2023 New York Laws › PBA - Public Authorities › Article 2 - Park, Parkway and Highway Authorities › Title 9 - New York State Thruway Authority › 376 - Further Additional Powers of the Authority.

§ 376. Further additional powers of the authority. The authority shall
have  the  power, in addition to the powers granted in other sections of
this title:
1. (a) To enter into a cooperative highway  contractual  agreement  or
agreements  with the commissioner of transportation for the financing by
the authority of expenditures made in advance by the state  for  design,
acquisition,  construction,  reconstruction  or  the  reconditioning and
preservation of transportation facilities pursuant to the provisions  of
section  eighty-eight-b  of the state finance law, state highways, state
parkways, state arterial highways in cities and related  facilities  and
structures   thereon,   including   bridges,   the   reconditioning  and
preservation of structures separating highways and  railroads,  and  the
traffic  operations  program to increase capacity and safety on existing
street and highway systems in urban areas, capacity  and  infrastructure
improvements  to  state,  county, town, city or village roads, highways,
parkways and bridges, in any case where the expense thereof is  paid  in
whole or in part by the state.
(b)  To  issue  use  permits to the commissioner of transportation for
projects financed by the authority of expenditures made  in  advance  by
the  state  in  accordance  with the provisions of a cooperative highway
contractual agreement or agreements provided,  that  such  projects  are
maintained  and  operated  under  the  supervision  of the department of
transportation or the municipal agency designated by the commissioner of
transportation without cost to the New York State thruway authority  for
the  full  term  of  such agreement or agreements, and, provided further
that such use permit shall be granted by the authority for  the  use  of
such  projects  by  the  department  of  transportation or the municipal
agency designated by the commissioner of transportation on a  toll  free
basis.
2.  From  time  to  time to issue emergency highway reconditioning and
preservation bonds and notes for the purposes of this section.  All  the
provisions  of  this  title  relating  to bonds and notes, which are not
inconsistent with the provisions of this section,  shall  apply  to  the
bonds  and  notes  authorized  by  this section. The authority shall not
issue emergency highway reconditioning and preservation bonds and  notes
in  an  aggregate  principal  amount  exceeding: (a) one hundred million
dollars, excluding bonds issued to  refund  outstanding  notes,  in  the
period  from  April  first,  nineteen  hundred seventy-two through March
thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-two; and  (b)  an  additional  one
hundred  thirty-six  million  dollars,  excluding bonds issued to refund
outstanding notes, on or after April first, nineteen hundred  eighty-two
but before April first, nineteen hundred eighty-six.
2-a.  From  time  to  time  issue  emergency  highway construction and
reconstruction bonds and notes for the purposes of this section. All the
provisions of this title relating to  bonds  and  notes  which  are  not
inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this section shall apply to the
bonds and notes authorized by this  section.  The  authority  shall  not
issue  emergency highway construction and reconstruction bonds and notes
in an aggregate principal amount  exceeding:  (a)  one  hundred  million
dollars,  excluding bonds or notes issued to refund outstanding bonds or
notes, before April first, nineteen hundred ninety and (b) an additional
thirty-four million dollars, excluding bonds or notes issued  to  refund
outstanding  bonds  or  notes, on or after April first, nineteen hundred
ninety and (c) an additional  ninety-three  million  dollars,  excluding
bonds  or notes, issued to refund outstanding bonds or notes on or after
April first, nineteen hundred ninety-one and (d)  an  additional  ninety
million  dollars,  excluding bonds or notes issued to refund outstanding
bonds or notes, on or after April first, nineteen hundred ninety-two.
2-b. From time to time to enter into agreements with the  commissioner
of  transportation  to  finance the capital costs of projects authorized
pursuant to section eighty-eight-b of the  state  finance  law,  and  to
issue  bonds  and  notes  for  capital projects approved by metropolitan
planning   organizations   or   transportation  coordinating  committees
pursuant to the provisions  of  such  section  eighty-eight-b.  All  the
provisions  of  this  title  relating  to  bonds and notes which are not
inconsistent with the provisions of this  section  shall  apply  to  the
bonds  and  notes authorized by this section. No bonds or notes shall be
issued for  the  purposes  authorized  by  this  subdivision  after  the
thirty-first day of March, two thousand.
2-c.   From  time  to  time  to  issue  additional  emergency  highway
reconditioning and preservation bonds and notes for the purposes of this
section. All the provisions of this title relating to bonds  and  notes,
which  are  not  inconsistent with the provisions of this section, shall
apply to the bonds and notes authorized by this section.  The  authority
shall  not  issue  such  additional emergency highway reconditioning and
preservation bonds and notes in an aggregate principal amount  exceeding
(a)  forty-eight  million  dollars,  excluding  bonds or notes issued to
refund outstanding bonds or notes, on or  after  April  first,  nineteen
hundred  ninety,  and  (b)  an  additional  eighty-four  million dollars
excluding bonds or notes issued to refund outstanding bonds or notes  on
or after April first, nineteen hundred ninety-one, and (c) an additional
eighty-five  million  dollars, excluding bonds or notes issued to refund
outstanding bonds or notes, on or after April  first,  nineteen  hundred
ninety-two.
3.  In  addition  to  the  provisions  authorized  by  this  title any
resolution or  resolutions  authorizing  any  bonds  or  notes  for  the
purposes  of  this section may contain provisions which may be a part of
the contract with the holders of such bonds providing for  the  creation
and  establishment and maintenance of reserve funds and payments to such
reserve funds as hereinafter in this subdivision set forth.
The authority may create and establish reserve funds to  be  known  as
the  emergency  highway  reconditioning  and  preservation  debt service
reserve fund, the emergency highway construction and reconstruction debt
service reserve  fund  and  the  suburban  transportation  debt  service
reserve  fund  and  may  pay  into  such  reserve  funds (a) moneys made
available by the state for the purposes of such funds from the emergency
highway reconditioning and preservation fund, or the  emergency  highway
construction and reconstruction fund or the suburban transportation fund
as  created  by  section eighty-nine, eighty-nine-a or eighty-eight-b of
the state finance law, respectively; (b) any proceeds of sale  of  bonds
and  notes  to  the  extent  provided in the resolution of the authority
authorizing the issuance thereof; and (c) any other moneys which may  be
made  available to the authority for the purposes of such funds from any
other source or sources. The moneys held in or  credited  to  such  debt
service  reserve  funds  established  under  this subdivision, except as
hereinafter provided, shall be  used  solely  for  the  payment  of  the
principal  of  bonds  of the authority secured by such reserve funds, as
the same mature, the purchase  of  such  bonds  of  the  authority,  the
payment of interest on such bonds of the authority or the payment of any
redemption  premium  required  to  be  paid when such bonds are redeemed
prior to maturity; provided, however, that  moneys  in  any  such  funds
shall  not  be  withdrawn  therefrom at any time in such amount as would
reduce the amount of such funds to  less  than  the  maximum  amount  of
principal  and  interest  maturing  and  becoming  due in any succeeding
calendar year on the bonds of the authority then outstanding and secured
by such reserve funds, except for the purpose of  paying  principal  and

interest  on  the  bonds  of the authority secured by such reserve funds
maturing and becoming due and for the payment of which other  moneys  of
the  authority  are  not available. Any income or interest earned by, or
increment  to, any such debt service reserve funds due to the investment
thereof may be transferred to any other fund or account of the authority
established for the purposes of this section to the extent it  does  not
reduce  the  amount of such debt service reserve funds below the maximum
amount of principal and  interest  maturing  and  becoming  due  in  any
succeeding  calendar year on all bonds of the authority then outstanding
and secured by such reserve funds.
4. The authority shall not issue bonds at any time for the purposes of
this section if the maximum amount of principal  and  interest  maturing
and  becoming due in a succeeding calendar year on the bonds outstanding
and then to be issued and secured by any debt service reserve fund  will
exceed  the  amount of such reserve fund at the time of issuance, unless
the authority at the time of issuance of such bonds,  shall  deposit  in
such  reserve  fund  from  the proceeds of the bonds so to be issued, or
otherwise, an amount which together with the amount then in such reserve
fund, will be not less than the maximum amount of principal and interest
maturing and becoming due in any succeeding calendar year on  the  bonds
then  to  be  issued  and  on  all  other  bonds  of  the authority then
outstanding and secured by such reserve fund.
5. (a) To assure the continued operation and solvency of the authority
for the carrying out of the purposes relating to this section  provision
is made in this section for the accumulation in the debt service reserve
fund  of an amount equal to the maximum amount of principal and interest
maturing and becoming due in any succeeding calendar year on  all  bonds
of  the  authority then outstanding and secured by such reserve fund. In
order further to assure the maintenance of  such  debt  service  reserve
fund,  with  respect  to  bonds of the authority issued pursuant to this
section prior to April first, nineteen hundred ninety,  there  shall  be
annually  apportioned and paid to the authority for deposit in such debt
service reserve fund such sum, if any, as  shall  be  certified  by  the
chairman  of  the  authority  to  the governor and state director of the
budget as necessary to restore such reserve fund to an amount  equal  to
the  maximum  amount of principal and interest maturing and becoming due
in any succeeding calendar year on  the  bonds  of  the  authority  then
outstanding  and  secured  by  such  reserve  fund.  The chairman of the
authority shall annually, on or before December first, make and  deliver
to the governor and state director of the budget his certificate stating
the  sum,  if any, required to restore such debt service reserve fund to
the amount aforesaid, and the sum or sums so certified, if any, shall be
apportioned and paid to the authority  during  the  then  current  state
fiscal year.
(b)  To  assure  the continued operation and solvency of the authority
for the carrying out of the purposes relating to this section, provision
is made in this section for the accumulation in the debt service reserve
fund of an amount equal to the maximum amount of principal and  interest
maturing  and  becoming due in any succeeding calendar year on all bonds
of the authority then outstanding and  secured  by  such  reserve  fund;
provided  however  for  such  bonds  issued by the authority after April
first, nineteen hundred ninety-two, such debt service reserve  fund  may
in  the  discretion  of  the authority and consistent with any covenants
with any existing bondholders and without impairing the  rights  of  any
existing  bondholders  be  sized  in  an  amount  equal to not less than
one-half of the maximum amount of principal and  interest  maturing  and
becoming  due  in  any  succeeding  calendar  year  on such bonds of the
authority then outstanding and secured  by  such  debt  service  reserve

fund.  In  order  to further assure the maintenance of such debt service
reserve fund, with respect to bonds of the authority issued pursuant  to
subdivisions  two-a,  two-b and two-c of this section after April first,
nineteen hundred ninety, the authority shall create a special subaccount
in   each  revenue  fund  established  pursuant  to  any  resolution  or
resolutions authorizing such bonds. Such subaccounts  shall  consist  of
the  moneys  available  after  April  first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety,
pursuant to sections two hundred eighty-two-b, two hundred eighty-two-c,
two hundred eighty-four-a and two hundred eighty-four-c of the tax  law,
respectively,  in  the emergency highway reconditioning and preservation
fund  reserve  account  established  pursuant  to   paragraph   (b)   of
subdivision  two  of section eighty-nine of the state finance law and in
the emergency  highway  construction  and  reconstruction  fund  reserve
account  established  pursuant  to  paragraph  (b) of subdivision two of
section eighty-nine-a of the state finance law, apportioned and paid  to
the  authority  for  deposit  in  such  subaccount  of the revenue fund.
Amounts in each such subaccount shall be kept separate and shall not  be
commingled  with  any  other  moneys  in  the  custody of the authority.
Amounts in each such subaccount shall be applied solely to pay such sum,
if any, as shall semi-annually, (on such dates as are established  under
the  terms  of  any  cooperative  highway  contractual  agreement of the
department of transportation with the New York state  thruway  authority
entered  into  on or after April first, nineteen hundred ninety which is
then in effect), be certified by the chairman of the  authority  to  the
governor  and state director of the budget as necessary to provide funds
in an amount sufficient together with  other  moneys  available  to  the
authority  for  such  purpose,  to  pay  one-half  of  the  total annual
principal and  interest  maturing  and  becoming  due  during  the  next
succeeding  twelve  calendar months on all bonds of the authority issued
pursuant to subdivisions two-a, two-b and two-c of  this  section  after
April  first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety and maintaining or funding debt
service reserve funds therefor. Any surplus of funds in excess  of  such
certified amounts remaining in each such subaccount after such payments,
if any, have been made shall on the dates established under the terms of
such   cooperative   highway  agreements,  be  paid  over  for  deposit,
respectively, in the emergency highway reconditioning  and  preservation
fund   reserve   account   established  pursuant  to  paragraph  (b)  of
subdivision two of section eighty-nine of the state finance law  and  in
the  emergency  highway  construction  and  reconstruction  fund reserve
account established pursuant to paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  two  of
section eighty-nine-a of the state finance law.
6. In computing the debt service reserve fund for the purposes of this
section, securities in which all or a portion of such reserve fund shall
be invested shall be valued at par, or if purchased at less than par, at
their cost to the authority.
7.  The  authorization,  sale  and  issuance  of bonds, notes or other
obligations pursuant to this section shall not be deemed  an  action  as
such  term is defined in article eight of the environmental conservation
law for the purposes of such article. Such exemption shall  be  strictly
limited in its application to such financing activities of the authority
and does not exempt the department of transportation or any other entity
from compliance with such article.