STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6000
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 10, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. MARCELLINO -- 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 contracts relating to
the provision, maintenance and operation of cafeterias and restaurant
service in schools
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 14 of section 305 of the educa-
2 tion law, as amended by chapter 273 of the laws of 1999, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 a. All contracts for the transportation of school children, all
5 contracts to maintain school buses owned or leased by a school district
6 that are used for the transportation of school children, all contracts
7 for mobile instructional units, and all contracts to provide, maintain
8 and operate cafeteria or restaurant service by a private food service
9 management company shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner,
10 who may disapprove a proposed contract if, in his or her opinion, the
11 best interests of the district will be promoted thereby. Except as
12 provided in paragraph e of this subdivision, all such contracts involv-
13 ing an annual expenditure in excess of the amount specified for purchase
14 contracts in the bidding requirements of the general municipal law shall
15 be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, which responsibility shall
16 be determined by the board of education or the trustee of a district,
17 with power hereby vested in the commissioner to reject any or all bids
18 if, in his or her opinion, the best interests of the district will be
19 promoted thereby and, upon such rejection of all bids, the commissioner
20 shall order the board of education or trustee of the district to seek,
21 obtain and consider new proposals. All proposals for such transporta-
22 tion, maintenance, mobile instructional units, or cafeteria and restau-
23 rant service shall be in such form as the commissioner may prescribe.
24 Advertisement for bids shall be published in a newspaper or newspapers
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11499-01-7
S. 6000 2
1 designated by the board of education or trustee of the district having
2 general circulation within the district for such purpose or in the
3 state's procurement opportunities newsletter in accordance with article
4 four-C of the economic development law. Such advertisement shall contain
5 a statement of the time when and place where all bids received pursuant
6 to such advertisement will be publicly opened and read either by the
7 school authorities or by a person or persons designated by them. All
8 bids received shall be publicly opened and read at the time and place so
9 specified. At least five days shall elapse between the first publication
10 of such advertisement and the date so specified for the opening and
11 reading of bids. The requirement for competitive bidding shall not apply
12 to an award of a contract for the transportation of pupils or a contract
13 for mobile instructional units or the provision, maintenance and opera-
14 tion of cafeteria or restaurant service, if such award is based on an
15 evaluation of proposals in response to a request for proposals pursuant
16 to paragraph e of this subdivision. The requirement for competitive
17 bidding shall not apply to annual, biennial, or triennial extensions of
18 a contract nor shall the requirement for competitive bidding apply to
19 quadrennial or quinquennial year extensions of a contract involving
20 transportation of pupils, maintenance of school buses or mobile instruc-
21 tional units secured either through competitive bidding or through eval-
22 uation of proposals in response to a request for proposals pursuant to
23 paragraph e of this subdivision, when such extensions (1) are made by
24 the board of education or the trustee of a district, under rules and
25 regulations prescribed by the commissioner, and, (2) do not extend the
26 original contract period beyond five years from the date cafeteria and
27 restaurant service commenced thereunder and in the case of contracts for
28 the transportation of pupils, for the maintenance of school buses or for
29 mobile instructional units, that such contracts may be extended, except
30 that power is hereby vested in the commissioner, in addition to his or
31 her existing statutory authority to approve or disapprove transportation
32 or maintenance contracts, (i) to reject any extension of a contract
33 beyond the initial term thereof if he or she finds that amount to be
34 paid by the district to the contractor in any year of such proposed
35 extension fails to reflect any decrease in the regional consumer price
36 index for the N.Y., N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J. area, based upon the index
37 for all urban consumers (CPI-U) during the preceding twelve month peri-
38 od; and (ii) to reject any extension of a contract after ten years from
39 the date transportation or maintenance service commenced thereunder, or
40 mobile instructional units were first provided, if in his or her opin-
41 ion, the best interests of the district will be promoted thereby. Upon
42 such rejection of any proposed extension, the commissioner may order the
43 board of education or trustee of the district to seek, obtain and
44 consider bids pursuant to the provisions of this section. The board of
45 education or the trustee of a school district electing to extend a
46 contract as provided herein, may, in its discretion, increase the amount
47 to be paid in each year of the contract extension by an amount not to
48 exceed the regional consumer price index increase for the N.Y.,
49 N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J. area, based upon the index for all urban consum-
50 ers (CPI-U), during the preceding twelve month period, provided it has
51 been satisfactorily established by the contractor that there has been at
52 least an equivalent increase in the amount of his or her cost of opera-
53 tion, during the period of the contract.
54 § 2. Paragraph e of subdivision 14 of section 305 of the education
55 law, as amended by chapter 464 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read
56 as follows:
S. 6000 3
1 e. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law
2 or charter, a board of education or a trustee of a district, pursuant to
3 rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner, may award a
4 contract for the transportation of pupils or a contract for mobile
5 instructional units or for the provision, maintenance and operation of
6 cafeteria or restaurant service by a private food service management
7 company involving an annual expenditure in excess of the amount speci-
8 fied for purchase contracts in the bidding requirements of the general
9 municipal law in compliance with the provisions of paragraph a of this
10 subdivision or subsequent to an evaluation of proposals submitted in
11 response to a request for proposals prepared by or for the board of
12 education or trustee of a district. A contract awarded through a request
13 for proposals shall be awarded based on best value in accordance with
14 section one hundred three of the general municipal law. The commission-
15 er, in addition to his or her existing statutory authority to approve or
16 disapprove transportation contracts, may reject any award of a transpor-
17 tation contract or a contract for mobile instructional units that is
18 based on an evaluation of proposals submitted in response to a request
19 for proposals if he or she finds that (1) the contractor is not the most
20 responsive to the request for proposals, or (2) that the best interests
21 of the district will be promoted thereby.
22 § 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017, provided that if this
23 act shall become a law after such date, it shall take effect immediately
24 and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after
25 July 1, 2017.
