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Will Albany Stop Stealing MTA's Money? Maybe, Sort Of
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 23, 2011
Modified Jun 23, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 23, 2011
Modified Jun 23, 2011
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Over the last three years, the state government has "stolen" some $260 million in dedicated funds from the MTA to cover gaps in the state’s budget. Public transit advocates say the raids are responsible for the extreme fare hikes and service cuts now hobbling the NYC transit system, and they partly explain why the MTA now faces a $10 billion shortfall. But yesterday the State Senate unanimously voted to take at least some of Albany's fingers out of the MTA's cookie jar, passing the Transit Funding Lockbox Act.
Transit advocates are enthusiastic about the bill, a version of which is now in the hands of the Assembly, but Streetsblog also cautions that it will only make it "slightly" harder for the executive branch to raid transit funds. Noah Kazis explains, "For two years following a fare increase, the bill would forbid the state Division of the Budget from including dedicated transit funds in the 'blanket sweeps' it is currently allowed to perform." However:
While blanket sweeps have raided hundreds of millions of dollars statewide from dedicated funds in recent years... only a small fraction of the sweeps have affected transit funding. The sole transit funding taken using blanket sweeps since 2009 was $1.3 million in aid to the LIRR and Metro-North. The rest of the $260 million in transit raids were done through legislative action, and there’s no way short of a constitutional amendment to prevent transit raids from being included in future laws.
On the upside, the bill would require the Legislature to write a “diversion impact statement” whenever transit funds would be used for other purposes. So at least lawmakers would have to be a little more open about how they're screwing straphangers. And Transportation Alternatives director Paul Steely White calls the Senate's bill "a vote to secure the future of public transit in New York." Some Albany insiders expect the bill to pass in the Assembly, and it is expected to come up for a vote today.
Tagged
Albany
mass transit
MTA
transit lockbox
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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