Albany, NY – A long-desired bill to lockbox transit revenue in New York State is now officially state law, thanks to diligent work by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (Northwest Bronx) and support from government reform groups and transit advocates. Governor Cuomo signed the lockbox bill on December 28. Lockboxing transit revenue had emerged as a top priority leading into a 2019 legislative session that is widely expected to include a contentious discussion on how to raise billions of new dollars to fund the 2019-2024 MTA Capital Plan. Assemblyman Dinowitz reignited the fight for a transit lockbox after a similar bill was vetoed in 2013, corralling unanimous support for the legislation in both the Assembly and State Senate and rousing over 50 organizations to send a joint letter in support of the lockbox to Governor Cuomo. Reinvent Albany circulated that letter, which was supported by Riders Alliance, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign, among others.

The new law requires explicit legislative consent to divert any funding that had previously been dedicated to transit along with a new requirement to include a “Diversion Impact Statement” which indicates the impact of such a diversion. Over the past decade, there have been frequent "transit raids" where millions of dollars were diverted away from mass transit purposes to cover other expenses in New York State. Meanwhile, service quality has imploded: the Governor declared a state of emergency in Summer 2017 and fixing the MTA emerged as a key campaign issue during the 2018 state elections. New York City Transit President Andy Byford has proposed a new plan to turn around declining service, dubbed “Fast Forward,” that is expected to cost upwards of $40 billion over the next five years.