Senate Bill S4194

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4194
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 6, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  DILAN  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the family court act and the education law, in  relation
   to contracts for the transportation of children
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 236 of the family
 court act, as amended by chapter 424 of the laws of 2012, is amended  to
 read as follows:
   (b) Such order shall further require that such transportation shall be
 provided within thirty days of the issuance of such order, and, shall be
 provided  as  part  of  a  municipal cooperation agreement, as part of a
 contract awarded to the lowest responsible bidder in accordance with the
 provisions of section one hundred three of the general municipal law, or
 as part of a contract awarded pursuant to an evaluation of proposals  to
 the  extent  authorized by paragraphs e and f of subdivision fourteen of
 section three hundred five of the education law and otherwise consistent
 with the provisions of this subdivision, and  that  buses  and  vehicles
 utilized  in  the  performance  of  such contract shall meet the minimum
 requirements for school age children as established by the  commissioner
 of transportation. WHEN, IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
 OR THE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT AWARDS A CONTRACT OR CONTRACTS FOR TRANSPOR-
 TATION,  THE  BOARD  OR  CITY  SCHOOL  DISTRICT  SHALL  INCLUDE EMPLOYEE
 PROTECTION PROVISIONS RATIONALLY RELATING TO THE PROMOTION OF A POOL  OF
 QUALIFIED WORKERS AND THE AVOIDANCE OF LABOR DISPUTES, INCLUDING BUT NOT
 LIMITED TO PROVISIONS FOR THE PREFERENCE IN HIRING OF EMPLOYEES PERFORM-
 ING  WORK  FOR  EMPLOYERS UNDER CONTRACTS WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OR
 THE CITY SCHOOL  DISTRICT,  THE  PRESERVATION  OF  WAGES,  BENEFITS  AND
 SENIORITY  FOR  SUCH  EMPLOYEES,  AND  OTHER  PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE
 HIRING, COMPENSATION, AND RETENTION OF EMPLOYEES.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09228-01-7
              

 S. 4194                             2
 
   § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 14 of section  305  of  the  education
 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. PROVIDED, FURTHER, THAT  ALL  TRANSPORTATION
 CONTRACTS  FOR  CITIES  WITH  A  POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE SHALL
 INCLUDE  EMPLOYEE  PROTECTION  PROVISIONS  RATIONALLY  RELATING  TO  THE
 PROMOTION  OF  A  POOL  OF  QUALIFIED WORKERS AND THE AVOIDANCE OF LABOR
 DISPUTES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PROVISIONS FOR THE PREFERENCE  IN
 HIRING  OF  EMPLOYEES PERFORMING WORK FOR EMPLOYERS UNDER CONTRACTS WITH
 THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OR THE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE PRESERVATION  OF
 WAGES,  BENEFITS  AND SENIORITY FOR SUCH EMPLOYEES, AND OTHER PROVISIONS
 RELATING TO THE HIRING, COMPENSATION, AND RETENTION  OF  EMPLOYEES.  All
 proposals  for  such  transportation,  maintenance, 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 advertise-
 ment 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  advertise-
 ment  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 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  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 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

 S. 4194                             3
 
 service commenced thereunder and in the case of contracts for the trans-
 portation 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  mainte-
 nance  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 consum-
 ers (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 consumers (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.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.