S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6766
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 16, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law  and  the  tax  law,  in  relation  to
   contracts for the transportation of school children
 
   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 chapter 273 of the laws of 1999, is amended to
 read as follows:
   a. (1) 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 OR HER 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
 if,  in  his  OR HER 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD13244-01-7

 S. 6766                             2
 
 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)]  (I) are made by the board of education or the trustee of a
 district, under rules and regulations prescribed  by  the  commissioner,
 and,  [(2)]  (II) do not extend the original contract period beyond five
 years from the date cafeteria and restaurant  service  commenced  there-
 under 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 OR HER existing statutory authority
 to  approve or disapprove transportation or maintenance contracts, [(i)]
 (A) to reject any extension of a contract beyond the initial term there-
 of if he OR SHE 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)] (B) to
 reject any extension of a contract after ten years from the date  trans-
 portation   or  maintenance  service  commenced  thereunder,  or  mobile
 instructional units were first provided, if in his OR HER  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 OR HER cost of opera-
 tion, during the period of the contract.
   (2) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE BOARD
 OF EDUCATION OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT LOCATED IN A CITY WITH  AT  LEAST  ONE
 MILLION INHABITANTS SHALL INCLUDE IN CONTRACTS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF
 SCHOOL  CHILDREN  IN  KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE, WHETHER AWARDED
 THROUGH COMPETITIVE  BIDDING  OR  THROUGH  EVALUATION  OF  PROPOSALS  IN
 RESPONSE  TO  A  REQUEST  FOR  PROPOSALS PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH E OF THIS

 S. 6766                             3
 
 SUBDIVISION, PROVISIONS FOR THE RETENTION OR  PREFERENCE  IN  HIRING  OF
 SCHOOL  BUS  WORKERS  AND FOR THE PRESERVATION OF WAGES, HEALTH, WELFARE
 AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS AND SENIORITY FOR SCHOOL  BUS  WORKERS  WHO  ARE
 HIRED PURSUANT TO SUCH PROVISIONS FOR RETENTION OR PREFERENCE IN HIRING,
 IN  CONNECTION  WITH  SUCH CONTRACTS. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBPARAGRAPH,
 "SCHOOL BUS WORKER" SHALL MEAN  AN  OPERATOR,  MECHANIC,  DISPATCHER  OR
 ATTENDANT  WHO:  (I) WAS EMPLOYED AS OF JUNE THIRTIETH, TWO THOUSAND TEN
 OR AT ANY TIME THEREAFTER BY (A) A CONTRACTOR THAT  WAS  A  PARTY  TO  A
 CONTRACT  WITH  THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT LOCATED IN A
 CITY WITH AT LEAST ONE MILLION INHABITANTS  FOR  THE  TRANSPORTATION  OF
 SCHOOL CHILDREN IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE, IN CONNECTION WITH
 SUCH  CONTRACT,  OR (B) A SUBCONTRACTOR OF A CONTRACTOR THAT WAS A PARTY
 TO A CONTRACT WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF A SCHOOL  DISTRICT  LOCATED
 IN  A  CITY WITH AT LEAST ONE MILLION INHABITANTS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION
 OF SCHOOL CHILDREN IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE,  IN  CONNECTION
 WITH SUCH CONTRACT, AND (II) HAS BEEN FURLOUGHED OR BECOME UNEMPLOYED AS
 A RESULT OF A LOSS OF SUCH CONTRACT, OR A PART OF SUCH CONTRACT, BY SUCH
 CONTRACTOR  OR  SUCH  SUBCONTRACTOR,  OR  AS  A RESULT OF A REDUCTION IN
 SERVICE DIRECTED BY SUCH BOARD OF EDUCATION  DURING  THE  TERM  OF  SUCH
 CONTRACT.  ANY  COSTS  DIRECTLY  ATTRIBUTED  TO  THE  PROVISIONS OF THIS
 SUBPARAGRAPH SHALL BE COVERED BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL
 DISTRICT LOCATED IN A CITY WITH AT LEAST ONE MILLION INHABITANTS.
   §  2.  Subdivision  (a)  of  section 1115 of the tax law is amended by
 adding a new paragraph 45 to read as follows:
   (45) SCHOOL BUSES AS SUCH TERM  IS  DEFINED  IN  SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED
 FORTY-TWO  OF  THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, AND PARTS, EQUIPMENT, LUBRI-
 CANTS AND FUEL PURCHASED AND USED IN THEIR OPERATION.
   § 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 3627 of  the  education
 law,  as  amended  by  section  7 of part A of chapter 56 of the laws of
 2014, is amended to read as follows:
   (b) reimbursing the cost incurred by licensed transportation  carriers
 pursuant  to contracts, WHICH MAY INCLUDE FRINGE BENEFITS INCLUDING, BUT
 NOT LIMITED TO, QUALIFIED TUITION  REDUCTIONS  ALLOWABLE  UNDER  FEDERAL
 LAW,  with  such  school district for providing transportation for those
 children attending public and nonpublic schools in  grades  kindergarten
 through  six  who  remain at the same school for which they are enrolled
 for regularly scheduled academic classes from half-past nine o'clock  in
 the  morning or earlier until four o'clock in the afternoon or later, on
 weekdays, and reside at least one mile from their school  of  attendance
 for  grades  three  through  six,  and at least one-half mile from their
 school of attendance for  grades  kindergarten  through  two.  PROVIDED,
 HOWEVER, THAT QUALIFIED TUITION REDUCTIONS ALLOWED BY THIS PARAGRAPH AND
 SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  SECTION  THIRTY-SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE-A OF THIS
 PART SHALL NOT ANNUALLY EXCEED FOUR MILLION DOLLARS.
   § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 3623-a of the education law  is  amended
 by adding a new paragraph g to read as follows:
   G.  FOR  TRANSPORTATION CONTRACTS PROVIDED PURSUANT TO SECTION THIRTY-
 SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-SEVEN OF THIS PART, WHICH MAY INCLUDE FRINGE BENEFITS
 INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, QUALIFIED  TUITION  REDUCTIONS  ALLOWABLE
 UNDER  FEDERAL LAW.   PROVIDED HOWEVER THAT QUALIFIED TUITION REDUCTIONS
 ALLOWED BY THIS SUBDIVISION  AND  PARAGRAPH  B  OF  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF
 SECTION  THIRTY-SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-SEVEN OF THIS PART SHALL NOT ANNUALLY
 EXCEED FOUR MILLION DOLLARS.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 the provisions of section two of this act shall take effect on the first
 day  of a quarterly sales tax period, as set forth in subdivision (b) of

 S. 6766                             4
 
 section 1136 of the tax law, next succeeding April 1, 2018 and  sections
 three  and  four  of this act shall be deemed to have been in full force
 and effect on and after section 23 of part A of chapter 57 of  the  laws
 of 2013, took effect.