Bill Text: NY S05096 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires contracts for the transportation of school children in a city of at least one million inhabitants to contain provisions for the retention or preference in hiring of school bus workers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO NEW YORK CITY EDUCATION [S05096 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S05096-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          5096
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      April 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sens. JACKSON, LIU -- 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  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] the opinion of the
    11  commissioner, the best interests of the district will be promoted there-
    12  by. Except as provided in paragraph e  of  this  subdivision,  all  such
    13  contracts involving an annual expenditure in excess of the amount speci-
    14  fied  for  purchase contracts in the bidding requirements of the general
    15  municipal law shall be awarded to the lowest responsible  bidder,  which
    16  responsibility  shall  be  determined  by  the board of education or the
    17  trustee of a district, with power hereby vested in the  commissioner  to
    18  reject any or all bids if, in [his] the opinion of the commissioner, the
    19  best  interests  of the district will be promoted thereby and, upon such
    20  rejection of all bids, the commissioner shall order the board of  educa-
    21  tion  or  trustee  of  the  district  to  seek,  obtain and consider new
    22  proposals. All proposals for such  transportation,  maintenance,  mobile
    23  instructional  units,  or  cafeteria  and restaurant service shall be in
    24  such form as the commissioner may prescribe.    Advertisement  for  bids
    25  shall  be published in a newspaper or newspapers designated by the board
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09912-02-9

        S. 5096                             2
     1  of education or trustee of the district having general circulation with-
     2  in the district for such purpose. Such  advertisement  shall  contain  a
     3  statement of the time when and place where all bids received pursuant to
     4  such advertisement will be publicly opened and read either by the school
     5  authorities  or  by  a  person  or  persons designated by them. All bids
     6  received shall be publicly opened and read at  the  time  and  place  so
     7  specified. At least five days shall elapse between the first publication
     8  of  such  advertisement  and  the  date so specified for the opening and
     9  reading of bids. The requirement for competitive bidding shall not apply
    10  to an award of a contract for the transportation of pupils or a contract
    11  for mobile instructional units, if such award is based on an  evaluation
    12  of  proposals  in  response to a request for proposals pursuant to para-
    13  graph e of this subdivision. The  requirement  for  competitive  bidding
    14  shall  not  apply  to  annual,  biennial,  or  triennial extensions of a
    15  contract nor shall the requirement  for  competitive  bidding  apply  to
    16  quadrennial  or  quinquennial  year  extensions  of a contract involving
    17  transportation of pupils, maintenance of school buses or mobile instruc-
    18  tional units secured either through competitive bidding or through eval-
    19  uation of proposals in response to a request for proposals  pursuant  to
    20  paragraph e of this subdivision, when such extensions [(1)] (i) are made
    21  by  the board of education or the trustee of a district, under rules and
    22  regulations prescribed by the  commissioner,  and,  [(2)]  (ii)  do  not
    23  extend  the  original  contract  period  beyond five years from the date
    24  cafeteria and restaurant service commenced thereunder and in the case of
    25  contracts for the transportation  of  pupils,  for  the  maintenance  of
    26  school  buses or for mobile instructional units, that such contracts may
    27  be extended, except that power is hereby vested in the commissioner,  in
    28  addition  to  [his] the existing statutory authority of the commissioner
    29  to approve or disapprove transportation or maintenance contracts,  [(i)]
    30  (A) to reject any extension of a contract beyond the initial term there-
    31  of if [he] the commissioner finds that amount to be paid by the district
    32  to  the  contractor  in  any  year  of  such proposed extension fails to
    33  reflect any decrease in the regional consumer price index for the  N.Y.,
    34  N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J. area, based upon the index for all urban consum-
    35  ers  (CPI-U) during the preceding twelve month period; and [(ii)] (B) to
    36  reject any extension of a contract after ten years from the date  trans-
    37  portation   or  maintenance  service  commenced  thereunder,  or  mobile
    38  instructional units were first provided, if in [his] the opinion of  the
    39  commissioner, the best interests of the district will be promoted there-
    40  by.  Upon such rejection of any proposed extension, the commissioner may
    41  order the board of education or trustee of the district to seek,  obtain
    42  and  consider bids pursuant to the provisions of this section. The board
    43  of education or the trustee of a school district electing  to  extend  a
    44  contract as provided herein, may, in its discretion, increase the amount
    45  to  be  paid  in each year of the contract extension by an amount not to
    46  exceed  the  regional  consumer  price  index  increase  for  the  N.Y.,
    47  N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J. area, based upon the index for all urban consum-
    48  ers  (CPI-U),  during the preceding twelve month period, provided it has
    49  been satisfactorily established by the contractor that there has been at
    50  least an equivalent increase in the amount of  [his]  such  contractor's
    51  cost of operation, during the period of the contract.
    52    (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision, the board
    53  of  education  of  a school district located in a city with at least one
    54  million inhabitants shall include, in contracts for  the  transportation
    55  of school children in kindergarten through grade twelve, whether awarded
    56  through  competitive  bidding  or  through  evaluation  of  proposals in

        S. 5096                             3
     1  response to a request for proposals pursuant  to  paragraph  e  of  this
     2  subdivision,  provisions  for  the  retention or preference in hiring of
     3  school bus workers and for the preservation of  wages,  health,  welfare
     4  and  retirement  benefits  and  seniority for school bus workers who are
     5  hired pursuant to such provisions for retention or preference in hiring,
     6  in connection with such contracts. For purposes  of  this  subparagraph,
     7  "school  bus  worker"  shall  mean  an operator, mechanic, dispatcher or
     8  attendant who: (i) was employed as of June thirtieth, two  thousand  ten
     9  or  at  any  time  thereafter  by (A) a contractor that was a party to a
    10  contract with the board of education of a school district located  in  a
    11  city  with  at  least  one million inhabitants for the transportation of
    12  school children in kindergarten through grade twelve, in connection with
    13  such contract, or (B) a subcontractor of a contractor that was  a  party
    14  to  a  contract with the board of education of a school district located
    15  in a city with at least one million inhabitants for  the  transportation
    16  of  school  children in kindergarten through grade twelve, in connection
    17  with such contract, and (ii) has been furloughed or become unemployed as
    18  a result of a loss of such contract, or a part of such contract, by such
    19  contractor or such subcontractor, or as  a  result  of  a  reduction  in
    20  service  directed  by  such  board  of education during the term of such
    21  contract. Any costs  directly  attributed  to  the  provisions  of  this
    22  subparagraph  shall  be  covered by the board of education of the school
    23  district located in a city with at least one million inhabitants.
    24    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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