S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5658
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 24, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. TOWNS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BOYLAND
-- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
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-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09349-01-1
A. 5658 2
lation within the district for such purpose. Such advertisement 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 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
A. 5658 3
least an equivalent increase in the amount of his cost of operation,
during the period of the contract.
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
A. 5658 4
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 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.