Section 553-J - Additional powers and provisions in relation to central business district tolling program1. The authority shall establish a fund to be known as the central business district tolling capital lockbox fund which shall be kept separate from and shall not be commingled with any other monies of the authority. The fund shall consist of all monies received by the authority pursuant to article forty-four-C of the vehicle and traffic law, subdivision twelve-a of section five hundred fifty-three of this title, and revenues of the real estate transfer tax deposited pursuant to subdivision (b) of section fourteen hundred twenty-one of the tax law, and sales tax pursuant to subdivision (c) of section eleven hundred forty-eight of the tax law, subparagraph (B) of paragraph five of subdivision (c) of section twelve hundred sixty-one of the tax law, and funds appropriated from the central business district trust fund established pursuant to section ninty-nine-ff of the state finance law.2. Monies in the fund shall be applied, subject to agreements with bondholders and applicable federal law, to the payment of operating, administration, and other necessary expenses of the authority, or to the city of New York subject to the memorandum of understanding executed pursuant to subdivision two-a of section seventeen hundred four of the vehicle and traffic law properly allocable to such program, including the planning, designing, constructing, installing or maintaining of the central business district tolling program, including, without limitation, the central business district tolling infrastructure, the central business district tolling collection system and the central business district tolling customer service center, and the costs of any metropolitan transportation authority capital projects included within the 2020 to 2024 MTA capital program or any successor programs. Monies in the fund may be: (a) pledged by the authority to secure and be applied to the payment of the bonds, notes or other obligations of the authority to finance the costs of the central business district tolling program, including, without limitation, the central business district tolling infrastructure, the central business district tolling collection system and the central business district tolling customer service center, and the costs of any metropolitan transportation authority capital projects included within the 2020 to 2024 MTA capital program or any successor programs, including debt service, reserve requirements, if any, the payment of amounts required under bond and note facilities or agreements related thereto, the payment of federal government loans, security or credit arrangements or other agreements related thereto; or (b) used by the authority for the payment of such capital costs of the central business district tolling program and the costs of any metropolitan transportation authority capital projects included within the 2020 to 2024 MTA capital program or any successor programs; or (c) transferred to the metropolitan transportation authority and (1) pledged by the metropolitan transportation authority to secure and be applied to the payment of the bonds, notes or other obligations of the metropolitan transportation authority to finance the costs of any metropolitan transportation authority capital projects included within the 2020 to 2024 MTA capital program or any successor programs, including debt service, reserve requirements, if any, the payment of amounts required under bond and note facilities or agreements related thereto, the payment of federal government loans, security or credit arrangements or other agreements related thereto, or (2) used by the metropolitan transportation authority for the payment of the costs of any metropolitan transportation authority capital projects included within the 2020 to 2024 MTA capital program or any successor programs. Such revenues shall only supplement and shall not supplant any federal, state, or local funds expended by the authority or the metropolitan transportation authority, or such authority's or metropolitan transportation authority's affiliates or subsidiaries for such respective purposes. Central business district toll revenues may be used as required to obtain, utilize, or maintain federal authorization to collect tolls on federal aid highways. 3. Any monies deposited in the fund shall be held in the fund free and clear of any claim by any person arising out of or in connection with article forty-four-C of the vehicle and traffic law and subdivision twelve-a of section five hundred fifty-three of this title. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no person paying any amount that is deposited into the fund shall have any right or claim against the authority or the metropolitan transportation authority, any of their bondholders, any of the authority's or the metropolitan transportation authority's subsidiaries or affiliates to any monies in or distributed from the fund or in respect of a refund, rebate, credit or reimbursement of monies arising out of or in connection with article forty-four-C of the vehicle and traffic law and subdivision twelve-a of section five hundred fifty-three of this title.3-a. Of the capital project costs paid by this fund: eighty percent shall be capital project costs of the New York city transit authority and its subsidiary, Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, and MTA Bus with priority given to the subway system, new signaling, new subway cars, track and car repair, accessibility, buses and bus system improvements and further investments in expanding transit availability to areas in the outer boroughs that have limited mass transit options; ten percent shall be capital project costs of the Long Island Rail Road, including but not limited to, parking facilities, rolling stock, capacity enhancements, accessibility, and expanding transit availability to areas in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District that have limited mass transit options; and ten percent shall be capital project costs of the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, including but not limited to, parking facilities, rolling stock, capacity enhancements, accessibility, and expanding transit availability to areas in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District that have limited mass transit options.4. The authority shall report annually on all receipts and expenditures of the fund. The report shall detail operating expenses of the central business district tolling program and all fund expenditures including capital projects. If, during the period of the report, any monies in the fund were used by the authority or the metropolitan transportation authority to offset decreases in revenue lost in whole or in part due to the state disaster emergency caused by novel coronavirus, COVID-19, or increases in operating costs in whole due to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, the report shall also provide: (a) details of such decreases in revenue in whole, (b) details of such decreases in revenue in part, (c) details of such increases in costs, (d) the methodology used by the authority or metropolitan transportation authority to calculate such changes, and (e) explanation for attributing a particular increase in cost or a particular decrease in revenue, to the state disaster emergency caused by coronavirus, COVID-19. The report shall be readily available to the public, and shall be posted on the authority's website and be submitted to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the comptroller, the director of the budget, the mayor and council of the city of New York, the metropolitan transportation authority board, and the metropolitan transportation authority capital program review board.5. Any operating funding used for the purposes of a central business district tolling program from this fund shall be approved, annually, in a plan of expenditures, by the director of the budget.N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 553-J
Amended by New York Laws 2020, ch. 58,Sec. MMM-1, eff. 4/3/2020.Added by New York Laws 2019, ch. 59,Sec. ZZZ-A-5, eff. 4/12/2019. See New York Laws 2020, ch. 58, Sec. MMM-2.