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S06208 Summary:

S06208 Actions:

S06208 Committee Votes:

S06208 Floor Votes:

S06208 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          6208
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      May 23, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by Sens. JACKSON, LIU -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on New York City  Educa-
          tion
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  education law, in relation to contracts for the
          transportation of school children
 
          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.  (1)  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  opinion,  the  best
    11  interests  of  the district will be promoted thereby. Except as provided
    12  in paragraph e of this subdivision,  all  such  contracts  involving  an
    13  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 opinion, the best interests of the district will be promoted
    19  thereby and, upon such rejection of all  bids,  the  commissioner  shall
    20  order  the board of education or trustee of the district to seek, obtain
    21  and consider new proposals. All proposals for such transportation, main-
    22  tenance, mobile instructional units, or cafeteria and restaurant service
    23  shall be in such form as the commissioner may prescribe.   Advertisement
    24  for  bids  shall be published in a newspaper or newspapers designated by

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11915-03-9
        S. 6208                             2
 
     1  the board of education or trustee of the district having general  circu-
     2  lation  within  the  district for such purpose. Such advertisement shall
     3  contain a statement of the time when and place where all  bids  received
     4  pursuant  to  such advertisement will be publicly opened and read either
     5  by the school authorities or by a person or persons designated by  them.
     6  All  bids  received  shall  be  publicly opened and read at the time and
     7  place so specified. At least five days shall elapse  between  the  first
     8  publication  of  such  advertisement  and  the date so specified for the
     9  opening and reading of bids. The  requirement  for  competitive  bidding
    10  shall  not  apply  to  an  award of a contract for the transportation of
    11  pupils or a contract for mobile instructional units, if  such  award  is
    12  based  on  an  evaluation  of  proposals  in  response  to a request for
    13  proposals pursuant to paragraph e of this subdivision.  The  requirement
    14  for competitive bidding shall not apply to annual, biennial, or trienni-
    15  al  extensions  of  a contract nor shall the requirement for competitive
    16  bidding apply to  quadrennial  or  quinquennial  year  extensions  of  a
    17  contract involving transportation of pupils, maintenance of school buses
    18  or mobile instructional units secured either through competitive bidding
    19  or  through  evaluation  of  proposals  in  response  to  a  request for
    20  proposals pursuant to paragraph e of this subdivision, when such  exten-
    21  sions  [(1)]  (i) are made by the board of education or the trustee of a
    22  district, under rules and regulations prescribed  by  the  commissioner,
    23  and,  [(2)]  (ii) do not extend the original contract period beyond five
    24  years from the date cafeteria and restaurant  service  commenced  there-
    25  under and in the case of contracts for the transportation of pupils, for
    26  the  maintenance of school buses or for mobile instructional units, that
    27  such contracts may be extended, except that power is  hereby  vested  in
    28  the  commissioner,  in  addition  to his existing statutory authority to
    29  approve or disapprove transportation or maintenance contracts, [(i)] (A)
    30  to reject any extension of a contract beyond the initial term thereof if
    31  he finds that amount to be paid by the district to the contractor in any
    32  year of such proposed extension fails to reflect  any  decrease  in  the
    33  regional  consumer  price  index  for  the N.Y., N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J.
    34  area, based upon the index for all urban consumers  (CPI-U)  during  the
    35  preceding twelve month period; and [(ii)] (B) to reject any extension of
    36  a  contract  after ten years from the date transportation or maintenance
    37  service commenced thereunder, or mobile instructional units  were  first
    38  provided,  if in his opinion, the best interests of the district will be
    39  promoted thereby. Upon such rejection of  any  proposed  extension,  the
    40  commissioner may order the board of education or trustee of the district
    41  to  seek,  obtain  and  consider bids pursuant to the provisions of this
    42  section. The board of education or the  trustee  of  a  school  district
    43  electing   to  extend  a  contract  as  provided  herein,  may,  in  its
    44  discretion, increase the amount to be paid in each year of the  contract
    45  extension  by  an amount not to exceed the regional consumer price index
    46  increase for the N.Y., N.Y.-Northeastern,  N.J.  area,  based  upon  the
    47  index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), during the preceding twelve month
    48  period,  provided it has been satisfactorily established by the contrac-
    49  tor that there has been at least an equivalent increase in the amount of
    50  his cost of operation, during the period of the contract.
    51    (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision, the board
    52  of education of a school district located in a city with  at  least  one
    53  million inhabitants shall include in contracts for the transportation of
    54  school  children  in  kindergarten through grade twelve, whether awarded
    55  through competitive  bidding  or  through  evaluation  of  proposals  in
    56  response  to  a  request  for  proposals pursuant to paragraph e of this
        S. 6208                             3
 
     1  subdivision, provisions for the retention or  preference  in  hiring  of
     2  school  bus  workers  and for the preservation of wages, health, welfare
     3  and retirement benefits and seniority for school  bus  workers  who  are
     4  hired pursuant to such provisions for retention or preference in hiring,
     5  in  connection with such contracts and the cost of such provisions shall
     6  be identified in contracts awarded pursuant to this subparagraph.    For
     7  purposes  of  this  subparagraph,  "contracts  for the transportation of
     8  school children" shall mean contracts for the transportation  of  pupils
     9  attending school in such city school district under which transportation
    10  services  are  performed  by school bus workers; and "school bus worker"
    11  shall mean an operator, mechanic, dispatcher or attendant who:  (i)  was
    12  employed as of June thirtieth, two thousand ten or at any time thereaft-
    13  er  by (A) a contractor that was a party to a contract with the board of
    14  education of a school district located in  a  city  with  at  least  one
    15  million inhabitants for the transportation of school children in kinder-
    16  garten  through grade twelve, in connection with such contract, or (B) a
    17  subcontractor of a contractor that was a party to a  contract  with  the
    18  board  of education of a school district located in a city with at least
    19  one million inhabitants for the transportation  of  school  children  in
    20  kindergarten through grade twelve, in connection with such contract, and
    21  (ii)  has  been furloughed or become unemployed as a result of a loss of
    22  such contract, or a part of such contract, by such  contractor  or  such
    23  subcontractor, or as a result of a reduction in service directed by such
    24  board of education during the term of such contract.
    25    (3)  By  July  thirtieth, two thousand twenty and annually thereafter,
    26  the board of education located in a  city  with  at  least  one  million
    27  inhabitants  shall report to the director of the division of the budget,
    28  the secretary to the senate finance committee, and the secretary to  the
    29  assembly  ways  and  means  committee  on  any competitive solicitation,
    30  issued after April first, two thousand nineteen, undertaken for the  two
    31  thousand nineteen--two thousand twenty school year and thereafter relat-
    32  ing to contracts for the transportation of school children in kindergar-
    33  ten  through grade twelve pursuant to subparagraph two of this paragraph
    34  that contain provisions for the retention or  preference  in  hiring  of
    35  school  bus  workers  and for the preservation of wages, health, welfare
    36  and retirement benefits and seniority for school  bus  workers  who  are
    37  hired pursuant to such provisions for retention or preference in hiring,
    38  in connection with such contracts. Such report shall address the results
    39  of  retention  or preference in hiring of school bus workers and for the
    40  preservation of wages,  health,  welfare  and  retirement  benefits  and
    41  seniority  for school bus workers associated with the contracts contain-
    42  ing such provisions, a listing of other  provisions  contained  in  such
    43  contracts,  and  the average increase in cost of such contracts, if any,
    44  and a detailed explanation for such increases.
    45    § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 3623-a of the education law  is  amended
    46  by adding a new paragraph g to read as follows:
    47    g.  Notwithstanding any provision in this subdivision to the contrary,
    48  for a board of education of a city school district  located  in  a  city
    49  with  at  least one million inhabitants, expenditures solely for substi-
    50  tute contracts eligible for aid pursuant to subdivision seven of section
    51  thirty-six hundred two  of  this  article  shall  be  reduced,  for  the
    52  original term of such substitute contracts, by the costs attributable to
    53  provisions for the retention or preference in hiring of school bus work-
    54  ers  and  for  the preservation of wages, health, welfare and retirement
    55  benefits and seniority for school bus workers who are hired pursuant  to
    56  such provisions for retention or preference in hiring in connection with
        S. 6208                             4
 
     1  such  substitute  contracts,  as  such  costs are identified pursuant to
     2  subparagraph two of paragraph a of subdivision fourteen of section three
     3  hundred five of this chapter, as such identified costs may  be  adjusted
     4  pursuant  to  such substitute contracts. Such identified costs shall not
     5  include any costs attributable to wages or benefits, or to any  increase
     6  in  wages or benefits, other than such incremental costs attributable to
     7  provisions for the retention or preference in hiring of school bus work-
     8  ers and for the _preservation of wages, health, welfare  and  retirement
     9  benefits  and seniority for school bus workers who are hired pursuant to
    10  such provisions for retention or preference in hiring in connection with
    11  such substitute contracts. For the purposes of this paragraph:  "substi-
    12  tute  contracts"  shall  mean  contracts for transportation services for
    13  students with  disabilities  and  their  non-disabled  peers,  procured,
    14  pursuant  to  a  competitive  solicitation issued after April first, two
    15  thousand nineteen, for the purpose of replacing  expired  or  terminated
    16  contracts  which  had  been  awarded pursuant to request for bids number
    17  B2192 or B2321;  "contracts  for  transportation  services"  shall  mean
    18  contracts for the transportation of pupils attending school in such city
    19  school  district  under  which  transportation services are performed by
    20  school bus workers; and "original term" shall mean the initial  term  of
    21  the  substitute contract, or the initial term of the substitute contract
    22  plus the initial term of any additional subsequent substitute contracts,
    23  provided that the initial  term  of  any  substitute  contract  and  the
    24  initial  term  of  any  subsequent  substitute  contracts, if any, shall
    25  equal, for purposes of this paragraph, a cumulative total of five years.
    26    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.