S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 7833--A

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              May 28, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on  Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted
  as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to  amend  the  education  law,  in  relation  to  transportation
  contract pricing benchmarks

  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. 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 opinion, the best
interests of the district will be promoted thereby. Except  as  provided
in  paragraph  e  of  this  subdivision, all such contracts involving 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 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 transportation, main-
tenance, mobile instructional units, or cafeteria and restaurant 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 general circu-
lation within the district for such purpose.  Such  advertisement  shall
contain  a  statement of the time when and place where all bids received

              

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10726-03-5

A. 7833--A                          2

pursuant to such advertisement will be publicly opened and  read  either
by  the school authorities or by a person or persons designated 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) are made by the  board  of  education  or  the  trustee  of  a
district,  under  rules  and regulations prescribed by the commissioner,
and, (2) do not extend the original contract period  beyond  five  years
from  the date cafeteria and restaurant service commenced thereunder and
in the case of contracts for the transportation of pupils, for the main-
tenance 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 existing statutory authority to approve
or disapprove transportation or maintenance contracts, (i) to reject any
extension of a contract beyond the initial term thereof if he 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 consum-
er  price  index  for the N.Y., N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J. area, based upon
the index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) during  the  preceding  twelve
month  period  OR,  IN  THE  CASE OF CONTRACTS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF
SCHOOL CHILDREN, THE AVERAGE OF THE PREVIOUS TEN YEARS OF  THE  REGIONAL
CONSUMER  PRICE  INDEX  INCREASES  FOR THE N.Y., N.Y.-NORTHEASTERN, N.J.
AREA, BASED UPON THE INDEX FOR ALL URBAN CONSUMERS (CPI-U); and (ii)  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 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 consumers (CPI-U),  during
the  preceding  twelve month period OR, IN THE CASE OF CONTRACTS FOR THE
TRANSPORTATION OF SCHOOL CHILDREN, THE AVERAGE OF THE PREVIOUS TEN YEARS
OF  THE  REGIONAL  CONSUMER  PRICE  INDEX  INCREASES   FOR   THE   N.Y.,
N.Y.-NORTHEASTERN,  N.J.    AREA,  BASED  UPON  THE  INDEX FOR ALL URBAN
CONSUMERS (CPI-U), provided it has been  satisfactorily  established  by
the  contractor  that  there has been at least an equivalent increase in
the amount of his cost of operation, during the period of the contract.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.