NY State Senate Bill 2019-S914

Senate Bill S914

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Ratifies and validates certain actions of school districts relating to the filing of final building project cost reports

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 09, 2019	referred to education

co-Sponsors

2019-S914 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education
Versions Introduced in 2017-2018 Legislative Session:: S7727

2019-S914 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Ratifies and validates certain actions of school districts relating to the filing of final building project cost reports, and directs the payment by the education department of state aid for school district building projects affected thereby.

2019-S914 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S914

SPONSOR: YOUNG
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to ratify and validate certain actions of school districts relat-
ing to the filing of final building project cost reports, and directing
the payment of state aid for school district building projects affected
thereby

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Provides building aid forgiveness to school districts that would other-
wise lose aid due to inadvertent, minor, and technical errors.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Provides that the actions and omissions of any school
district which failed to submit a final building cost report prior to
December 31, 2018 shall be considered legalized, validated, and rati-
fied.

Section 2. Provides for an immediate effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

When the State or school districts make errors relating to building aid,
the districts have to pay the State back money they were provided or
become ineligible to lost aid even though the State had budgeted for
that expense. These errors tend to be minor in nature, such as a miscom-
munication during a staff transition or a clerical error. While these
errors are minor, the amount of money school districts lose out on is
not.

Establishing a period of forgiveness would encourage legislative effi-
ciencies by eliminating the need for standalone bills and also make it
easier for districts to collect their reimbursements. The State has
already budgeted for aid for districts under these scenarios, so it
would not require additional appropriations.

There is previous precedent for aid forgiveness. The 2012-13 State Budg-
et provided for forgiveness of building aid for capital projects that
was lost due to inadvertent, minor, technical, or clerical errors prior
to the 2011-12 school year.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018: S.7727 Passed Senate

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Unknown.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S914 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    914
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  YOUNG,  AKSHAR,  SERINO -- read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Educa-
   tion
 
 AN ACT to ratify and validate certain actions of school districts relat-
   ing  to the filing of final building project cost reports, and direct-
   ing the payment of state aid for  school  district  building  projects
   affected thereby
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. (a) Notwithstanding any  other  provision  of  law  to  the
 contrary,  the  actions or omissions of any school district which failed
 to submit a final building project cost report by June 30 of the  school
 year  following  June  30  of  the school year in which a certificate of
 substantial completion of the project is  issued  by  the  architect  or
 engineer, or six months after issuance of such certificate, whichever is
 later,  are  hereby ratified and validated, provided, that such building
 project was eligible for aid in a year for  which  the  commissioner  of
 education  is  required to prepare an estimate of apportionments due and
 owing pursuant to paragraph c of subdivision 21 of section  305  of  the
 education  law,  provided,  further, that such school district submits a
 final cost report on or before December 31,  2019  and  such  report  is
 approved  by  the commissioner of education, and provided, further, that
 any amount due and payable for school  years  prior  to  the  2020--2021
 school  year  as  a  result  of  this  act shall be paid pursuant to the
 provisions of paragraph c of subdivision 5 of section 3604 of the educa-
 tion law.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to  the  contrary,  any
 pending  payment  of moneys due to such district as a prior year adjust-
 ment payable pursuant to paragraph c of subdivision 5 of section 3604 of
 the education law for aid claims that had been previously paid in excess
 as current year aid payments and for which recovery of  excess  payments

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

                                                            LBD04021-01-9

 S. 914                              2
 
 is  to  be  made pursuant to this act, shall be reduced by any remaining
 unrecovered balance of such excess payments, and the remaining scheduled
 deductions of such excess payments pursuant to this act shall be reduced
 by the commissioner of education to reflect the amount so recovered.
   (c) The education department is hereby directed to adjust the approved
 costs  of the aforementioned projects on a pro-rata basis to reflect the
 number of years between June 30 of the school year following June 30  of
 the  school  year  in which the certificate of substantial completion of
 the project is issued by the architect or engineer, or six months  after
 issuance of such certificate, whichever is later and the date upon which
 the  district  filed  a  final cost report as a proportion of the useful
 life of the project, and to consider such  adjusted  approved  costs  as
 valid and proper obligations of such school districts.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S914

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Sponsored By

Catharine Young