S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4832
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 2, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MARCELLINO  --  (at request of the State Education
   Department) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be
   committed to the Committee on Education
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the education law, in relation to access to state aid
   adjustments for prior  years  and  payment  schedules  for  multi-year
   recoveries for state aid
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraphs a and c of subdivision 5 of section 3604 of  the
 education law, paragraph a as amended by chapter 161 of the laws of 2005
 and  paragraph c as added by chapter 82 of the laws of 1995, are amended
 to read as follows:
   a. State aid adjustments. All errors or omissions in the apportionment
 shall be corrected by the commissioner. Whenever a school  district  has
 been  apportioned  less  money  than  that  to which it is entitled, the
 commissioner may allot to such district the balance to which it is enti-
 tled. Whenever a school district has been apportioned  more  money  than
 that  to which it is entitled, the commissioner may, by an order, direct
 such moneys to be paid back to the state to be credited to  the  general
 fund  local  assistance  account  for  state  aid to the schools, or may
 deduct such amount from the  next  apportionment  to  be  made  to  said
 district,  provided, however, that, upon notification of excess payments
 of aid for which a recovery must be made by the state through  deduction
 of  future  aid payments, a school district may request that such excess
 payments be  recovered  by  deducting  such  excess  payments  from  the
 payments due to such school district and payable in the month of June in
 (i)  the  school  year  in which such notification was received and (ii)
 [the two succeeding school years, provided further that there  shall  be
 no  interest  penalty assessed against such district or collected by the
 state. Such request shall be made to the commissioner in  such  form  as
 the  commissioner  shall  prescribe, and shall be based on documentation
 that the total amount to be recovered is in excess of one percent of the
 district's total general fund  expenditures  for  the  preceding  school
 year.  The  amount to be deducted in the first year shall be the greater
              

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10289-01-7

 S. 4832                             2

 of (i) the sum of the amount of such excess payments that is  recognized
 as  a liability due to other governments by the district for the preced-
 ing school year and the positive remainder of the district's  unreserved
 fund  balance at the close of the preceding school year less the product
 of the district's total general  fund  expenditures  for  the  preceding
 school year multiplied by five percent, or (ii) one-third of such excess
 payments.  The amount to be recovered in the second year shall equal the
 lesser of the remaining amount of such excess payments to  be  recovered
 or  one-third  of such excess payments, and the remaining amount of such
 excess payments shall be recovered in the  third  year]  IN  UP  TO  TEN
 SUCCEEDING  SCHOOL  YEARS,  AS  DETERMINED  BY THE COMMISSIONER IN REGU-
 LATIONS,  WHEREIN  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  ESTABLISH  ANY  ELIGIBILITY
 REQUIREMENTS  AND/OR  PAYMENT  SCHEDULE  FOR  SUCH  MULTI-YEAR RECOVERY.
 Provided further that, notwithstanding  any  other  provisions  of  this
 subdivision,  any  pending  payment  of moneys due to such district as a
 prior year adjustment payable pursuant to paragraph c of  this  subdivi-
 sion  for  aid  claims that had been previously paid as current year aid
 payments in excess of the amount to which the district is  entitled  and
 for  which  recovery  of  excess payments is to be made pursuant to this
 paragraph, shall be reduced at the time of actual payment by any remain-
 ing unrecovered balance of such excess payments, and the remaining sche-
 duled deductions of such excess  payments  pursuant  to  this  paragraph
 shall be reduced by the commissioner to reflect the amount so recovered.
 The  commissioner shall certify no payment to a school district based on
 a claim submitted later than three years after the close of  the  school
 year  in  which such payment was first to be made.  For claims for which
 payment is first to be made in the nineteen hundred  ninety-six--ninety-
 seven school year, the commissioner shall certify no payment to a school
 district based on a claim submitted later than two years after the close
 of such school year. For claims for which payment is first to be made in
 the  nineteen  hundred ninety-seven--ninety-eight school year and there-
 after, the commissioner shall certify no payment to  a  school  district
 based  on  a claim submitted later than one year after the close of such
 school year. Provided, however, no payments shall be barred  or  reduced
 where  such  payment  is  required  as  a result of a final audit of the
 state. It is further  provided  that,  until  June  thirtieth,  nineteen
 hundred  ninety-six,  the  commissioner  may  grant  a  waiver  from the
 provisions of this section for any school district if it is in the  best
 educational  interests  of the district pursuant to guidelines developed
 by the commissioner and approved by the director of the budget.
   c. Payment of moneys due for prior years. State aid payments  due  for
 prior  years in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision shall
 be paid EITHER: (I) FROM FUNDS AVAILABLE  IN  THE  GENERAL  SUPPORT  FOR
 PUBLIC  SCHOOL  APPROPRIATION  AS  A  RESULT  OF THE DEDUCTION OF EXCESS
 PAYMENTS OF AID PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH A OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION,  OR  (II)
 within  the  limit  of  the  appropriation designated therefor provided,
 however, that each eligible claim shall be payable in the order that  it
 has  been approved for payment by the commissioner, but in no case shall
 a single claim draw down more than forty percent of the appropriation so
 designated for a single year, and provided further that no  claim  shall
 be  set aside for insufficiency of funds to make a complete payment, but
 shall be eligible for a partial payment in one year and shall retain its
 priority date status for appropriations designated for such purposes  in
 future years.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.