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

                                 7231--A

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             March 24, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. VALESKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed 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 section 1 of 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

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

                                                           LBD16508-02-0

S. 7231--A                          2

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 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 FIVE 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), WHICHEVER IS
GREATER;  and (ii) to reject any extension of a contract after ten years
from the date transportation or  maintenance  service  commenced  there-
under,  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 consum-
ers (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 FIVE 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), WHICHEVER IS  GREATER,  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. 7231--A                          3

  S  2.  Paragraph  a  of subdivision 14 of section 305 of the education
law, as amended by section 2 of 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. 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  responsi-
bility 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 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
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 annual, biennial, or triennial 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 instruc-
tional  units  secured  through competitive bidding when such extensions
(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 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 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 consumer 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 FIVE 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),  WHICHEVER  IS  GREATER;  and
(ii) to reject any extension of a contract after ten years from the date

S. 7231--A                          4

transportation  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  FIVE
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 CONSUM-
ERS (CPI-U), WHICHEVER IS GREATER, 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 3. This act shall take effect immediately provided that  the  amend-
ments  to  paragraph a of subdivision 14 of section 305 of the education
law made by section one of this act shall be subject to  the  expiration
and  reversion  of such paragraph pursuant to chapter 698 of the laws of
1996, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of section  two  of
this act shall take effect.