NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A96
SPONSOR: Sayegh TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to the apportionment of
moneys for capital outlays and debt service for school building purposes
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This legislation will amend the education law to allow certain high need
districts to receive an additional supplemental building aid ratio for
projects addressing capacity shortages. Includes the building of new
schools and/or renovating to existing school buildings and facilities.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Subparagraph 2 of paragraph c of subdivision 6 of
section 3602 of the education law by adding a new clause (d) which will
allow, beginning with the 2024-25 school year, school building projects
designed to address capacity shortages of high-need school districts as
defined as being located in a county with a population of more than
940,000 and less than 1,000,000 inhabitants according to the 2010 feder-
al census in a school district in a city with more than 125,000 inhabit-
ants on or before July 1, 2019. These districts may compute aid under
the provisions of this new subdivision using the high-need secondary
supplemental building aid ratio. School building projects eligible for
aid shall include projects to address capacity shortages of at least 10%
of the calculated capacity of the district or at least 10% of the calcu-
lated capacity of elementary or secondary schools of the district as
determined by the commissioner.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
N/A
JUSTIFICATION:
More than 10 years ago, New York State recognized that high need school
districts were struggling to support necessary school capital projects
and permitted these districts to access an additional building
reimbursement. Since such time, high need school districts in Westches-
ter County have been confronted with both escalated local construction
costs and significant student enrollment growth contributing to their
limited ability to address capacity shortages for their current and
future projections of increased student enrollment, this bill recognizes
the pressing need for these districts to expand classroom space by help-
ing to offset the local fiscal impact of facility projects designed to
relieve overcrowding where the shortages are ten percent or greater of
the identified need as determined by the State Education Department.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-18: A6882-Referred to Education
2019-20: A7108-Referred to Education
2021-22: A2517-Referred to Education
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
This bill would reduce costs for local school districts, cost to the
state is to be determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
96
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 4, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SAYEGH -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the apportionment of
moneys for capital outlays and debt service for school building
purposes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "rebuild
2 our schools act".
3 § 2. Subparagraph 2 of paragraph c of subdivision 6 of section 3602 of
4 the education law is amended by adding a new clause (d) to read as
5 follows:
6 (d) For aid payable in the school years two thousand twenty-three--two
7 thousand twenty-four and thereafter for school building projects to
8 remedy capacity shortages of high-need school districts, as defined
9 pursuant to regulations of the commissioner in clause (c) of this
10 subparagraph and are located in a county with a population of more than
11 nine hundred forty thousand and less than one million inhabitants
12 according to the two thousand ten federal census, as approved by the
13 voters of such school district or by such board of education of a city
14 school district in a city with more than one hundred twenty-five thou-
15 sand inhabitants, on or after July first, two thousand twenty-one, may
16 compute aid under the provisions of this subdivision using the high-need
17 secondary supplemental building aid ratio, which shall be the lesser of:
18 (A) the product, computed to three decimals without rounding, of the
19 greater of the building aid ratios computed pursuant to subclauses (i),
20 (ii) and (iii) of clause (b) of this subparagraph multiplied by ten
21 percent; or (B) the positive remainder of ninety-eight one-hundredths
22 less the greater of the building aid ratios computed pursuant to
23 subclauses (i), (ii) and (iii) of clause (b) of this subparagraph.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01648-01-3
A. 96 2
1 School building projects eligible for aid pursuant to this clause shall
2 include projects to address capacity shortages of at least ten percent
3 of the calculated capacity of the district or at least ten percent of
4 the calculated capacity of elementary or secondary schools of the
5 district, as determined by the commissioner.
6 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
