Establishes a public transportation expansion fund for the purpose of ensuring access to public transportation for publicly funded economic development projects.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3908
SPONSOR: Bronson TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the economic development law and the state finance law,
in relation to establishing a public transportation expansion fund
PURPOSE:
To create a Public transportation expansion fund to reimburse transit
authorities established pursuant to section eighty-eight-a of the state
finance law for expenses of expanding transit to publicly funded econom-
ic development projects outside their currently offered service area.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Short title
Section 2 adds a new section 233 to the economic development law
directing the Commissioners of the Economic Development and Transporta-
tion to develop and jointly administer a public transportation expansion
fund for the purpose of ensuring access to public transportation for
publicly funded economic development project and sets eligibility for
access to the fund.
Section 3 adds a new section 88-e to the State Finance Law to estab-
lish the Public Transportation Expansion Fund.
JUSTIFICATION:
Major publicly funded economic development projects across the State
need public transit to connect to workforce development in these
regions. The location of the new facilities publicly funded through
incentives from Empire State Development, IDAs, or other Federal, State,
and local subsidies are often outside the existing public transportation
service areas of Transportation Authorities.
However, these new facilities need access to workforce in the region
which often requires expansion of public transit service. The addition
and continued operation of these new routes can cost millions of dollars
annually to the Transportation Authority.
The Public Transportation Expansion Fund would help these Authorities
cover both the initial cost of the service as well as the ongoing cost
to maintain it. Given how much economic development activity is underway
and planned for the future, it is important the State contemplates how
it will connect transit dependent individuals with these unprecedented
economic opportunities.
Perhaps most importantly, the Public Transit Equity Fund would promote
workforce development and social equity throughout the State by ensuring
that disadvantaged populations have equal access to employment at these
new and growing employers.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A9225 of 2024: referred to Economic Development
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3908
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Economic Development
AN ACT to amend the economic development law and the state finance law,
in relation to establishing a public transportation expansion fund
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "public transportation expansion fund act".
3 § 2. The economic development law is amended by adding a new section
4 233 to read as follows:
5 § 233. Public transportation and infrastructure. 1. The commissioner,
6 in conjunction with the commissioner of transportation, shall develop
7 and jointly administer the public transportation expansion fund, as
8 established pursuant to section eighty-eight-e of the state finance law,
9 for the purpose of ensuring access to public transportation for publicly
10 funded economic development projects.
11 2. Eligibility shall be limited to transportation authorities in each
12 economic development region incorporated under titles eleven-A through
13 eleven-D, inclusive of article five of the public authorities law.
14 3. Each transportation authority shall be eligible for up to five
15 million dollars per fiscal year for the purposes of establishing new
16 transit service to economic development projects, including improvements
17 to authority, transportation, and omnibus facilities, purchase of equip-
18 ment, purchase of real property, and other capital and operating
19 expenses as jointly defined by the department of transportation and the
20 New York state urban development corporation, subject to annual appro-
21 priations and other funding authorized or made available for such
22 purposes.
23 4. As used in this section, "publicly funded economic development
24 project" means a project receiving funding, tax credits, or incentives
25 through the urban development corporation, federal economic development
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05658-01-5
A. 3908 2
1 administration, the United States department of commerce, municipal
2 industrial development agencies, or any other political subdivision of
3 municipal, state, or federal government.
4 5. The commissioner, in conjunction with the commissioner of transpor-
5 tation, shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the imple-
6 mentation of this section.
7 § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 88-e to
8 read as follows:
9 § 88-e. Public transportation expansion fund. 1. There is hereby
10 established in the joint custody of the commissioner of taxation and
11 finance and the state comptroller a special fund to be known as the
12 "public transportation expansion fund".
13 2. The public transportation expansion fund shall consist of all
14 moneys appropriated thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to
15 law. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the state from
16 receiving grants, gifts or bequests for the purposes of the fund as
17 defined in this section and depositing them into the fund according to
18 law.
19 3. Moneys within the public transportation expansion fund shall be
20 made available to the commissioner of economic development and the
21 commissioner of transportation for the purpose of ensuring access to
22 public transportation for publicly funded economic development projects
23 pursuant to the provisions of section two hundred thirty-three of the
24 economic development law.
25 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
