2023 New York Laws › PBA - Public Authorities › Article 5 - Public Utility Authorities › Title 11 - Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority › 1269-B - Capital Program Plans; Approvals; Effect of Disapproval.

§  1269-b. Capital program plans; approvals; effect of disapproval. 1.
(a) On or before October first, nineteen hundred eighty-one, and  on  or
before  October  first  of  every  fifth  year  thereafter,  through and
including October first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-one,  the  authority
shall  submit  to  the  metropolitan  transportation  authority  capital
program review board two capital program plans for the five year  period
commencing January first of the following year;
(b) not later than ten days after the effective date of this paragraph
the  authority shall submit to the metropolitan transportation authority
capital program review board two capital program plans for the five-year
period commencing January first, nineteen hundred ninety-five; and
(c) on or before October first, nineteen hundred ninety-nine and every
fifth year thereafter, the authority shall submit  to  the  metropolitan
transportation  authority  capital  program  review  board  two  capital
program plans for the five-year period commencing January first  of  the
following year.
For  each  of the periods described above, one such plan shall contain
the capital program for the transit facilities operated by the New  York
city  transit  authority  and its subsidiaries and for the Staten Island
rapid transit operating authority; the other such plan shall contain the
capital program for the railroad facilities, not  including  the  Staten
Island  rapid transit operating authority, under the jurisdiction of the
authority.
Each plan shall set  system-wide  goals  and  objectives  for  capital
spending,  establish  standards for service and operations, and describe
each capital element proposed to be  initiated  in  each  of  the  years
covered  by  the plan and explain how each proposed element supports the
achievement of the service and operational standards established in  the
plan.  Each  plan  shall  also  set  forth  an estimate of the amount of
capital funding required each year and  the  expected  sources  of  such
funding.  Each  plan subsequent to the first such plan and each proposed
amendment or modification thereof shall also describe the current status
of each capital element included in the  previously  approved  plan,  if
any.  Each  plan shall be accompanied or supplemented by such supporting
materials as the metropolitan transportation authority  capital  program
review board shall require.
A capital element shall mean either a category of expenditure itemized
in a plan, as hereinafter provided, for which a specified maximum dollar
amount  is  proposed to be expended, or a particularly described capital
project within one or more categories for which no  maximum  expenditure
is  proposed,  but for which an estimate of expected cost is provided. A
capital element shall be deemed to have been initiated for  purposes  of
this  section  if  in  connection  with such element the authority shall
certify that (i) purchase or construction contracts  have  been  entered
into, obligating in the aggregate an amount exceeding ten percent of the
maximum  or  estimated  cost of the element as set forth in a plan, (ii)
financing specific to the project has been undertaken,  or  (iii)  in  a
case  where such element is limited to design or engineering, a contract
therefor has been entered into.
2. Each plan shall itemize  the  capital  elements  included  in  each
section  of  the plan under the following categories of expenditure: (a)
rolling stock and buses; (b) passenger stations;  (c)  track;  (d)  line
equipment;  (e)  line  structures;  (f)  signals and communications; (g)
power equipment, emergency power equipment and substations;  (h)  shops,
yards,   maintenance  facilities,  depots  and  terminals;  (i)  service
vehicles; (j) security systems; (k) electrification extensions; and  (l)
unspecified, miscellaneous and emergency.
2-a.  (a)  A  copy  of any proposed capital program plan that has been
distributed to  one  or  more  committees  of  the  authority  shall  be
simultaneously  provided,  for informational purposes, to the members of
the metropolitan transportation authority capital program review  board.
Provision of such a proposed capital program plan to the capital program
review board pursuant to this provision for informational purposes shall
not  constitute  the  submission  of  a capital program plan for capital
program review board approval.
(b) A copy  of  any  proposed  capital  program  plan  that  has  been
distributed  to  one  or  more  committees  of  the  authority  shall be
simultaneously provided to the public by the metropolitan transportation
authority, via its official or shared internet website.
(c) The authority shall publish data pertaining to capital programs of
the authority and any amendments to such programs as  required  by  this
section on the authority's website in a common, machine readable format,
as  defined  by  executive  order  number  ninety-five  of  two thousand
thirteen, "Using Technology to Promote Transparency, Improve  Government
Performance and Enhance Citizen Engagement" or any successor order. Such
data shall include, but not be limited to:
(i)  all  data  required  by  paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this
section, including estimates of capital budget required by  element  for
an approved capital program and expected sources of such funding for the
entire capital program; and
(ii)  all  data required by subdivision two of this section, including
proposed annual commitments for individual capital elements required.
(d) At a minimum, individual capital project data  for  projects  that
are  committed  for  construction shall be included in a capital program
dashboard maintained by the authority on its website. Any summary  views
provided  on  the website shall include the original budgets at the time
of project commitment when scope and budget are defined, project scopes,
and schedules, in  addition  to  current  or  amended  budgets,  project
scopes,  and  schedules.  Data  pertaining  to individual projects shall
include, but not be limited to:
(i) the capital project identification number  delineated  by  agency,
category, element and project as used in the capital program;
(ii) the capital plan years;
(iii) the agency or authority undertaking the project;
(iv) a project description;
(v) the project location where appropriate;
(vi)  the  capital  needs  code  of the project, such as state of good
repair, normal replacement,  system  improvement,  system  expansion  or
other category;
(vii)  budget information including the original budget at the time of
project commitment when scope and budget are  defined,  all  amendments,
the current budget and planned annual allocations; and
(viii) a schedule for project delivery including original, amended and
current start and completion dates as projects develop at each phase.
The  status  of projects shall be provided and state the current phase
of the project, such as planning, design,  construction  or  completion,
and  shall  state  how  far  the  project  has progressed as measured in
percentage by expenditure. The dashboard shall measure progress based on
original budgets at the time of project commitment when scope and budget
are defined. At a minimum, all changes to  planned  budgets  of  greater
than  ten  percent,  significant  project scope or a three month or more
change in schedule shall be provided in narrative form and describe  the
reason  for  each  change  or  amendment.  The dashboard shall include a
glossary or data dictionary which contains plain  language  descriptions
of   the   data,  including  individual  project  data,  and  any  other

information provided on the dashboard. The  authority  shall  provide  a
definition  of  resiliency  in  the  glossary  or  data  dictionary. The
dashboard shall be updated, at a minimum, on a quarterly basis, and  all
data  fields  available  on  the  dashboard  shall be made available for
download on the authority's website in a single tabular data file  in  a
common,  machine  readable  format. Capital dashboard data shall also be
made available on  the  data.ny.gov  website  or  such  other  successor
website maintained by, or on behalf of, the state, as deemed appropriate
by  the  New  York state office of information technology services under
executive order number ninety-five of  two  thousand  thirteen,  or  any
successor agency or order.
(e)  The  data  required  to be published pursuant to this subdivision
shall be made in a  single  tabular  data  file  in  a  common,  machine
readable  format  and shall be accessible on the authority's website and
the website data.ny.gov or such other successor website  maintained  by,
or  on behalf of, the state, as deemed appropriate by the New York state
office of information technology services under executive  order  number
ninety-five of two thousand thirteen, or any successor agency or order.
(f)  The authority shall create and maintain a separate section on its
capital program dashboard website for projects related to  accessibility
or  resiliency.  Information on this website shall be updated quarterly.
For  the  purposes  of  this  subdivision,  "accessibility"  shall  mean
projects  regarding  elevators, escalators, or other projects related to
compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,  as
amended,  and  corresponding guidelines, and "resiliency" shall have the
same meaning as defined  by  the  authority  in  its  twenty-year  needs
assessment  as  required  by  subdivision  c  of  section twelve hundred
sixty-nine-c of this title.
3. A plan may only be approved in two ways: (i) a plan shall  only  be
approved  by  the  board  by a unanimous vote of the members entitled to
vote thereon and within ninety days or by September fifteenth,  nineteen
hundred  ninety-six  in  the  case of a plan submitted during the period
described in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this  section,  of  the
submission  of  a plan the metropolitan transportation authority capital
program review board may notify the authority of  its  approval  of  the
same;  or  (ii)  if  the  plan  is not approved by the board within such
ninety  day  period  or  by  September   fifteenth,   nineteen   hundred
ninety-six,  as  the  case may be, and no individual member of the board
who is entitled to vote thereon has notified the authority in writing of
his or her disapproval with a written explanation  of  such  disapproval
including  specific  aspects  of  the  plan that are of concern and what
steps could be taken to address such concerns within  such  period,  the
plan  shall  be  deemed  to  have  been  approved. Upon the receipt of a
written disapproval, the authority shall be provided an  opportunity  to
respond  in  writing within ten days of the receipt of such disapproval.
Upon the receipt of such response, the disapproving  member  shall  have
ten days to reconsider and withdraw such written disapproval.
If  the plan is not approved, the authority may thereafter reformulate
and resubmit such plan at any time. Within thirty days of the submission
of such reformulated plan the board may  notify  the  authority  of  its
approval  of  the  same by the unanimous vote of the members entitled to
vote thereon, or, if the  reformulated  plan  is  not  approved  and  no
individual  member  of  the  board  who  is  entitled  to  vote  on such
reformulated plan has notified the authority in writing of  his  or  her
disapproval within such period, the reformulated plan shall be deemed to
have been approved.
4.  No  general obligation bonds or notes of the authority, no special
obligation bonds or notes of the authority to finance a transit project,

as such term is defined in section twelve hundred  sixty-six-c  of  this
title,  and  no  bonds  or  notes  of  the  Triborough bridge and tunnel
authority to finance a project pursuant to the  authorization  contained
in paragraph (r) of subdivision nine of section five hundred fifty-three
of  this  chapter  shall  be  issued  to  finance the costs of a capital
element unless such capital element and such source of funding  was  set
forth   in  a  plan  submitted  to  and  approved  by  the  metropolitan
transportation authority capital program review board.
5. The disapproval  of  a  plan  by  the  metropolitan  transportation
authority  capital  program review board shall not affect: (a) the right
of the authority, of the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority,  or  of
the  New  York  city transit authority, or of the subsidiaries of any of
them to initiate and complete any capital element which will be financed
otherwise than through the issuance of the bonds or notes  the  issuance
of  which  is prohibited under subdivision four of this section; (b) the
right of the authority or the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority  to
issue  bonds  or  notes to finance a capital element which was initiated
prior to such disapproval in conformity with a previously approved plan;
(c) the right of the New York city transit authority to issue its bonds,
notes, lease, sublease or other contractual obligations in payment for a
transit project initiated prior to such disapproval in conformity with a
previously approved plan; (d) the right  of  the  authority  or  of  the
Triborough bridge and tunnel authority to issue bonds or notes to refund
or  otherwise  repay any of its outstanding bonds or notes or to fulfill
any of their obligations to the holders  of  any  of  their  outstanding
bonds  or notes; or (e) the right of the New York city transit authority
to  issue  its  bonds,  notes,  lease,  sublease  or  other  contractual
obligations to refund or otherwise repay any of its outstanding bonds or
notes  or to fulfill any of its obligations to the holders of any of its
outstanding bonds or notes.
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section,
if  a  source  of  funding  described  in  an  approved  plan  shall  be
unavailable  or  be  available in a lesser amount than that set forth in
such plan, the authority and the Triborough bridge and tunnel  authority
may  issue  bonds or notes as necessary to provide the requisite funding
for the capital elements included in the plan to  the  extent  that  the
aggregate amount of such bonds or notes to be issued in substitution for
such  unavailable  amounts shall not exceed the greater of fifty million
dollars or twenty percent of the total amount described in such plan for
either the  substitute  funding  source  or  the  funding  source  being
substituted  for,  subject  to  the limitations set forth in subdivision
eleven of  section  five  hundred  fifty-three-e  of  this  chapter  and
paragraph  (a)  of subdivision four of section twelve hundred seven-m of
this article.
7. (a) The authority may from time to time submit to the  metropolitan
transportation  authority  capital  program  review  board amendments or
modifications to any five-year plan  theretofore  submitted,  and  shall
submit  such  an  amendment or modification (i) if the estimated cost of
any capital element for which a specified dollar amount was proposed  to
be  expended  exceeds the amount set forth in the approved plan for such
element by more than ten percent, (ii) if with respect to a particularly
described capital element for which only an estimate of  projected  cost
has  been  provided  in  the  plan  there  is  a  material change in the
description of such element from that contained in  the  approved  plan,
(iii)  if a capital element not previously included in the approved plan
is proposed to be undertaken and its cost, together  with  the  cost  of
other  elements  included  in  category  (l) of the plan, exceeds by ten
percent the amount provided for such category (l) elements, (iv) if  the

authority  shall  propose  to change by more than one year the time when
any capital element is proposed to be initiated or the  effect  of  such
change  will  be  to  increase  the  estimated amount of capital funding
required in any year covered by the plan by more than twenty percent, or
(v)  if  the  availability  of  funding sources changes to the degree to
which the authority or the Triborough bridge and  tunnel  authority  are
precluded  from exercising the authorization provided in subdivision six
of this section and the authority wishes to do so.
(b) An amendment or modification may only be approved in two ways: (i)
an amendment or modification shall only be approved by the  board  by  a
unanimous vote of the members entitled to vote thereon and within thirty
days  of the submission of an amendment or modification the metropolitan
transportation authority capital program review  board  may  notify  the
authority  of  its  approval  of  the  same; or (ii) if the amendment or
modification is not approved by the board within such thirty day  period
and  no  individual member of the board who is entitled to vote thereon,
has notified the authority in writing of  his  disapproval  within  such
period,  the  amendment  or  modification  shall  be deemed to have been
approved.
8. In formulating its capital program plans, the authority shall  give
consideration  to  the physical condition and urgency of need of each of
the several transportation and transit systems involved, to the needs of
all of the communities and areas  serviced  by  these  systems,  to  the
extent to which other capital aid or assistance may be available to each
of  these  systems,  and  to  the safety, comfort and convenience of its
passengers. In determining the source or method  of  funding  which  the
authority is to use to finance the cost of the capital elements included
in   its   capital  program  plans,  the  authority  shall,  insofar  as
practicable,  give  consideration,  among  other  things,  to  (i)   the
potential  impact  of  each  such  source  or  method  upon the level of
passenger  fares,  (ii)  the  relative  cost  of  the  several   funding
alternatives, and (iii) the relative ability of each source or method to
provide  funding at times and in amounts estimated to be required by the
capital program plan. To the extent funding is proposed to  be  obtained
through  the  issuance  and sale of bonds or notes, the authority shall,
insofar as practicable and consistent with the matters set forth in (i),
(ii) and (iii) above, give preference to the use of  funds  appropriated
or  to  be  appropriated to the authority by virtue of service contracts
with the director of the budget entered into pursuant to the  provisions
of  the  transportation systems assistance and financing act of 1981 for
purposes of paying the annual cost of debt service  for  such  bonds  or
notes.
9. Prior to the adoption by the authority or the New York city transit
authority of its general resolution pursuant to which it is to issue any
general  or  special obligation bonds or notes, not including any series
resolution or resolutions, the authority shall submit  a  copy  of  such
resolution  to the metropolitan transportation authority capital program
review board. Within fifteen days of  such  submission,  the  board  may
notify  the  authority  of  its  unanimous  approval  of the same by the
members entitled to vote thereon, or if the resolution is  not  approved
and  no  individual  member of the board who is entitled to vote on such
resolution has notified the authority in writing of his disapproval, the
resolution shall be deemed to have been approved. Neither the board  nor
any  member  thereof shall disapprove a proposed resolution by reason of
any  covenant  requiring  the  authority,  the  New  York  city  transit
authority  or  their  subsidiaries  to  charge  and  fix fares, fees and
rentals sufficient to pay its operating expenses and the  debt  service,
including  the  funding  of  requisite  reserves, on the bonds and notes

authorized by such resolution.  If  the  board  or  any  member  thereof
entitled  to  vote  thereon  shall disapprove a proposed resolution, the
authority may, at any time, resubmit a reformulated  resolution.  Within
ten days of the submission of such reformulated resolution the board may
notify  the  authority  of  its  unanimous  approval  of the same by the
members entitled to vote thereon, or, if the reformulated resolution  is
not  approved  and  no individual member of the board who is entitled to
vote thereon has notified the authority in writing  of  his  disapproval
within  such  period, the reformulated resolution shall have been deemed
to have been approved. Any individual member  of  the  board  who  votes
against  a  resolution  or a reformulated resolution or who notifies the
authority of his disapproval  shall  state  his  reasons  therefor.  The
member  appointed  on the recommendation of the mayor of the city of New
York shall not participate in the action of the board  with  respect  to
any  bond  resolution  of  the  authority  pursuant to which its general
obligation bonds or notes may be issued. Neither the authority  nor  the
New   York   city  transit  authority  shall  adopt  a  bond  resolution
disapproved by the board as herein provided.
10. In formulating its capital  program  plans,  the  authority  shall
develop criteria to determine how to best prioritize subway stations for
accessibility  improvements.  Such  criteria  shall  include, but not be
limited to: citywide  geographic  coverage;  transit  transfer  options;
annual  ridership  volume;  census  tract  data  for senior and disabled
populations and percentage of those populations in poverty;  residential
density  of surrounding neighborhoods; and proximity to medical centers,
schools, parks, business districts, cultural hubs  and  senior  centers.
Such criteria shall be made publicly available.
11.  In formulating their capital program plans, the authority and its
affiliates  and  subsidiaries  shall  consider  bicycle  and  pedestrian
accessibility.