Senate Bill S8476

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8476
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 8, 2018
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MARCELLINO  -- read twice and ordered printed, and
   when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation  to  authorizing  capital
   outlays  for  a  school  construction  project  less than $250,000; in
   relation to state aid adjustments for prior years; and in relation  to
   payment  schedules for multi-year recoveries for state aid and provid-
   ing extensions for late filings of transportation contracts in  exten-
   uating circumstances
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraphs a and c of subdivision 5 of section 3604 of  the
 education law, paragraph a as amended by chapter 161 of the laws of 2005
 and  paragraph c as added by chapter 82 of the laws of 1995, are amended
 to read as follows:
   a. State aid adjustments. All errors or omissions in the apportionment
 shall be corrected by the commissioner. Whenever a school  district  has
 been  apportioned  less  money  than  that  to which it is entitled, the
 commissioner may allot to such district the balance to which it is enti-
 tled. Whenever a school district has been apportioned  more  money  than
 that  to which it is entitled, the commissioner may, by an order, direct
 such moneys to be paid back to the state to be credited to  the  general
 fund  local  assistance  account  for  state  aid to the schools, or may
 deduct such amount from the  next  apportionment  to  be  made  to  said
 district,  provided, however, that, upon notification of excess payments
 of aid for which a recovery must be made by the state through  deduction
 of  future  aid payments, a school district may request that such excess
 payments be  recovered  by  deducting  such  excess  payments  from  the
 payments due to such school district and payable in the month of June in
 (i)  the  school  year  in which such notification was received and (ii)
 [the two succeeding school years, provided further that there  shall  be
 no  interest  penalty assessed against such district or collected by the
 state. Such request shall be made to the commissioner in  such  form  as
 the  commissioner  shall  prescribe, and shall be based on documentation
 that the total amount to be recovered is in excess of one percent of the

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15780-01-8

 S. 8476                             2

 district's total general fund  expenditures  for  the  preceding  school
 year.  The  amount to be deducted in the first year shall be the greater
 of (i) the sum of the amount of such excess payments that is  recognized
 as  a liability due to other governments by the district for the preced-
 ing school year and the positive remainder of the district's  unreserved
 fund  balance at the close of the preceding school year less the product
 of the district's total general  fund  expenditures  for  the  preceding
 school year multiplied by five percent, or (ii) one-third of such excess
 payments.  The amount to be recovered in the second year shall equal the
 lesser of the remaining amount of such excess payments to  be  recovered
 or  one-third  of such excess payments, and the remaining amount of such
 excess payments shall be recovered in the  third  year]  IN  UP  TO  TEN
 SUCCEEDING  SCHOOL  YEARS,  AS  DETERMINED  BY THE COMMISSIONER IN REGU-
 LATIONS,  WHEREIN  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  ESTABLISH  ANY  ELIGIBILITY
 REQUIREMENTS  AND/OR  PAYMENT  SCHEDULE  FOR  SUCH  MULTI-YEAR RECOVERY.
 Provided further that, notwithstanding  any  other  provisions  of  this
 subdivision,  any  pending  payment  of moneys due to such district as a
 prior year adjustment payable pursuant to paragraph c of  this  subdivi-
 sion  for  aid  claims that had been previously paid as current year aid
 payments in excess of the amount to which the district is  entitled  and
 for  which  recovery  of  excess payments is to be made pursuant to this
 paragraph, shall be reduced at the time of actual payment by any remain-
 ing unrecovered balance of such excess payments, and the remaining sche-
 duled deductions of such excess  payments  pursuant  to  this  paragraph
 shall be reduced by the commissioner to reflect the amount so recovered.
 The  commissioner shall certify no payment to a school district based on
 a claim submitted later than three years after the close of  the  school
 year  in  which such payment was first to be made.  For claims for which
 payment is first to be made in the nineteen hundred  ninety-six--ninety-
 seven school year, the commissioner shall certify no payment to a school
 district based on a claim submitted later than two years after the close
 of such school year. For claims for which payment is first to be made in
 the  nineteen  hundred ninety-seven--ninety-eight school year and there-
 after, the commissioner shall certify no payment to  a  school  district
 based  on  a claim submitted later than one year after the close of such
 school year. Provided, however, no payments shall be barred  or  reduced
 where  such  payment  is  required  as  a result of a final audit of the
 state. It is further  provided  that,  until  June  thirtieth,  nineteen
 hundred  ninety-six,  the  commissioner  may  grant  a  waiver  from the
 provisions of this section for any school district if it is in the  best
 educational  interests  of the district pursuant to guidelines developed
 by the commissioner and approved by the director of the budget.
   c. Payment of moneys due for prior years. State aid payments  due  for
 prior  years in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision shall
 be paid EITHER: (I) FROM FUNDS AVAILABLE  IN  THE  GENERAL  SUPPORT  FOR
 PUBLIC  SCHOOL  APPROPRIATION  AS  A  RESULT  OF THE DEDUCTION OF EXCESS
 PAYMENTS OF AID PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH A OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION,  OR  (II)
 within  the  limit  of  the  appropriation designated therefor provided,
 however, that each eligible claim shall be payable in the order that  it
 has  been approved for payment by the commissioner, but in no case shall
 a single claim draw down more than forty percent of the appropriation so
 designated for a single year, and provided further that no  claim  shall
 be  set aside for insufficiency of funds to make a complete payment, but
 shall be eligible for a partial payment in one year and shall retain its
 priority date status for appropriations designated for such purposes  in
 future years.

 S. 8476                             3
 
   §  2. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph b of subdivision 6-f of section 3602
 of the education law, as added by section 19 of part H of chapter 83  of
 the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
   (1)  has  a  total  project cost of [one hundred thousand dollars] TWO
 HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS or less; provided however, that  for  any
 district,  no  more  than one project shall be eligible pursuant to this
 subparagraph for an apportionment within the same school year; and/or
   § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 3625 of the education law, as amended by
 chapter 474 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
   2.   Filing of transportation  contracts.    A.  Every  transportation
 contract  shall  be  filed with the department within one hundred twenty
 days of the commencement of service under such contract, SUBJECT TO  THE
 PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH B OF THIS SUBDIVISION. No transportation expense
 shall be allowed for a period greater than one hundred twenty days prior
 to  the filing of any contract for the transportation of pupils with the
 education department. No contract shall be considered  filed  unless  it
 bears  an  original signature of the superintendent of a school district
 or the designee of the superintendent and the sole trustee or  president
 of the board of education of the school district.  The final approval of
 any  such  contract by the commissioner shall not, however, obligate the
 state to allow transportation expense in  an  amount  greater  than  the
 amount  that  would  be  allowed under the provisions of this part.  The
 state, acting through the department of audit and control,  may  examine
 any and all accounts of the contractor in connection with a contract for
 the  transportation of pupils, and every such contract shall contain the
 following provision: "The contractor hereby consents to an audit of  any
 and all financial records relating to this contract by the department of
 audit and control."
   B.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH A OF THIS SUBDIVISION,
 THE COMMISSIONER MAY CONSIDER EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES,  INCLUDING  BUT
 NOT  LIMITED TO POSSESSION OF A SIGNED AND DATED RETURN RECEIPT FROM THE
 DEPARTMENT INDICATING  THAT  SUCH  TRANSPORTATION  CONTRACT  WAS  TIMELY
 FILED,  OR  EVIDENCE OF A FIRE OR OTHER NATURAL DISASTER OR CATASTROPHIC
 EVENT  THAT  DISRUPTED  OPERATIONS  OR  DESTROYED  FILES  PRIOR  TO  THE
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE CONTRACT OR DURING THE CONTRACT PERIOD, OR ANY OTHER
 EXTENUATING  CIRCUMSTANCE  DEFINED  BY  THE  COMMISSIONER IN REGULATIONS
 WHICH RESULTED IN A CONTRACT OR CONTRACTS NOT BEING FILED WITHIN THE ONE
 HUNDRED TWENTY DAY FILING PERIOD AND MAY,  IN  HIS  OR  HER  DISCRETION,
 EXTEND THE PERIOD FOR FILING OF SUCH CONTRACT OR CONTRACTS.
   §  4.  This  act shall take effect July 1, 2018, provided that if this
 act shall become a law after such date, it shall take effect immediately
 and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on  and  after
 July 1, 2018.