Friday, December 7, 2007

"In a world of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." George Orwell, 1984

MTA Capital Program Review Board

Background:
Every five years, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) must submit a capital spending program for the next five years. This fiscal system was established in the early 1980's to insure that New York's subways and commuter railroads (which were nearly collapsed in the late 1970's from decades of deferred maintenance) received adequate capital investment. This process was successful; thus, New York's rail transit systems presently function with reasonable reliability.

The VOTE and the VETO
  • Under NYS Law, an MTA Capital Program must be unanimously approved by a four member board known as the Capital Program Review Board. Approval of a capital program is presumed unless, within 90 days, a member of this board vetoes it. The members of this board are appointed by the Governor of New York, NYS Senate Majority Leader, the NYS Speaker of the Assembly, and the Mayor of New York City.
  • As a member of the Capital Program Review Board (CPRB), each member is responsible for reviewing, monitoring, and approving the MTA's proposed multi-billion dollar five year spending program. Since all capital programs must be unanimously approved, each member's power to veto enables him/her to pass and/or reject any proposal(s) presented to the CPRB.
  • On matters related to commuter railroads, Ms. Astrid Glynn, Senator Dean Skelos, and Assemblyman Keith Wright are the members of the CPRB who must vote unanimously to pass commuter railroad-related transportation proposals. A veto by any one of these members can stop a proposed project as well as the allocation of monies to fund this project. Additionally, any individual on the CPRB can approve the project with stipulations added to an agreement. Mr. Doctoroff is the 4th member of the CPRB who votes on issues related only to NYC Transit proposals.
  • As a result of Senator Skelos' (9th Senate District, Nassau County) leadership on the MTA Capital Program Review Board, the MTA is presently advancing one of its most comprehensive rail systems expansion programs in over 50 years! In 1998, Senator Dean Skelos was appointed to the CPRB by Governor Pataki and since then, he has served as the NYS Senate's representative on this four-member board.
MTA Capital Program Review Board: Organization

The following elected representatives appoint the members of the CPRB:
  1. NYS Governor Eliot Spitzer
  2. NYS Senator Joseph Bruno, Majority Leader of the Senate, 43rd Senate District
  3. NYS Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the Assembly, 64th Assembly District
  4. Mr. Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of the City of New York
The following appointees are members of the MTA's Capital Program Review Board:
  1. Senator Dean Skelos, 9th Senate District (Nassau County)
  2. Assemblyman Keith Wright, 70th Assembly District
  3. Ms. Astrid Glynn, NYS Department of Transportation, Commissioner
  4. Mr. Daniel L. Doctoroff, Deputy Mayor of Economic Development, NYC

(click on image to enlarge view)

Federal Funding for Transportation Projects

Timeline:
After the MTA and the LIRR produce the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), citizens can attend public hearings to voice their comments about the project. These public hearings usually take place approximately three months after the DEIS is issued. Thereafter, the MTA and the LIRR must address the concerns raised by citizens during the public comment period in their Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to satisfy federal guidelines. Afterwards, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) may allocate money approved by Congress through the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill.
  1. Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
  2. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
Federal Procedures and Guidelines
  • Annually, the ENTIRE Congress votes on approximately 11 Appropriations bills. One of these bills is called "The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Bill." If this bill is approved by Congress, the funds are allocated to the Department of Transportation which then allocates a portion of this funding to ALL the individual states. This funding is used for roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, airports and railroads.
  • After an Appropriations Bill is approved by Congress, no member of Congress can add amendments to the bill. All amendments or stipulations must be added to the bill before the vote.
  • The MTA/LIRR may choose not to use federal money to fund its projects. Instead, they may choose to fund an entire project with money allocated to them through the NYS Department of Transportation.
Thus, the following representatives are the key players in the process of approving the "LIRR Mainline Corridor Improvement Project":

1. NYS Governor Eliot Spitzer
2. NYS Senator Joseph Bruno, NYS Senate Majority Leader - 43rd Senate District
3. NYS Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the Assembly, 64th Assembly District
4. NYS Senator Dean Skelos, 9th Senate District and member of CPRB
5. Ms. Astrid Glynn, Commissioner, NYS Dept. of Transportation and member of CPRB
6. Assemblyman Keith Wright, 70th Assembly District and member of CPRB

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