Senate Bill S1018

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1018
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on New York City Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education 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] SUCH COMMISSIONER'S
 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 speci-
 fied 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]  SUCH  COMMISSIONER'S  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  educa-
 tion  or  trustee  of  the  district  to  seek,  obtain and consider new
 proposals. 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD02964-01-5
 S. 1018                             2
 
 shall  be published in a newspaper or newspapers designated by the board
 of education or trustee of the district having general circulation with-
 in the district for such purpose. Such  advertisement  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 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  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 para-
 graph 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 instruc-
 tional units secured either through competitive bidding or through eval-
 uation of proposals in response to a request for proposals  pursuant  to
 paragraph e of this subdivision, when such extensions [(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 thereunder 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]  SUCH COMMISSIONER'S existing statutory authority to
 approve or disapprove transportation or maintenance contracts, [(i)] (A)
 to reject any extension of a contract beyond the initial term thereof if
 [he] SUCH COMMISSIONER 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] SUCH COMMISSIONER'S
 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]  SUCH  CONTRACTOR'S
 cost of operation, during the period of the contract.
   (2)  (I)  NOTWITHSTANDING  THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION, SECTION
 ONE HUNDRED THREE OF THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW, OR ANY  OTHER  PROVISION
 OF  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT
 LOCATED IN A CITY WITH AT LEAST ONE MILLION INHABITANTS SHALL INCLUDE IN
 S. 1018                             3
 
 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  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.
   (II) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBPARAGRAPH:
   (A) "CONTRACTS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF SCHOOL CHILDREN"  SHALL  MEAN
 CONTRACTS  FOR  THE TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS AWARDED BY SUCH CITY SCHOOL
 DISTRICT UNDER WHICH TRANSPORTATION SERVICES ARE PERFORMED BY SCHOOL BUS
 WORKERS; AND
   (B) "SCHOOL BUS WORKER" SHALL MEAN AN OPERATOR,  MECHANIC,  DISPATCHER
 OR ATTENDANT WHO:
   I. WAS EMPLOYED AS OF JUNE THIRTIETH, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE, OR AT
 ANY TIME THEREAFTER, BY:
   (I)  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 KINDER-
 GARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE, IN CONNECTION WITH SUCH CONTRACT; OR
   (II)  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 CHIL-
 DREN 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  THE RESULT OF A REDUCTION IN SERVICE DIRECTED BY
 SUCH BOARD OF EDUCATION DURING THE TERM OF SUCH CONTRACT.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.