Bill Text: NY S05528 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Directs the education department to study, review and report on the placement of the county of Westchester in the Hudson Valley region for purposes of public school foundation aid, and the appropriateness of placing such county in the Long Island/New York city region for such purposes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S05528 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S05528-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          5528
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                       May 6, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed 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.
                                                                   LBD10646-01-9
        S. 5528                             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, 2021,
    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.