§ 88-a. Mass transportation operating assistance fund. 1. There is hereby established in the joint custody of the commissioner of taxation and finance and the state comptroller a special fund to be known as the "mass transportation operating assistance fund".

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2. Moneys in the mass transportation operating assistance fund shall be kept separately from and shall not be commingled with any other moneys in the joint or sole custody of the state comptroller or the commissioner of taxation and finance.

3. Except for moneys in the account established by subdivision six of this section, moneys of the fund, following appropriation by the legislature, shall be allocated upon a certificate of approval of availability by the director of the budget solely for the transportation assistance purposes set forth within the specific accounts contained within the fund established by this section.

4. The mass transportation operating assistance fund shall consist of three separate and distinct accounts: (a) the "public transportation systems operating assistance account", (b) the "urban mass transit operating assistance account", and (c) the "metropolitan mass transportation operating assistance account". Moneys in each of the accounts shall be kept separately from and not commingled with any other moneys in the mass transportation operating assistance fund.

5. (a) The "public transportation systems operating assistance account" shall consist of revenues required to be deposited therein pursuant to the provisions of § 182-a of the tax law and all other moneys credited or transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law.

(b) Moneys in the public transportation systems operating assistance account shall be paid on a quarterly basis beginning October first, nineteen hundred eighty-one. However, if there is a demonstrated cash shortfall in any eligible system, payments to such system may be accelerated. Such payments shall be made in accordance with a schedule as specified by appropriation for the payment of operating costs of public mass transportation systems outside the metropolitan commuter transportation district as defined by § 1262 of the public authorities law, eligible to receive operating assistance pursuant to § 18-b of the transportation law.

(c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to transfer from the general fund for deposit into the public transportation system operating assistance account, upon request of the director of the budget, on or before March 31 of each year, an amount equal to the following:

(i) For the state fiscal year ending March 31, 2015, two million eight hundred eight thousand ninety-six dollars;

(ii) In each succeeding state fiscal year, the transfer shall equal the product of the dollar amount in (i) and one plus the sales tax growth factor. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the sales tax growth factor is the percentage, if any, by which the aggregate amount of sales and compensating use taxes imposed pursuant to the authority of subpart B of part I of Article 29 of the tax law, excluding such sales and compensating use taxes collected in the twelve counties that comprise the metropolitan transportation commuter district created and established pursuant to § 1262 of the public authorities law, for the twelve month period ending on December thirty-first of the immediately preceding calendar year exceeds the aggregate amount of such sales and compensating use taxes for the twelve month period ending on December thirty-first, two thousand thirteen. In no year will the amount of the deposit authorized under this section be less than the amount made in the prior year.

6. (a) The "urban mass transit operating assistance account" shall consist of the revenues required to be deposited therein pursuant to the provisions of Article 31-a of the tax law, and all other moneys credited or transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law.

(b) Moneys in the urban mass transit operating assistance account shall be available only for payment by the comptroller of refunds of, and of judgments awarded for claims for refund of, taxes paid on or after October first, nineten hundred eighty-one but before April thirteenth, nineteen hundred eighty-two pursuant to the provisions of Article 31-A of the tax law, provided that, in the case of a refund, application for such refund has been made to the comptroller prior to April first, nineteen hundred eighty-six. Interest at the rate authorized by § 16 of the state finance law shall be payable with such refunds and shall be computed from February first, nineteen hundred eighty-two or the date on which the tax was paid, whichever is later.

(c) When the comptroller determines that moneys of the account are insufficient for the payment of any such refunds or judgments, he shall certify to the commissioner of finance of the city of New York the amount of such insufficiency and, from moneys in the special account or accounts established by and pursuant to sections W46-2.0 and II46-4.0 of the administrative code of the city of New York, such commissioner of finance shall, within twelve days of such certification, pay over such amount to the comptroller for deposit in the urban mass transit operating assistance account of the mass transportation operating assistance fund to meet such insufficiency.

7. (a) The "metropolitan mass transportation operating assistance account" shall consist of the revenues derived from the taxes for the metropolitan transportation district imposed by § 1109 of the tax law and that proportion of the receipts received pursuant to the tax imposed by article nine-a of such law as specified in section one hundred seventy-one-a of such law, and that proportion of the receipts received pursuant to the tax imposed by article nine of such law as specified in section two hundred five of such law, and the receipts required to be deposited pursuant to the provisions of section one hundred eighty-two-a, and all other moneys credited or transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law.

(b) Moneys in the metropolitan mass transportation operating assistance account shall be paid on a quarterly basis beginning October first, nineteen hundred eight-one. However, if there is a demonstrated cash shortfall in any eligible system, payments to such system may be accelerated. Such moneys shall be paid in accordance with schedules as specified by appropriations for payment of operating costs of public transportation systems in the metropolitan transportation commuter district in order to meet the operating expenses of such systems, provided, however, with respect to the metropolitan transportation authority, its affiliates and subsidiaries, and notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, other than such a law which makes specific reference to this section, and subject to the provisions of § 1270-c of the public authorities law, so long as the metropolitan transportation authority dedicated tax fund established by § 1270-c of the public authorities law shall exist, any such appropriation to the metropolitan transportation authority, its affiliates or its subsidiaries shall be deemed to be an appropriation to the metropolitan transportation authority and the total amount paid pursuant to such appropriation or appropriations shall be deposited to such metropolitan transportation authority dedicated tax fund and distributed in accordance with the provisions of § 1270-c of the public authorities law. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be deemed to restrict the right of the state to amend, repeal, modify or otherwise alter statutes imposing or relating to the taxes producing revenues for deposit in the metropolitan mass transportation operating assistance account or the appropriations relating thereto. The metropolitan transportation authority shall not include within any resolution, contract or agreement with holders of the bonds or notes issued under § 1269 of the public authorities law any provision which provides that a default occurs as a result of the state exercising its right to amend, repeal, modify or otherwise alter such taxes or appropriations.

9. Any moneys in the mass transportation operating assistance fund and in any of the accounts in such fund may, at the discretion of the state comptroller, be invested in securities and obligations as defined by section ninety-eight-a of this chapter. Any income earned by the investment of moneys in any of the accounts in such fund shall be added to and become a part of, and shall be used for the purposes of such account.