BILL NUMBER: S7679A
SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to membership on
the Long Island rail road commuter council, the Metro-North railroad
commuter council, and the New York city transit riders council, and in
relation to the powers and duties of the permanent citizens advisory
committee
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To update the authorizing statutes for the New York City Transit Riders
Council, the Long Island Railroad Commuter Council, the Metro-North
Railroad Commuter Council, and the Permanent Citizens Advisory Commit-
tee, and to facilitate the process of appointing individuals to such
councils
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill names it the Riders Interests Deserve Empower-
ing Representation (RIDER) Act.
Section two of this bill amends subdivision 1 of section 1204-e of
Public Authorities Law (PAL) to change the name of the New York city
transit authority advisory council to the "New York city transit riders
council" in order to conform the name of the council to the one used on
official documents.
This section then amends subdivision 2 of section 1204-e of PAL to allow
local elected officials to make recommendations for appointments to the
council rather requiring exactly five recommendations from the President
of the New York City Council and five from each of the borough presi-
dents of New York City. The local elected officials would still be
consulting with the applicable borough president when making their
recommendation to the Governor for such appointments. Furthermore, this
bill assures even geographic representation on the NYC Transit Riders
Council by requiring that each borough, have at least one representative
on the council.
This new, more streamlined appointment process would mirror one that
already exists for the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council and which
has successfully resulted in seats being filled more quickly so that
large transit service areas do not go unrepresented for extended periods
of time.
Section three of this bill amends section 1266-d of PAL to allow local
elected officials to work with the Nassau and Suffolk county executives
as well as the Queens and Brooklyn borough presidents in order to make
recommendations for appointments to the Long Island Railroad Commuter
Council, rather than requiring a specific number of recommendations from
just the county executives and borough presidents. This new, more
streamlined appointment process would mirror one that already exists for
the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council and which has successfully
resulted in seats being filled more quickly so that large transit
service areas do not go unrepresented for extended periods of time.
This section also conforms the name of the LIRR Commuter Council to the
name used on official documents.
Section four of this bill amends section 1266-e of PAL to include the
future Penn Access line to the jurisdiction of the Metro-North Railroad
Commuter Council and conform the name of the council to the one used on
official documents.
Section five of this bill amends section 1266-i of PAL to more clearly
define the role of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA,
which is the coordinating body for the NYC Transit Riders Council, LIRR
Commuter Council, and the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council, and to
allow for interim appointments in order to ensure that vacancies on the
councils do not result in areas of the MTA service territory going
unrepresented for extended periods of time.
Section six of this bill sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC, was created
by the legislature in 1981 to serve as the official voice for MTA
riders. The council is composed of members from the New York City Trans-
it Riders Council, Long Island Rail Road Commuter Council, and Metro-
North Railroad Commuter Council. Each council elects one non-voting
member to the MTA Board.
For nearly a half century, the councils, their nonvoting representatives
on the MTA Board, and PCAC staff, have advocated for riders across the
MTA service territory, fighting to keep transit affordable, allow all
riders to access the fastest transit regardless of income or physical
ability, and ensure that the MTA is adequately funded. PCAC exists to
give riders a voice, holding the MTA accountable to its users by holding
regular public meetings, providing public commentary, undertaking
research projects, advocating for legislation that would benefit riders,
and providing informed and timely advice on service, capital invest-
ments, financing, communications, system management, and more.
Unfortunately, a large number of vacancies on PCAC and its three coun-
cils threatens this critical work. A quarter of the seats on the New
York City Transit Riders Council, eight of the 13 seats on the LIRR
Commuter Council, and nearly half of the seats on the Metro-North Rail-
road Commuter Council are vacant. This large number of vacancies, 17 of
the 40 total seats as of January 2025, make it challenging for the coun-
cils to achieve a quorum, thereby barring the councils from conducting
basic functions such as approving minutes or passing resolutions.
This legislation will address vacancies and enhance local control by
broadening the set of elected officials who are able to recommend
appointees to the Executive's appointments office, while ensuring
collaboration with countywide elected officials. It would duplicate a
successful process that is already in place for the Metro-North Railroad
Commuter Council.
This legislation will also allow for PCAC's chair to make interim
appointments to the rider councils, ensuring that no MTA rider voice
goes unrepresented while the oftentimes lengthy formal appointments
process takes place. Finally, the legislation conforms the names of the
councils used in statute with those used on official council documents
and expands the jurisdiction of the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Coun-
cil to include the Hell Gate Line.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2025: S7679 - Referred to Transportation
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate

Statutes affected:
S7679: 1266-i public authorities law
S7679A: 1266-i public authorities law