Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday vetoed bills that would order the MTA to hold more hearings before raising fares and place public transportation funds in a "lock box" that couldn't be tapped for other government functions.
Cuomo called the measures unnecessary and restrictive, but backers said his vetoes would limit commuter input about MTA policies and endanger transit funding.
State Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. (R-Merrick) sponsored the measure that would have compelled the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to hold a hearing in every county affected by any proposed fare, toll or service change. He said Cuomo was "wrong" to nix a measure that would have given the public more input into MTA operations.
"When it considered the most recent fare increase proposal in the fall of 2012, the MTA held public forums in different areas of the MTA region, but there were several counties in which no public hearing was held, even though residents of those counties were directly impacted by the MTA changes," Fuschillo said in a statement. "The MTA also holds simultaneous hearings in different counties, thereby preventing all the board members from being present at all hearings."
In an interview, Fuschillo said, "The whole purpose of the bill was to bring transparency to the fare process."
The MTA serves 12 counties in the downstate region.
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