Directs the education department to study, review and report on the geographic cost variation of counties in the Hudson Valley labor force region to determine the appropriateness of the region cost index values for purposes of the public school foundation aid formula.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6979
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LEVENBERG -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education
AN ACT to direct the education department to study, review and report on
the geographic cost variation of counties in the Hudson Valley labor
force region to determine the appropriateness of the region cost index
values for purposes of the public school foundation aid formula
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds that the
2 introduction of the regional cost index into the state public school aid
3 formula provided a regional approach to recognizing the difference in
4 labor market costs. In a June 7, 2006 report to the board of regents
5 subcommittee on state aid, state education department staff noted in the
6 combination of the city of New York and Long Island that there was
7 "evidence that these two areas actually function as a single labor
8 market region. With professionals, especially those in the education
9 professions, moving to jobs across the lines between New York city and
10 Long Island, it is necessary to consider this entire region as a single
11 area, with similar wage costs". At this same time, the education depart-
12 ment decided to keep the county of Westchester within the Hudson Valley
13 for the regional cost index calculation. In 2016, this state enacted a
14 new law to increase the minimum wage across the state. This legislation
15 included the county of Westchester along with the counties of Nassau and
16 Suffolk, in phasing in such wage increases, setting a new precedent that
17 should be considered by the education department with regard to which
18 labor market the county of Westchester should be included in.
19 § 2. The education department shall, in consultation with the depart-
20 ment of labor, study and review the geographic cost variations of the
21 counties located in the Hudson Valley labor force region to determine
22 the appropriateness of the regional cost index values used within the
23 public school foundation aid formula, as well as county placement in the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01475-01-3
A. 6979 2
1 Hudson Valley region. Specifically, the education department shall
2 consider the movement of the county of Westchester currently within the
3 Hudson Valley region into the Long Island/New York city region. Such
4 department shall consult with the department of labor to review labor
5 costs for the Hudson Valley region and the Long Island/New York city
6 region.
7 The education department shall also review the regional costs associ-
8 ated with construction and study the impact on applying an up to date
9 cost index on public school building aid reimbursement.
10 § 3. The education department shall, on or before April 1, 2025,
11 report the findings, conclusions and recommendations of such study to
12 the governor, temporary president of the senate and speaker of the
13 assembly.
14 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
