BILL NUMBER: S754
SPONSOR: MARTINEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the transportation law, in relation to the membership of
the Republic airport commission
 
PURPOSE:
Chapter Amendment. To simplify the nomination and appointment process
for the Republic Airport Commission (RAC).
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Chapter Amendment.
Section 1: Maintains the requirements that a list of 3 candidates must
be submitted to the Governor's office, of which 1 will be appointed to
the RAC.
Revises referenced to the Commissioner to gender neutral language.
Section 2. Provides that the effective dates shall take effect on the
same date and in the same manner as proposed in legislative bills
numbers S. 9475 and A. 10336, take effect.
Underlying Bill:
Section 1: Amends section 402 of transportation law in relation to the
membership of the Republic Airport Commission, replacing existing resi-
dency language with a general residency requirement in either Nassau or
Suffolk counties; removes the 6-3 Suffolk-Nassau county resident compo-
sition requirement; removes the necessity of Senate confirmation for
appointments; removes the requirement of candidate list submissions to
the Governor; replaces staggered initial appointment terms with set
four-year terms, and removes outdated language on the initial PILOT
study conducted by Commission.
Section 2: Provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The Republic Airport Commission (RAC) serves as an advisory council to
the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation
(NYSDOT) with respect to the administration and management of Republic
Airport, located in East Farmingdale in Suffolk County. The current
process for nominating and appointing members to the RAC requires three
names for each vacancy looking to be filled, all of which must meet the
residency requirements for the seat. The existing residency requirements
themselves are unnecessarily complex, with town and locality specifica-
tions, and an overarching mandate that the board be composed of six
members from Suffolk, and three from Nassau.
This legislation would amend this process and simplify the residency
requirements by removing the specific town and locality residency
mandates, and instead simply require that the nominee be a resident of
Suffolk or Nassau County, eliminating the 6-3-County composition. It
would also remove the requirement that a list of three candidates be
submitted for each vacant seat that an appointment is being made for and
eliminate the need for Senate confirmation. Lastly, this bill would
standardize the terms of each initial appointment to four years each.
These changes will simplify the overall process, expand the pool of
candidates available to be recommended for nomination, and will reduce
unnecessary delays and redundancy in filling appointments to the Commis-
sion.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024:
S.9475 (Martinez) - Passed Senate on 6/4/24, 36-21.
A.10336(Jean-Pierre)- Passed Assembly on 6/4/24, 99-46.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a
chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the transportation law relating to
the membership of the Republic airport commission, as proposed in legis-
lative bills numbers S. 9475 and A. 10336, takes effect.