eligible system, payments to such  system  may  be
accelerated.  Such  moneys shall be paid in accordance with schedules as
specified by appropriations for payment of  operating  costs  of  public
transportation  systems  in  the  metropolitan  transportation  commuter
district in order to  meet  the  operating  expenses  of  such  systems,
provided,  however,  with  respect  to  the  metropolitan transportation
authority, its affiliates  and  subsidiaries,  and  notwithstanding  any
general  or  special  law  to  the contrary, other than such a law which
makes specific reference to this section, and subject to the  provisions
of  section  twelve  hundred seventy-c of the public authorities law, so
long as the metropolitan transportation  authority  dedicated  tax  fund
established   by   section   twelve  hundred  seventy-c  of  the  public
authorities law shall exist, any such appropriation to the  metropolitan
transportation  authority,  its  affiliates or its subsidiaries shall be
deemed  to  be  an  appropriation  to  the  metropolitan  transportation
authority  and  the  total amount paid pursuant to such appropriation or
appropriations shall be deposited to  such  metropolitan  transportation

authority  dedicated  tax  fund  and  distributed in accordance with the
provisions of section twelve hundred seventy-c of the public authorities
law. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be deemed  to  restrict
the  right  of  the  state  to  amend, repeal, modify or otherwise alter
statutes imposing or  relating  to  the  taxes  producing  revenues  for
deposit  in  the  metropolitan  mass transportation operating assistance
account  or  the  appropriations  relating  thereto.  The   metropolitan
transportation  authority  shall  not  include  within  any  resolution,
contract or agreement with holders of the bonds or  notes  issued  under
section  twelve  hundred  sixty-nine  of  the public authorities law any
provision which provides that a default occurs as a result of the  state
exercising  its  right  to amend, repeal, modify or otherwise alter such
taxes or appropriations.
9. Any moneys in the mass transportation operating assistance fund and
in any of the accounts in such fund may, at the discretion of the  state
comptroller,  be  invested  in  securities and obligations as defined by
section ninety-eight-a  of  this  chapter.  Any  income  earned  by  the
investment  of moneys in any of the accounts in such fund shall be added
to and become a part of, and shall be used  for  the  purposes  of  such
account.