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

                                  8946

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              March 4, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. RAIA -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to school lunch  procure-
  ment and request for proposals

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 44 to read as follows:
  44. ALL CONTRACTS  TO  PROVIDE,  MAINTAIN  AND  OPERATE  CAFETERIA  OR
RESTAURANT SERVICE BY A PRIVATE FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT COMPANY SHALL BE
AWARDED   THROUGH  A  REQUEST  FOR  PROPOSAL  PROCUREMENT  PROCESS.  ALL
PROPOSALS SHALL BE IN SUCH FORM AS THE COMMISSIONER  MAY  PRESCRIBE  AND
SHALL INCLUDE CRITERIA SUCH AS QUALITY, COST AND NUTRITION OF FOOD. EACH
SCHOOL  DISTRICT  SHALL  AWARD A PRIVATE FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT COMPANY
WITH A COST REIMBURSABLE CONTRACT WHICH WILL ALLOW EACH SCHOOL  DISTRICT
THE  FLEXIBILITY  TO  MODIFY  THEIR  SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAM DURING THE
CONTRACT PERIOD.
  S 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 14 of section  305  of  the  education
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[,]  AND  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  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

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

                                                           LBD13870-01-4

A. 8946                             2

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[,]  OR  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  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)  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;  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 consum-
ers (CPI-U), during the preceding twelve month period, provided  it  has
been satisfactorily established by the contractor that there has been at

A. 8946                             3

least  an  equivalent  increase  in the amount of his cost of operation,
during the period of the contract.
  S  3.  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[,] AND 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  commission-
er,  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[,]  OR  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  circulation  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 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 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 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; 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

A. 8946                             4

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  cost  of  operation,
during the period of the contract.
  S  4. 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 two 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 three of
this act shall take effect.