Section 400. Legislative findings

The  legislature  hereby  finds and
  declares that:
    1. Transportation of people and goods is vital  to  the  economic  and
  social  well-being  of  the  metropolitan area embracing the counties of
  Nassau, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester and the  city  of  New
  York.
    2.  General  purpose  local  governments of the metropolitan area, the
  state of New York, and local, regional and state agencies have a  strong
  common   interest   in   coordinating   and  cooperating  in  performing
  transportation planning to meet local, regional, state and federal goals
  and objectives.
    3. The transportation, land use, and economic planning and development
  activities of public and private agencies within the  metropolitan  area
  are  of  such  magnitude and complexity and of such potential degrees of
  mutual  impact,  as  to   make   necessary   a   formally   coordinated,
  comprehensive,  and  continuing  transportation  planning  and  decision
  process carried on cooperatively by local governments and  agencies  and
  the state.
    4.  Titles  twenty-three  and  forty-nine  of  the  United States code
  require such a transportation planning and programming process  for  the
  metropolitan area.
    5. Since nineteen hundred seventy-five, the Mid-Hudson south, New York
  city,  and  Nassau-Suffolk  transportation  coordinating committees have
  been recognized by the state and federal governments as appropriate  and
  effective  subregional  forums  for  cooperative transportation decision
  making  by  principal  elected  officials  of  general   purpose   local
  governments and local, regional, and state transportation agencies.
    6.   The   members  of  the  Mid-Hudson  south,  New  York  city,  and
  Nassau-Suffolk transportation coordinating  committees  have  agreed  to
  join  together  to  form  the  council  of  transportation  coordinating
  committees and, acting through the council, to constitute the  federally
  required metropolitan planning organization for the metropolitan area.
    7.  Pursuant to the federal regulations, the council of transportation
  coordinating committees has been designated by agreement among the units
  of  general  purpose  local  governments  and  the   governor   as   the
  metropolitan  planning organization responsible, in cooperation with the
  state and publicly owned operators of mass transportation services,  for
  carrying  out  the urban transportation planning process specified in 23
  CFR 450 and 49 CFR 613 and other applicable federal regulations.
    8. It is the purpose of this legislation to delineate  the  roles  and
  responsibilities  and  administrative,  decision  making,  and  staffing
  arrangements for the  transportation  coordination  committees  and  the
  council to carry out transportation planning and programming to continue
  the area's qualification for federal transportation assistance.
    * NB Expired June 30, 1983
    * NB There are 2 § 400's