NY State Senate Bill 2019-S3773

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 08, 2020	referred to education
Feb 14, 2019	referred to education

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5473
Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3625, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: A6495

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the filing of transportation contracts; provides that the department of education shall send written notice to school districts thirty days prior to the expiration of a transportation contract the department has on file when a district does not have a new contract on file.

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S3773

SPONSOR: O'MARA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to the filing of trans-
portation contracts

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Directs the State Education Department to provide written notice to
school districts thirty days before the expiration of a transportation
contract in instances where a school has yet to file a new transporta-
tion contract. Additionally, allows the Department to waive the penalty
imposed for late filing after the school district submits written notice
to the Department explaining the reason for late filing and the Depart-
ment determines the reason to be of good cause.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill amends subdivision 2 of section 3625 of the

Education Law and directs the State Education Department to provide
written notice to school districts thirty days before the expiration of
a transportation contract when the district has not yet filed a new
contract with the department. Additionally, the Department may allow for
the expense of a transportation contract during the period after 120
days when a district provides written notice of reason for late filing
and the Department determines within 10 days the reason to be of good
cause.

Section 2. Provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

School districts are authorized to contract with a private contractor
for the transportation of students. School districts that have a private
contractor provide transportation services are required to file their
transportation contracts with the State Education Department (SED) with-
in 120 days following the first date of service.  However, school
districts that file a transportation contract late suffer a loss of
State School Aid. Under current law, school districts can lose out on
millions of dollars in State Aid because of a technical or clerical
issue. For one reason or another, there have been situations where
districts have not filed their transportation contacts in a timely
matter. Ultimately, it is the students that suffer as a result of these
minor issues.

Under this bill, SED will be required to provide written notice to the
district stating that SED has a transportation contract on file that
will be expiring in thirty days. The notice must also inform the
district of the penalty as a result of a late submission. SED will have
to send a notice to the school district thirty days before the expira-
tion of their contract. This notification from SED is meant to provide
the district with a reminder that their transportation contract must be
filed.

Additionally, if a district does file a transportation contract after
the 120 days deadline, this bill would provide SED with the authori-
zation to determine if the district should receive the penalty or not
upon receiving written notice from the district of the reason the
contract was filed late. This will allow SED to waive the penalty in
extenuating circumstances.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3773
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 14, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  O'MARA -- 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 the filing  of  trans-
   portation contracts
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. 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. Every  transportation  contract
 shall be filed with the department within one hundred twenty days of the
 commencement  of service under such contract.  THE DEPARTMENT SHALL SEND
 WRITTEN NOTICE TO DISTRICTS THIRTY DAYS PRIOR TO  THE  EXPIRATION  OF  A
 TRANSPORTATION  CONTRACT THE DEPARTMENT HAS ON FILE WHEN A DISTRICT DOES
 NOT HAVE A NEW CONTRACT ON FILE. THE WRITTEN NOTICE SHALL  PROVIDE  THAT
 THE  DISTRICT  SHALL  HAVE THE CONTRACT FILED WITH THE DEPARTMENT WITHIN
 ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS AND  SHALL  PROVIDE  INFORMATION  REGARDING  THE
 PENALTY  IF THE CONTRACT IS FILED AFTER SUCH DEADLINE. 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.   HOWEVER,  THE  COMMISSIONER  MAY
 ALLOW  FOR  THE EXPENSE OF ANY CONTRACT FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS
 WITH THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FILED AFTER ONE HUNDRED  TWENTY  DAYS  FOR
 GOOD CAUSE. THE DISTRICT SHALL SUBMIT A NOTICE OF LATE FILING AND REASON
 OF CAUSE IN WRITING TO THE DEPARTMENT. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL RESPOND IN
 WRITING  WITHIN  TEN  DAYS OF RECEIVING THE NOTICE OF LATE FILING WITH A
 DETERMINATION OF GOOD CAUSE.  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,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD09691-01-9

 S. 3773                             2
 
 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 exam-
 ine 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 depart-
 ment of audit and control."
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S3773

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S3773

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Thomas F. O'Mara

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S3773 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments