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The Business Council of New York State, the state’s leading statewide business and industry association, supports this legislation that would establish a temporary advisory board for upstate transit funding.
Similar legislation providing for the creation of this temporary board was passed last year by the Legislature but vetoed by the Executive due to concerns that there was not adequate time for the compilation of the study under previous timeframes. These concerns have been addressed under the current bill. Members of this commission shall be appointed within 30 days of the enacted of the law and a final report must be submitted by December 31, 2018.
This temporary advisory board on upstate transit funding will study, develop and make specific recommendations with respect to sustainable state funding options for the growth and stability of the public transportation systems operating assistance account (PTSOA account) of the mass transportation operating assistance fund.
The Business Council of New York State has long urged state policy makers to properly maintain and fund the transportation infrastructure of our State. Our member companies and their employees depend on our roads, bridges, and transportation networks to do business in this state, travel to and from their places of employment, and support the economic growth of the state as a whole. Mass transit plays a large role in this equation. Millions of employees and employers utilize the upstate mass transit network and as such a stable state funding mechanism to maintain it is required. In a very similar vein, we applauded the parity achieved in 2016 between upstate and downstate capital programs. This study would gather needed data in regards to the public transit issue closely tied to that equation.
For these reasons The Business Council urges the passage of this legislation.