S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6766
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
June 16, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the education law and the tax law, in relation to
contracts for the transportation of school children
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 14 of section 305 of the educa-
tion law, as amended by chapter 273 of the laws of 1999, is amended to
read as follows:
a. (1) All contracts for the transportation of school children, all
contracts to maintain school buses owned or leased by a school district
that are used for the transportation of school children, all contracts
for mobile instructional units, and all contracts to provide, maintain
and operate cafeteria or restaurant service by a private food service
management company shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner,
who may disapprove a proposed contract if, in his OR HER opinion, the
best interests of the district will be promoted thereby. Except as
provided in paragraph e of this subdivision, all such contracts involv-
ing an annual expenditure in excess of the amount specified for purchase
contracts in the bidding requirements of the general municipal law shall
be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, which responsibility shall
be determined by the board of education or the trustee of a district,
with power hereby vested in the commissioner to reject any or all bids
if, in his OR HER opinion, the best interests of the district will be
promoted thereby and, upon such rejection of all bids, the commissioner
shall order the board of education or trustee of the district to seek,
obtain and consider new proposals. All proposals for such transporta-
tion, maintenance, mobile instructional units, or cafeteria and restau-
rant service shall be in such form as the commissioner may prescribe.
Advertisement for bids shall be published in a newspaper or newspapers
designated by the board of education or trustee of the district having
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13244-01-7
S. 6766 2
general circulation within the district for such purpose. Such adver-
tisement shall contain a statement of the time when and place where all
bids received pursuant to such advertisement will be publicly opened and
read either by the school authorities or by a person or persons desig-
nated by them. All bids received shall be publicly opened and read at
the time and place so specified. At least five days shall elapse between
the first publication of such advertisement and the date so specified
for the opening and reading of bids. The requirement for competitive
bidding shall not apply to an award of a contract for the transportation
of pupils or a contract for mobile instructional units, if such award is
based on an evaluation of proposals in response to a request for
proposals pursuant to paragraph e of this subdivision. The requirement
for competitive bidding shall not apply to annual, biennial, or trienni-
al extensions of a contract nor shall the requirement for competitive
bidding apply to quadrennial or quinquennial year extensions of a
contract involving transportation of pupils, maintenance of school buses
or mobile instructional units secured either through competitive bidding
or through evaluation of proposals in response to a request for
proposals pursuant to paragraph e of this subdivision, when such exten-
sions [(1)] (I) are made by the board of education or the trustee of a
district, under rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioner,
and, [(2)] (II) do not extend the original contract period beyond five
years from the date cafeteria and restaurant service commenced there-
under and in the case of contracts for the transportation of pupils, for
the maintenance of school buses or for mobile instructional units, that
such contracts may be extended, except that power is hereby vested in
the commissioner, in addition to his OR HER existing statutory authority
to approve or disapprove transportation or maintenance contracts, [(i)]
(A) to reject any extension of a contract beyond the initial term there-
of if he OR SHE finds that amount to be paid by the district to the
contractor in any year of such proposed extension fails to reflect any
decrease in the regional consumer price index for the N.Y.,
N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J. area, based upon the index for all urban consum-
ers (CPI-U) during the preceding twelve month period; and [(ii)] (B) to
reject any extension of a contract after ten years from the date trans-
portation or maintenance service commenced thereunder, or mobile
instructional units were first provided, if in his OR HER opinion, the
best interests of the district will be promoted thereby. Upon such
rejection of any proposed extension, the commissioner may order the
board of education or trustee of the district to seek, obtain and
consider bids pursuant to the provisions of this section. The board of
education or the trustee of a school district electing to extend a
contract as provided herein, may, in its discretion, increase the amount
to be paid in each year of the contract extension by an amount not to
exceed the regional consumer price index increase for the N.Y.,
N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J. area, based upon the index for all urban consum-
ers (CPI-U), during the preceding twelve month period, provided it has
been satisfactorily established by the contractor that there has been at
least an equivalent increase in the amount of his OR HER cost of opera-
tion, during the period of the contract.
(2) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE BOARD
OF EDUCATION OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT LOCATED IN A CITY WITH AT LEAST ONE
MILLION INHABITANTS SHALL INCLUDE IN CONTRACTS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF
SCHOOL CHILDREN IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE, WHETHER AWARDED
THROUGH COMPETITIVE BIDDING OR THROUGH EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS IN
RESPONSE TO A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH E OF THIS
S. 6766 3
SUBDIVISION, PROVISIONS FOR THE RETENTION OR PREFERENCE IN HIRING OF
SCHOOL BUS WORKERS AND FOR THE PRESERVATION OF WAGES, HEALTH, WELFARE
AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS AND SENIORITY FOR SCHOOL BUS WORKERS WHO ARE
HIRED PURSUANT TO SUCH PROVISIONS FOR RETENTION OR PREFERENCE IN HIRING,
IN CONNECTION WITH SUCH CONTRACTS. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBPARAGRAPH,
"SCHOOL BUS WORKER" SHALL MEAN AN OPERATOR, MECHANIC, DISPATCHER OR
ATTENDANT WHO: (I) WAS EMPLOYED AS OF JUNE THIRTIETH, TWO THOUSAND TEN
OR AT ANY TIME THEREAFTER BY (A) A CONTRACTOR THAT WAS A PARTY TO A
CONTRACT WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT LOCATED IN A
CITY WITH AT LEAST ONE MILLION INHABITANTS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF
SCHOOL CHILDREN IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE, IN CONNECTION WITH
SUCH CONTRACT, OR (B) A SUBCONTRACTOR OF A CONTRACTOR THAT WAS A PARTY
TO A CONTRACT WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT LOCATED
IN A CITY WITH AT LEAST ONE MILLION INHABITANTS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION
OF SCHOOL CHILDREN IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE, IN CONNECTION
WITH SUCH CONTRACT, AND (II) HAS BEEN FURLOUGHED OR BECOME UNEMPLOYED AS
A RESULT OF A LOSS OF SUCH CONTRACT, OR A PART OF SUCH CONTRACT, BY SUCH
CONTRACTOR OR SUCH SUBCONTRACTOR, OR AS A RESULT OF A REDUCTION IN
SERVICE DIRECTED BY SUCH BOARD OF EDUCATION DURING THE TERM OF SUCH
CONTRACT. ANY COSTS DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS
SUBPARAGRAPH SHALL BE COVERED BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL
DISTRICT LOCATED IN A CITY WITH AT LEAST ONE MILLION INHABITANTS.
§ 2. Subdivision (a) of section 1115 of the tax law is amended by
adding a new paragraph 45 to read as follows:
(45) SCHOOL BUSES AS SUCH TERM IS DEFINED IN SECTION ONE HUNDRED
FORTY-TWO OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, AND PARTS, EQUIPMENT, LUBRI-
CANTS AND FUEL PURCHASED AND USED IN THEIR OPERATION.
§ 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 3627 of the education
law, as amended by section 7 of part A of chapter 56 of the laws of
2014, is amended to read as follows:
(b) reimbursing the cost incurred by licensed transportation carriers
pursuant to contracts, WHICH MAY INCLUDE FRINGE BENEFITS INCLUDING, BUT
NOT LIMITED TO, QUALIFIED TUITION REDUCTIONS ALLOWABLE UNDER FEDERAL
LAW, with such school district for providing transportation for those
children attending public and nonpublic schools in grades kindergarten
through six who remain at the same school for which they are enrolled
for regularly scheduled academic classes from half-past nine o'clock in
the morning or earlier until four o'clock in the afternoon or later, on
weekdays, and reside at least one mile from their school of attendance
for grades three through six, and at least one-half mile from their
school of attendance for grades kindergarten through two. PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, THAT QUALIFIED TUITION REDUCTIONS ALLOWED BY THIS PARAGRAPH AND
SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION THIRTY-SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE-A OF THIS
PART SHALL NOT ANNUALLY EXCEED FOUR MILLION DOLLARS.
§ 4. Subdivision 1 of section 3623-a of the education law is amended
by adding a new paragraph g to read as follows:
G. FOR TRANSPORTATION CONTRACTS PROVIDED PURSUANT TO SECTION THIRTY-
SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-SEVEN OF THIS PART, WHICH MAY INCLUDE FRINGE BENEFITS
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, QUALIFIED TUITION REDUCTIONS ALLOWABLE
UNDER FEDERAL LAW. PROVIDED HOWEVER THAT QUALIFIED TUITION REDUCTIONS
ALLOWED BY THIS SUBDIVISION AND PARAGRAPH B OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF
SECTION THIRTY-SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-SEVEN OF THIS PART SHALL NOT ANNUALLY
EXCEED FOUR MILLION DOLLARS.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
the provisions of section two of this act shall take effect on the first
day of a quarterly sales tax period, as set forth in subdivision (b) of
S. 6766 4
section 1136 of the tax law, next succeeding April 1, 2018 and sections
three and four of this act shall be deemed to have been in full force
and effect on and after section 23 of part A of chapter 57 of the laws
of 2013, took effect.