Bylaws

LIRRCC Open Meetings Law Resolution, Effective January 1, 2023:

ARTICLE I: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. The membership of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council (LIRRCC) will consist of twelve members from Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Kings Counties who shall have been duly appointed in accordance with Section 1266-d of the Public Authorities Law. Persons whose term has expired will continue to serve until their successors have been appointed.

Section 2. Every member of the LIRRCC shall be a member of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee (PCAC) to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

Section 3. Any LIRRCC member who receives, directly or indirectly, money or other valuable consideration in connection with work related to public transportation policies or operations in the MTA region, or who bids for or otherwise formally seeks work as a consultant or contractor with the MTA or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, shall disclose such involvement in writing to the LIRRCC, to the Governor, and to the official who nominated the member to the LIRRCC. Such disclosure shall be recorded in the LIRRCC minutes.

Section 4. During the course of discussion of any issue in which a member has a private or pecuniary interest, the member shall orally disclose the nature of the interest and shall refrain from voting on that issue.

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE

Section 1. The purposes of the LIRRCC are defined under Section 1266-d of the Public Authorities Law.

Section 2. The LIRRCC shall study, investigate, monitor, and make recommendations with respect to the maintenance, operation and fares of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR).

Section 3. The LIRRCC shall study and investigate all aspects of the day to day operation of the LIRR, monitor its performance and recommend changes to improve the efficiency of its operation.

Section 4. The LIRRCC shall study and investigate methods for promoting the use of public transportation in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Kings Counties.

Section 5. The LIRRCC may request and shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau, commission, agency, public authority of the state or any political subdivision thereof such assistance and data as it requests to enable it to properly carry out its activities for the purposes set forth.

ARTICLE III: OFFICERS

Section 1. The officers of the LIRRCC shall be elected by the members of the LIRRCC from their number and shall consist of a Chair and Vice Chair. The officers shall be elected at the regular May meeting of the LIRRCC and shall hold office for a term of two (2) years from the date of election or until a successor is elected and qualified.

Section 2. An officer may be removed from the office for cause by a two-thirds vote of the total membership of the LIRRCC.

Section 3. Vacancies shall be filled by vote of the LIRRCC as they may occur.

Section 4. The Chair shall preside at all meetings and will represent the LIRRCC on the Executive Committee of the PCAC. The Chair will have the power to appoint committees and committee chairs as required.

Section 5. The Vice Chair shall assume the powers and duties of the Chair in his or her absence.

Section 6.  The LIRRCC will recommend to the Governor’s Office a candidate for the Council’s non-voting seat on the MTA Board. In the event of a vacancy, the Council shall nominate a candidate at a regular meeting of the LIRRCC and the vote taken at the next regular meeting.

ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS

Section 1. Regular meetings of the LIRRCC shall be held once a month, except that there shall not be regular meetings during the months that the PCAC meets (March, June, September and December).

Section 2. The PCAC staff shall prepare, at the direction of the Chair, and circulate an agenda prior to each meeting of the LIRRCC and shall keep and preserve the minutes of all meetings of the LIRRCC. The PCAC staff shall be responsible for all records and correspondence of the LIRRCC.

Section 3. Special meetings of the LIRRCC may be called by the Chair upon seven (7) days’ notice to the members of the LIRRCC or upon written request signed by three (3) members of the LIRRCC. The notice of a special meeting shall state the purpose of the meeting and the business to be transacted at such meeting.

Section 4. A quorum at any meeting of the LIRRCC shall consist of half the members of the LIRRCC.

Section 5. Proxies may be voted only if the member giving the proxy specifically designates to the Executive Director of the PCAC or any other member the particular issues to be voted upon and the position to be taken.

Section 6. Press releases and statements to the media concerning such positions shall be approved by the Chair. The LIRRCC Chair has the sole authority to speak on behalf of the LIRRCC membership. The Chair may delegate this authority, on a case by case basis, to the Vice-Chair or the Executive Director of the PCAC.

Section 7. If any member of the LIRRCC is absent from three (3) consecutive regular LIRRCC/PCAC meetings, or from six (6) such meetings in any twelve month period, unless such absence is for good cause and is excused, (a letter, email or phone call to the PCAC Office being considered good cause) a letter shall be directed to the governor, with a copy to the appropriate County Executive, recommending appointment of a new member. However, if the Chairman finds that a specific absence or group of absences has been beyond the control of the member and that the cause of that absence or group of absences no longer persists, he or she may exclude that absence or group of absences from consideration in determining whether the member has met the attendance standards of the LIRRCC.

Section 8. Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern all meetings of the LIRRCC consistent with these bylaws.

ARTICLE V: BYLAW REVISIONS

Section 1. The bylaws of the LIRRCC may be amended by a vote of two-thirds of the total membership of the LIRRCC.

Section 2. Amendments to these bylaws shall be moved at a regular meeting of the LIRRCC and the vote taken at the next regular meeting.