N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 1299-EEE - Transit adjudication bureau

• Cite as: N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law § 1299-EEE

1. Establishment. There is hereby created in the authority a transit adjudication bureau. The head of such bureau shall be the director, who shall be appointed by the chairman of the authority. The director may delegate the powers and duties conferred upon the director by this section to such qualified officers and employees of the bureau as he may designate.

2. Hearing officers. The chairman of the authority shall appoint hearing officers who shall preside at hearings for the adjudication of charges of transit infractions, as hereinafter defined, and who, as provided below, may be designated to serve on the appeals board of the bureau. Every hearing officer shall have been admitted to the practice of law in this state for a period of at least five years, and shall be compensated for his services on a per diem basis determined by the bureau.

3. Jurisdiction. The bureau shall have, with respect to acts or incidents in or on the transit facilities of the authority, non-exclusive jurisdiction over violations of the rules which may from time to time be established by the authority. Matters within the jurisdiction of the bureau shall be known for purposes of this section as transit infractions. Nothing herein shall be construed to divest jurisdiction from any court now having jurisdiction over any criminal charge relating to any act committed in a transit facility, or to impair the ability of a police officer to conduct a lawful search of a person in a transit facility. The criminal court within which jurisdiction the transit authority shall operate transit facilities shall continue to have jurisdiction over any criminal charge brought for violation of the rules of the authority, as well as jurisdiction relating to any act which may constitute a crime or an offense under any law of the state of New York or any municipality or political subdivision thereof and which may also constitute a violation of such rules.

4. General powers. The bureau shall have the following functions, powers and duties:

a. To accept pleas (whether made in person or by mail) to, and to hear and determine, charges of transit infractions within its jurisdiction;

b. To impose civil penalties not to exceed a total of two hundred fifty dollars for any transit infraction within its jurisdiction, in accordance with a penalty schedule established by the authority;

c. In its sole discretion, to suspend or forgive penalties or any portion of penalties imposed on the condition that the respondent voluntarily agrees to perform and actually does satisfactorily perform unpaid services on transit facilities as assigned by the authority, such as, without limitation, cleaning of rolling stock;