New York Senate Bill S05778 Latest Draft

   
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5778 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 28, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MURRAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to requiring an independent forensic audit of the metropolitan commuter transportation authority; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expi- ration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new 2 section 1265-c to read as follows: 3 § 1265-c. Independent forensic audit. 1. Notwithstanding any other 4 provision of law, the authority shall contract with a certified inde- 5 pendent public accounting firm for the provision of an independent, 6 comprehensive, forensic audit of the authority. Such audit shall be 7 performed in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 8 standards. Such audit shall examine redundancies, inefficiencies, and 9 the authority's governance system. 10 2. The certified independent public accounting firm providing such 11 audit services pursuant to this section shall be prohibited from provid- 12 ing audit services if the lead or coordinating audit partner having 13 primary responsibility for the audit, or the audit partner responsible 14 for reviewing the audit, has performed audit services for the authority 15 within any of the ten previous fiscal years of the authority. 16 3. The certified independent public accounting firm providing such 17 audit services pursuant to this section shall be prohibited from 18 performing any non-audit services for the authority contemporaneously 19 with respect to such audit services. 20 4. It shall be prohibited for the certified independent public 21 accounting firm to perform for the authority any audit services if: 22 (a) the chief executive officer, comptroller, chief financial officer, 23 chief accounting officer or any other person serving in an equivalent EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05947-02-5 
 S. 5778 2 1 position in the authority was an employee, consultant or independent 2 contractor of such certified independent public accounting firm and/or 3 participated in any capacity in the audit of the authority at any time; 4 or 5 (b) the chief executive officer, comptroller, chief financial officer, 6 chief accounting officer or any other person serving in an equivalent 7 position with such certified independent public accounting firm was 8 employed as an executive level employee or an equivalent position with 9 the authority at any time. 10 5. The certified independent public accounting firm contracted to 11 perform the independent, comprehensive, forensic audit of the authority 12 pursuant to this section shall, within two years from the effective date 13 of this section, report its findings, conclusions and recommendations to 14 the governor, the state comptroller, the temporary president of the 15 senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chair and ranking minority 16 member of the senate finance committee, the chair and ranking minority 17 member of the assembly ways and means committee, the chairs and ranking 18 minority members of the senate and assembly corporations, authorities 19 and commissions committees, and the chairs and ranking minority members 20 of the senate and assembly transportation committees. Such report shall 21 include, but not be limited to, the certified independent public 22 accounting firm's analysis of redundancies and inefficiencies within the 23 authority, suggestions to reduce such redundancies and inefficiencies, 24 and recommendations for alternative governance structures within the 25 authority. Such report shall be made public and posted on the authori- 26 ty's website. 27 6. The certified independent public accounting firm shall develop no 28 more than six governance action plan proposals for alternative gover- 29 nance systems which shall be adopted by the authority. Such proposals 30 shall be developed congruently with, and included in, the independent 31 forensic audit report. Such proposals shall include suggestions and 32 recommendations for the implementation of alternate governance struc- 33 tures based upon the recommendations and suggestions included within 34 such report required pursuant to subdivision five of this section, 35 including, but not limited to, comprehensive cost savings and efficiency 36 improvement measures. The certified independent public accounting firm 37 shall develop the governance action plan proposals congruently with the 38 publication of the comprehensive forensic audit report, and the authori- 39 ty shall adopt and implement one or more of the governance action plan 40 proposals developed by the certified independent public accounting firm 41 within one year of the publication of the forensic audit report. 42 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 43 deemed repealed two years after such date.