N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1266-h: Authority police force

§ 1266-h. Authority police force. 1. The authority is hereby

authorized and empowered, to provide and maintain an authority police

department and a uniformed authority police force. Each member of such

uniformed police force shall be a "police officer" for the purposes of

the criminal procedure law, with all of the powers of such police

officers thereunder and subject to the same jurisdictional provisions on

the exercise of that power as set forth in such law. The geographical

area of employment of such police officers for the purposes of the

criminal procedure law shall embrace the metropolitan commuter

transportation district as defined in section twelve hundred sixty-two

of this title. Such department and force shall have the power, in and

about any or all of the facilities owned, occupied and/or operated by

the authority and its subsidiary corporations, the New York city transit

authority and its subsidiaries, and the triborough bridge and tunnel

authority, as determined in the discretion of the authority, to enforce

and prevent violation of all laws and ordinances. Nothing herein shall

confer upon the authority police force or upon their collective

negotiations representatives exclusive jurisdiction or claim over the

exercise of police power or security work on behalf of the authority and

its subsidiary corporations, the New York city transit authority and its

subsidiaries, and the triborough bridge and tunnel authority. Nothing

herein shall limit the authority and its subsidiary corporations, the

New York city transit authority and its subsidiaries, and the triborough

bridge and tunnel authority from continuing to rely on local police for

police services. However, traditional police functions previously

performed by the Long Island Rail Road Company and/or the Metro-North

Commuter Railroad Company police force shall continue to be performed by

the authority police forces.

2. Initial appointments to such authority police force shall be all

incumbent police officers from the Long Island Rail Road Company and/or

the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company at the time of such

appointment. The executive director of the authority, through the chief

of police, shall have the power and authority to appoint and employ such

number of police officers as he deems necessary to act as police

officers of the authority and to administer to the officers an oath or

affirmation faithfully to perform the duties of their respective

positions or offices. Unless, at the time of appointment, the person is

a police officer of Long Island Rail Road Company or Metro-North

Commuter Railroad Company, only persons who have never been convicted of

a felony and are citizens of the United States shall be appointed police

officers on the authority police force. After the initial appointments

are made, selection of police officer candidates shall be made pursuant

to an examination process to be determined at the discretion of the

authority and candidates must receive a certificate attesting to

satisfactory completion of an approved municipal police basic training

program, as described in section two hundred nine-q of the general

municipal law. No person shall be eligible for appointment unless such

person is not less than twenty years of age as of the date of

appointment nor more than thirty-five years of age as of the date when

the applicant takes the written examination, provided, however, that

time spent on military duty or on terminal leave, not exceeding a total

of six years, shall be subtracted from the age of any applicant who has

passed his or her thirty-fifth birthday as provided in subdivision ten-a

of section two hundred forty-three of the military law. Upon

appointments made by transferring an entire group of police officers

into the authority police force, thereby eliminating such other group of

police officers, the authority shall recognize any representative

previously chosen by the police officers for the purposes of collective

negotiations consistent with the bargaining units already established

and shall also assume and continue to observe any existing labor

contracts covering these police officers including such provisions which

relate to the grievance and disciplinary procedures and interest

arbitration. Subsequent to the establishment of the consolidated police

force the authority and the collective bargaining representatives shall

be authorized to negotiate a merger of the separate bargaining units.

3. The authority may appoint a chief and one or more deputy chiefs of

the authority police department who, in the discretion of the authority,

may be selected from the ranks of the authority police force, and assign

powers and duties to them and fix their compensation. The chief shall be

the head of such department. The deputy chief designated by the chief

shall possess all the powers and perform all the duties of the chief

during his absence or disability. The authority police force shall

consist of such divisions, supervisors and officers, including but not

limited to police officers, detectives, sergeants, lieutenants and

captains as designated by the authority. Notwithstanding any law or

provision to the contrary, the members of the uniformed authority police

force shall not acquire civil service status or become members of the

New York state and local employees' retirement system, except as set

forth below.

4. The authority shall provide for a twenty year retirement plan under

the same terms and conditions as provided by section three hundred

eighty-nine of the retirement and social security law as enacted by

chapter six hundred twenty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred

ninety-one; except that:

(a) any benefit provided pursuant to such plan shall be subject to an

offset, as defined in this paragraph, for any tier II benefit payable

pursuant to the federal Railroad Retirement Act to or in the respect of

a member. The offset provided for by this paragraph shall be the amount

of the tier II benefit which would be payable to or in respect to such

member pursuant to the federal Railroad Retirement Act multiplied by a

fraction, the numerator of which is the member's years of credited

service covered by the federal Railroad Retirement Act rendered to, or

credited by, the authority or any subsidiary corporation of the

authority, and the denominator of which is the member's total years of

service covered by the federal Railroad Retirement Act;

(b) references to Long Island Rail Road shall be to the authority;

(c) the transfer of funds described in subdivision f of section three

hundred eighty-nine of the retirement and social security law as enacted

by chapter six hundred twenty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred

ninety-one shall include the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company

Defined Contribution Pension Plan for Agreement Employees;

(d) the provisions of subdivision g of section three hundred

eighty-nine of the retirement and social security law as enacted by

chapter six hundred twenty-eight of the laws of nineteen hundred

ninety-one to the extent of requiring contributions for past service

liability shall not be applicable; and

(e) when a police officer transferred from the Long Island Rail Road

Company police force to the authority police force reaches age sixty-two

the authority will offset the amount payable under this plan by the

amount of tier II benefit payable from the Railroad Retirement Board for

a service age annuity or disability payable at the participants age

sixty-two.

5. The authority may, in its sole discretion, establish within the

authority's defined benefit program, a retirement program consistent

with the foregoing. If the authority has not so established such program

in its defined benefit program within one hundred eighty days after

enactment, then the authority shall elect to participate in article

fourteen-B of the retirement and social security law.

6. If the authority elects to participate in the New York state and

local employees' retirement system, such election to participate shall

be made by resolution filed with the comptroller and accepted by him

pursuant to section thirty-one of the retirement and social security

law.

7. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to diminish, suspend or

abolish an existing benefit inured to a police officer, transferred from

the Long Island Rail Road Company and/or Metro-North Commuter Railroad

Company police force and subject to the provisions of this section in

and to the rights, privileges or status previously earned within a

pension or retirement system of which they were a member immediately

prior to the enactment of this section; and any such existing right,

privilege or status shall survive the effect of any decisions or

determinations lawfully made in accordance with the provisions hereof so

long as such right, privilege or status is greater in benefit to that

which would be imposed or imputed to any subject officer as a result of

actions of the authority authorized herein.