Section 1299-EEE. Transit adjudication bureau

1. Establishment. There is
  hereby created in the authority a transit adjudication bureau. The  head
  of  such  bureau  shall  be  the director, who shall be appointed by the
  chairman of the authority. The director  may  delegate  the  powers  and
  duties  conferred  upon  the  director by this section to such qualified
  officers and employees of the bureau as he may designate.
    2. Hearing officers. The  chairman  of  the  authority  shall  appoint
  hearing  officers  who shall preside at hearings for the adjudication of
  charges of transit infractions, as  hereinafter  defined,  and  who,  as
  provided  below,  may be designated to serve on the appeals board of the
  bureau. Every hearing officer shall have been admitted to  the  practice
  of  law  in this state for a period of at least five years, and shall be
  compensated for his services on a  per  diem  basis  determined  by  the
  bureau.
    3.  Jurisdiction.  The  bureau  shall  have,  with  respect to acts or
  incidents  in  or  on  the  transit   facilities   of   the   authority,
  non-exclusive  jurisdiction  over violations of the rules which may from
  time to time  be  established  by  the  authority.  Matters  within  the
  jurisdiction  of  the bureau shall be known for purposes of this section
  as transit infractions. Nothing herein  shall  be  construed  to  divest
  jurisdiction  from  any  court now having jurisdiction over any criminal
  charge relating to any act committed in a transit facility, or to impair
  the ability of a police officer to conduct a lawful search of  a  person
  in  a transit facility. The criminal court within which jurisdiction the
  transit authority shall operate transit  facilities  shall  continue  to
  have  jurisdiction over any criminal charge brought for violation of the
  rules of the authority, as well as  jurisdiction  relating  to  any  act
  which may constitute a crime or an offense under any law of the state of
  New  York or any municipality or political subdivision thereof and which
  may also constitute a violation of such rules.
    4. General powers. The bureau  shall  have  the  following  functions,
  powers and duties:
    a. To accept pleas (whether made in person or by mail) to, and to hear
  and determine, charges of transit infractions within its jurisdiction;
    b.  To  impose  civil  penalties  not to exceed a total of two hundred
  fifty dollars for any transit infraction  within  its  jurisdiction,  in
  accordance with a penalty schedule established by the authority;
    c.  In  its  sole  discretion,  to suspend or forgive penalties or any
  portion of penalties  imposed  on  the  condition  that  the  respondent
  voluntarily  agrees  to perform and actually does satisfactorily perform
  unpaid services on transit facilities as assigned by the authority, such
  as, without limitation, cleaning of rolling stock;
    d. To adopt, amend and rescind rules and regulations not  inconsistent
  with  any  applicable provision of law to carry out the purposes of this
  section, including but not limited to rules and regulations  prescribing
  the  internal  procedures and organization of the bureau, the manner and
  time of entering pleas, the conduct of  hearings,  and  the  amount  and
  manner of payment of penalties;
    e.  To enter judgments and enforce them, without court proceedings, in
  the same manner as the enforcement of money judgments in civil  actions,
  as provided below;
    f.  To  compile and maintain complete and accurate records relating to
  all charges and dispositions, which records shall be deemed exempt  from
  disclosure  under the freedom of information law as records compiled for
  law enforcement purposes;
    g. To apply to a court of competent jurisdiction  for  enforcement  of
  any decision or order issued by such bureau or of any subpoena issued by

  a  hearing  officer  as  provided in paragraph d of subdivision seven of
  this section;
    h.  To  enter  into  contracts  with  other  government agencies, with
  private organizations, or with individuals to undertake  on  its  behalf
  such  functions  as  data  processing,  debt  collections,  mailing, and
  general administration, as the director deems appropriate,  except  that
  the  conduct  by  hearing officers of hearings and of appeals may not be
  performed by outside contractors; and
    i. To accept payment of penalties and to remit same to the authority.
    5. Notices of violation.  The  bureau  shall  prepare  and  distribute
  notices  of  violation  in  blank to the Niagara Frontier transportation
  authority security officer,  ticket  inspector,  and  any  other  person
  empowered  by  law,  rule and regulation to serve such notices. The form
  and wording of the notice  of  violation  shall  be  prescribed  by  the
  director,  and  it  may  be the same as any other notice of violation or
  summons form already in use if said form meets the requirements  hereof.
  The  notice  of  violation  may include provisions to record information
  which will facilitate the identification and  location  of  respondents,
  including  but  not limited to name, address, telephone numbers, date of
  birth, social security number if otherwise permitted by  law,  place  of
  employment  or  school, and name and address of parents or guardian if a
  minor. Notices of violation shall be served  by  delivering  the  notice
  within  the  state  to the person to be served. A copy of each notice of
  violation served hereunder shall be filed and retained by  said  bureau,
  and  shall  be  deemed a record kept in the ordinary course of business,
  and, if sworn to or affirmed, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts
  contained herein. Said notice of  violation  shall  contain  information
  advising the person charged of the manner and the time within which such
  person  may either admit or deny the offense charged in the notice. Such
  notice of violation shall also contain a warning to  advise  the  person
  charged  that  failure to plead in the manner and within the time stated
  in the notice may result in a default decision and order  being  entered
  against such person.
    6.  Defaults.  Where  a respondent has failed to plead within the time
  allowed by the rules of said  bureau  or  has  failed  to  appear  on  a
  designated  hearing  date or a subsequent date following an adjournment,
  such failure to plead or appear shall be deemed, for all purposes, to be
  an admission of liability and shall be grounds for rendering  a  default
  decision  and  order  imposing  a  penalty  in  such  amount  as  may be
  prescribed by the authority.
    7. Hearings. a. Whenever a person charged with  a  transit  infraction
  returnable  to  the bureau enters a plea of not guilty, the bureau shall
  advise such person personally, or by registered or  certified  mail,  of
  the  date  on  which  he  or  she  must appear to answer the charge at a
  hearing. The form and  content  of  such  notice  of  hearing  shall  be
  prescribed  by  the  director, and shall contain a warning to advise the
  person so pleading that failure to appear on the date designated, or any
  subsequent  adjourned  date,  shall  be  deemed  for  all  purposes,  an
  admission  of liability, and that a default judgment may be rendered and
  penalty may be prescribed.
    b. Every hearing for  the  adjudication  of  a  charge  of  a  transit
  infraction   hereunder  shall  be  held  before  a  hearing  officer  in
  accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the bureau.
    c. The hearing officer shall not be bound by the rules of evidence  in
  the  conduct  of  the  hearing,  except  rules  relating  to  privileged
  communications.
    d. The hearing officer when the defendant refuses to stipulate to  the
  contents  of  the  notice  of  violation,  unless  the  hearing  officer

  determines that the notice  of  violation  should  be  dismissed,  shall
  require the person who served the petition to attend the hearing and may
  issue  subpoenas  to  compel  the  appearance of that person or of other
  persons to give testimony, and issue subpoenas duces tecum to compel the
  production  for  examination  or introduction into evidence of any book,
  paper or other thing relevant to the charges.
    e. In the case of a refusal to obey a subpoena, the  bureau  may  make
  application  to  the  Supreme  Court  pursuant  to  section twenty-three
  hundred eight of  the  civil  practice  law  and  rules,  for  an  order
  requiring such appearance, testimony or production of evidence.
    f.  The  bureau  shall  make  and  maintain a sound recording or other
  record of every hearing.
    g. After due consideration of the evidence and arguments, the  hearing
  officer  shall  determine  whether the charges have been established. No
  charge may be established except upon  clear  and  convincing  evidence.
  Where  the  charges  have  not been established, an order dismissing the
  charges shall be entered. Where a determination is made  that  a  charge
  has  been  established  or  if  an  answer admitting the charge has been
  received, the hearing officer shall set a penalty in accordance with the
  penalty schedule established by the authority, and an appropriate  order
  shall  be  entered in the records of the bureau. The respondent shall be
  given notice of such entry in  person  or  by  mail.  This  order  shall
  constitute  the  final  determination  of  the  hearing officer, and for
  purposes of review it shall be deemed to  incorporate  any  intermediate
  determinations  made  by  said  officer in the course of the proceeding.
  When no appeal is filed this order shall  be  the  final  order  of  the
  bureau.
    8.  Administrative  and  judicial  review.  a.  There shall be appeals
  boards within the bureau which shall consist of three  or  more  hearing
  officers,  as  the director shall determine. The director shall select a
  chairman for each appeals  board  from  the  members  so  appointed.  No
  hearing officer may sit on an appeals board considering an appeal from a
  determination made by said hearing officer.
    b. A party aggrieved by a final determination of a hearing officer may
  obtain a review thereof by serving upon the bureau within thirty days of
  the  sending  of  the  notice  of entry of such order a notice of appeal
  setting forth the reasons why the determination should  be  reversed  or
  modified. There shall be no interlocutory appeals.
    c.  An appeal from a final determination of a hearing officer shall be
  submitted to the appeals board, which shall have  power  to  review  the
  facts  and  the  law,  but shall not consider any evidence which was not
  presented to the hearing officer, and shall have  power  to  reverse  or
  modify any judgment appealed from for error of fact or law.
    d.  Appeals  shall be made without the appearance of the appellant and
  appellant's attorney unless the presence of either or both are requested
  by the appellant, appellant's attorney, or the appeals  board.    Within
  twenty  days  after  a request for an appearance, made by the appellant,
  appellant's attorney or the board, the bureau shall advise the appellant
  or appellant's attorney, either personally or by registered or certified
  mail, of the date on which he or she shall appear. The  appellant  shall
  be notified in writing of the decision of the appeals board.
    e.  A  party  may  request  and  obtain  a  record  of the proceedings
  resulting in a determination for which an  appeal  is  sought,  but  the
  party  shall pay to the bureau the cost of providing such record. When a
  record is timely requested for the purpose of preparing an  appeal,  the
  bureau  shall  not  thereafter cause the appeal to be heard or submitted
  less than ten days after the  delivery  or  mailing  of  the  record  to
  appellant or appellant's attorney.

    f. The service of a notice of appeal shall not stay the enforcement of
  an  order appealed from unless the appellant shall have posted a bond in
  the amount of penalties imposed in the order appealed from at  the  time
  of, or before, the service of such notice.
    g. No determination of a hearing officer which is appealable under the
  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be reviewed in any court unless an
  appeal  has  been  filed  and  determined  in   accordance   with   this
  subdivision.  When  an  appeal  has been filed, the order of the appeals
  board shall be the final order of the bureau.  Judicial  review  may  be
  sought  pursuant  to article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and
  rules.
    9. Enforcement of judgments. a. The bureau shall  have  the  power  to
  enforce  its  final  decisions  and  orders imposing civil penalties for
  violations of laws, rules and regulations enforced by it as if they were
  money judgments, without court  proceedings,  in  the  manner  described
  herein.
    b. Any final order of the bureau imposing a civil penalty, whether the
  adjudication  was  had  by  hearing  or upon default or otherwise, shall
  constitute a judgment rendered by the bureau which may be entered in the
  county court of Erie or Niagara county or any other place  provided  for
  the  entry  of  civil  judgments  within  the  state,  provided  that no
  proceeding for judicial  review  shall  be  pending  and  the  time  for
  initiation  of  such  proceeding shall have expired, and may be enforced
  without court proceedings in the same manner as the enforcement of money
  judgments entered in civil actions. Any final order shall be  a  bar  to
  any criminal proceeding for conduct upon which the order was based.
    c.  Notwithstanding  the foregoing provisions, before a judgment based
  upon a default may be so entered  the  bureau  must  have  attempted  to
  notify  the  respondent  by first class mail, in such form as the bureau
  may direct: (i) of the  default  decision  and  order  and  the  penalty
  imposed;  (ii)  that  a  judgment will be entered in the county court of
  Erie or Niagara county or any other place  provided  for  the  entry  of
  civil  judgments within the state; and (iii) the entry of such judgments
  may be avoided by requesting a stay of default for good cause shown  and
  either  requesting a hearing or entering a plea pursuant to the rules of
  the bureau within thirty days of the mailing of such notice.
    10. Funds. All penalties collected pursuant to the provisions of  this
  section shall be paid to the authority.