Add S308-a, amd SS1709 & 1950, Ed L; amd S6-r, Gen Muni L
Establishes the education mandate relief act; authorizes the board of education to enter into piggyback contracts with another school district for transportation services and directs BOCES to convene committees to recommend options for school district consolidation and shared services.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1577--A
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 9, 2013
___________
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- recommitted
to the Committee on Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law and the general municipal law, in
relation to enacting the education mandate relief act of 2015
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "education mandate relief act of 2015".
3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 308-a to
4 read as follows:
5 § 308-a. Special provisions; mandates. 1. As used in this section,
6 "mandate" means (a) any state law, rule or regulation which creates a
7 new program or requires a higher level of service for an existing
8 program which a school district, organized either by special laws or
9 pursuant to the provisions of a general law, is required to provide; or
10 (b) any general law which grants a new property tax exemption or
11 increases an existing property tax exemption which any such school
12 district is required to provide.
13 2. In the event that a mandate which imposes a cost upon a school
14 district is created after the adoption of a school budget, such mandate
15 shall not be implemented until no sooner than the following year for
16 which such school budget was adopted.
17 3. Notwithstanding subdivision two of this section, such a mandate may
18 be imposed if:
19 (a) The mandate is provided at the option of the school district under
20 a law, regulation, rule or order that is permissive rather than mandato-
21 ry;
22 (b) The mandate is required by, or arises from, an executive order of
23 the governor exercising his or her emergency powers; or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02854-02-4
S. 1577--A 2
1 (c) The mandate is required by statute or executive order that imple-
2 ments a federal law or regulation and results from costs mandated by the
3 federal government to be borne at the local level, unless the statute or
4 executive order imposes costs which exceed the costs mandated by the
5 federal government.
6 § 3. Paragraph h of subdivision 25 of section 1709 of the education
7 law, as amended by section 23 of subpart F of part C of chapter 97 of
8 the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
9 h. (1) The board of education is authorized to enter into a contract
10 with another school district, a county, municipality, or the state
11 office of children and family services to provide transportation for
12 children, including contracts to provide such transportation as regional
13 transportation services, provided that the contract cost is appropriate.
14 In determining the appropriate transportation contract cost, the trans-
15 portation service provider school district shall use a calculation
16 consistent with regulations adopted by the commissioner for the purpose
17 of assuring that charges reflect the true costs that would be incurred
18 by a prudent person in the conduct of a competitive transportation busi-
19 ness.
20 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision fourteen of section
21 three hundred five of this chapter, section one hundred three of the
22 general municipal law, or any other provision of law to the contrary,
23 the board of education shall be authorized to enter into a shared trans-
24 portation services contract with another school district that transports
25 students pursuant to a contract with a private transportation contrac-
26 tor, provided that the board finds that the contract cost is appropriate
27 and entry into a shared transportation services contract will result in
28 a cost savings to the school district. For purposes of this paragraph, a
29 "shared transportation services contract" means a contract for the
30 transportation of students that: (1) provides transportation to a
31 location outside the students' school district of residence to which
32 another school district is already providing transportation to its own
33 students through an existing contract with a private transportation
34 contractor, other than a cooperatively bid contract; (2) is entered into
35 by the private transportation contractor and each school district
36 involved; and (3) provides for transportation in accordance with the
37 terms and conditions of such existing transportation contract.
38 § 4. Paragraph f of subdivision 2-a of section 1950 of the education
39 law, as amended by chapter 602 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read
40 as follows:
41 f. [In the event of a vacancy in the membership of a board of cooper-
42 ative educational services which occurs prior to January first in any
43 school year or during the period commencing five days prior to the date
44 designated for submission of nominations of candidates to the board of
45 cooperative educational services and ending on the last day of the
46 school year, a special election to fill such vacancy shall be conducted
47 in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs b, c and d of this
48 subdivision on a date designated by the president of the board of coop-
49 erative educational services not late than forty-five days after the
50 date the vacancy occurred.] In the event of a vacancy in the membership
51 of a board of cooperative educational services [which occurs on or after
52 January first and prior to the fifth day preceding the date designated
53 for submission of nominations of candidates the board of cooperative
54 educational services], such board may fill such vacancy by appointment
55 and the person so appointed shall hold office until the next annual
56 election of the board of cooperative educational services. [Notwith-
S. 1577--A 3
1 standing any other provision of this subdivision, any vacancy which
2 occurs on or after July first, nineteen hundred ninety-three and prior
3 to January first, nineteen hundred ninety-four shall be filled by a
4 special election in accordance with paragraphs b, c and d of this subdi-
5 vision.]
6 § 5. Subdivision 4 of section 1950 of the education law is amended by
7 adding a new paragraph oo to read as follows:
8 oo. The boards of cooperative educational services (BOCES) in cooper-
9 ation with the district superintendent appointed pursuant to section
10 twenty-two hundred four of this chapter shall convene committees of
11 school and community leaders in each BOCES region to recommend options
12 for school district consolidation and shared services and issue a report
13 based on such findings to the commissioner, no later than July first,
14 two thousand sixteen. Such report shall include, but not be limited to
15 an examination of the viability of regional administrative operations,
16 transportation, energy procurement and health insurance programs,
17 including the bulk purchase of prescription drugs.
18 § 6. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph d of subdivision 4 of section 1950 of
19 the education law, as amended by chapter 474 of the laws of 1996, is
20 amended to read as follows:
21 (1) Aidable shared services. At the request of component school
22 districts, and with the approval of the commissioner, provide any of the
23 following services on a cooperative basis: school nurse teacher, attend-
24 ance supervisor, supervisor of teachers, dental hygienist, psychologist,
25 teachers of art, music, physical education, career education subjects,
26 guidance counsellors, operation of special classes for students with
27 disabilities, as such term is defined in article eighty-nine of this
28 chapter; pupil and financial accounting service by means of mechanical
29 equipment; claims auditing or internal auditing services; maintenance
30 and operation of cafeteria or restaurant service for the use of pupils
31 and teachers while at school, and such other services as the commission-
32 er may approve. Such cafeteria or restaurant service may be used by the
33 community for school related functions and activities and to furnish
34 meals to the elderly residents of the district, sixty years of age or
35 older. Utilization by elderly residents or school related groups shall
36 be subject to the approval of the board of education. Charges shall be
37 sufficient to bear the direct cost of preparation and serving of such
38 meals, exclusive of any other available reimbursements.
39 § 7. Paragraphs b and c of subdivision 1 of section 6-r of the gener-
40 al municipal law, as added by chapter 260 of the laws of 2004, are
41 amended to read as follows:
42 b. "Participating employer" means: (i) a participating employer as
43 defined in subdivision twenty of section two of the retirement and
44 social security law or in subdivision twenty of section three hundred
45 two of such law; or (ii) an employer as defined in subdivision three of
46 section five hundred one of the education law.
47 c. "Retirement contribution" shall mean all or any portion of the
48 amount payable by a municipal corporation to: (i) either the New York
49 state and local employees' retirement system or the New York state and
50 local police and fire retirement system pursuant to section seventeen or
51 three hundred seventeen of the retirement and social security law; or
52 (ii) the New York state teachers' retirement system pursuant to section
53 five hundred twenty-one of the education law.
54 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
55 section six of this act shall take effect July 1, 2016.
