S04653 Summary:

BILL NOS04653
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORJACKSON
 
COSPNSRHARCKHAM, KENNEDY, SKOUFIS
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §305, Ed L
 
Requires school districts to continue to make payments of benefits, compensation and emoluments pursuant to the terms of any contract for transportation of school children that were in effect as of the date of any school closure which is due to a declared emergency as if the services had been provided.
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S04653 Actions:

BILL NOS04653
 
02/08/2021REFERRED TO EDUCATION
01/05/2022REFERRED TO EDUCATION
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S04653 Committee Votes:

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S04653 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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S04653 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4653
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 8, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by Sens. JACKSON, KENNEDY -- 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  payment  under
          contracts for transportation services during a declared state of emer-
          gency

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 14 of section  305  of  the  education  law  is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph h to read as follows:
     3    h.  Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, if a
     4  school district is closed due to a properly executed  declaration  of  a
     5  state or local emergency pursuant to article two-B of the executive law,
     6  such  district shall continue to make payments of benefits, compensation
     7  and emoluments pursuant to the terms of any contract for  transportation
     8  of  school  children entered into pursuant to this subdivision that were
     9  in effect on the date of the closure as if the services for  such  bene-
    10  fits,  compensation,  and  emoluments  had  been provided, and as if the
    11  school district had remained open. Payments received  pursuant  to  this
    12  paragraph  by a contractor providing pupil transportation services shall
    13  be used to meet payroll and fixed cost obligations of the contractor.  A
    14  school  district  shall  make  all  reasonable  efforts to renegotiate a
    15  contract in good faith subject to this paragraph and may direct contrac-
    16  tors providing pupil transportation  services  who  are  a  party  to  a
    17  contract  and receive payments from the school district under this para-
    18  graph, to provide services on behalf of the school  district  which  may
    19  reasonably  be  provided and are within the general expertise or service
    20  provisions of the original contract.   Negotiations  shall  not  include
    21  indirect  costs such as fuel or tolls. As a condition of negotiations, a
    22  contractor for pupil transportation services shall reveal to the  school
    23  district  whether  the  entity has insurance coverage for the payment of
    24  benefits, compensation, and  emoluments  pursuant  to  the  terms  of  a
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05491-01-1

        S. 4653                             2
 
     1  contract  with a contractor for pupil transportation services under this
     2  paragraph for services which otherwise would not have been provided  had
     3  the  school facilities remained open.  A contractor shall divulge to its
     4  school  district  customers  all  government  and  private subsidies and
     5  programs which it is utilizing during the state of emergency to maintain
     6  financial solvency including, but not limited to government  grants  and
     7  loans,  and  unemployment insurance for its labor force. Nothing in this
     8  paragraph shall be construed  to  require  a  school  district  to  make
     9  payments  to  a party in material breach of a contract with a contractor
    10  for pupil transportation services if the breach was not due to a closure
    11  resulting from a declared state of  emergency,  declared  public  health
    12  emergency, or a directive by an appropriate health agency or officer.
    13    §  2.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision of this act, if a school
    14  district continues to pay a  school  bus  transportation  contractor  or
    15  operates  its  own  school  bus  transportation,  such district shall be
    16  eligible for reimbursement from the department of education  at  a  rate
    17  the  school  district  would  have received had the pandemic of 2020 not
    18  occurred, had the minimum instruction days requirement not  been  waived
    19  under  executive  order  202.4  or had the commissioner not taken action
    20  under subdivision 7 of section 3604 of the education law.
    21    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  any
    22  contracts  or  collective bargaining agreements in effect beginning with
    23  the 2019-2020 academic year.
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