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METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY 


                             Adjusted     Executive   Legislative                       
                              Approp.       Request       Approp.
                              2000-01       2001-02       2001-02   Change


AID TO LOCALITIES
  Special Rev.-Other      391,397,000   437,600,000   437,600,000        0 
  Total for 
  AID TO LOCALITIES:      391,397,000   437,600,000   437,600,000        0 

  Capital Projects Fund   320,000,000             0             0        0 
  Total for 
  CAPITAL PROJECTS:       320,000,000             0             0        0

Agency Mission

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) operates and maintains the major public transportation systems in the Metropolitan Transportation District, which consists of New York City and Dutchess, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties.

Year-to-Year Change

The Executive proposes a contingency appropriation for the MTA in the amount of $437,600,000, an increase of $46,203,000, or 11.80 percent. This contingency appropriation will support debt service payments for the MTA in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2002-03 in the event the State Budget for that fiscal year is not passed prior to April 1, 2002. The increase reflects higher projected revenues to the Dedicated Mass Transportation Trust Fund due to higher tax collections in the MTA region.

The SFY 2000-01 enacted State budget contained an appropriation of $320,000,000 related to the Transportation Bond Act of 2000. The Executive's proposed budget for SFY 2001-02 did not contain this appropriation due to the failure of the Transportation Bond Act. The Bond Act would have provided the MTA with $1.6 billion to fund the MTA's Capital Plan.

Legislative Proposals

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) approved and submitted a Capital Plan for 2000-04 of $17.1 billion to the Capital Program Review Board (CPRB), which is comprised of representatives of the Executive, the Senate, the Assembly and the Mayor of New York City. The Board approved the Capital Plan ($17.1 billion) excluding areas relating to Bridges and Tunnels ($1 billion). The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital program, approved by the Capital Program Review Board in May of 2000, continued to rehabilitate and modernize the bus, subway and commuter rail systems; support transit service enhancements including the conversion to clean fuel buses; and design and construct several major projects to expand the transit system.

The $17.1 billion five-year MTA Capital Program included $1.6 billion of the $3.8 billion Transportation Bond Act that was presented for voter approval on the statewide ballot on November 2000. The Transportation Bond Act of 2000 would have secured funds for the MTA to improve and expand the transit system and enhancements including the conversion to clean fuel buses. Capital investments by the MTA are the following: $10.3 billion for New York City subways and buses; $2.1 billion for Long Island Rail Road; $1.3 million for Metro-North Railroads; $3.3 billion for expansion on new initiatives; and $1 billion for bridges and tunnels.

The increase in the Capital Plan can be attributed to the MTA's undertaking of new initiatives for system expansion ($3.3 billion). These new initiatives would be: $1.5 billion for the East Side Access linking Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal; $1.05 billion for the environmental work, final design and elementary tunnel work for a full length Second Avenue Subway; $68 million for planning, design and engineering of the #7 Line extension to Javits Center, Lower Manhattan Access, and Metro North Penn Station Access; $645 million for LaGuardia Airport Access.

The Assembly proposes to dedicate sales tax revenues to offset the debt service cost that the MTA will incur as a result of the issuance of $1.6 billion in bonds for the system expansion initiatives in the Capital Plan. The Assembly proposes that prior to the transfer of sales tax revenues of the Local Government Assistance Corporation (LGAC) to the general fund, the amount of $7,022,649 shall be considered for payments of debt service incurred by the MTA. This payment shall be for $640 million of bond issuance anticipated in SFY 2001-02 to support the MTA's Capital Plan in the undertaking of the new initiatives for the system expansion.