What's happening
This bill clarifies that school transportation contract extensions can only reflect consumer price index increases from the twelve months ending December 31 before the extension starts.
Why it matters
Limits potential cost increases on school transportation contracts. by specifying that extensions can only reflect consumer price index (CPI) increases from the calendar year ending December 31 before the extension starts, preventing manipulation or cherry-picking of inflationary periods to justify higher prices.
Creates more predictable budgeting for school districts. by tying allowable contract increases to a fixed, transparent 12-month CPI period, making transportation costs easier to forecast and understand for school officials and taxpayers.
Adds a layer of oversight and fairness. for both school districts and contractors, as contractors must demonstrate their operational costs have increased by at least the same amount as the allowed CPI adjustment, reducing the risk of unjustified price hikes.
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Who cares
School boards and district trustees
The bill would tie the inflation-based cap on discretionary contract-extension increases to the twelve-month period ending December 31 immediately before the extension begins.
School transportation contractors
The bill would specify the inflation measurement period used to cap extension increases, while retaining the requirement to establish at least an equivalent increase in operating costs.
School bus maintenance and mobile instructional unit providers
The revised inflation measurement period would also apply to increases in their school district contract extensions.
Headline styles
Extend School Bus Contracts
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to education
- Referred to education
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4591
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 3, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. CURRAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the annual extensions of transportation contracts for school districts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 14 of section 305 of the education law, as amended by chapter 273 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
a. All contracts for the transportation of school children, all contracts to maintain school buses owned or leased by a school district that are used for the transportation of school children, all contracts for mobile instructional units, and all contracts to provide, maintain and operate cafeteria or restaurant service by a private food service management company shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner, who may disapprove a proposed contract if, in his opinion, the best interests of the district will be promoted thereby. Except as provided in paragraph e of this subdivision, all such contracts involving an annual expenditure in excess of the amount specified for purchase contracts in the bidding requirements of the general municipal law shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, which responsibility shall be determined by the board of education or the trustee of a district, with power hereby vested in the commissioner to reject any or all bids if, in his opinion, the best interests of the district will be promoted thereby and, upon such rejection of all bids, the commissioner shall order the board of education or trustee of the district to seek, obtain and consider new proposals. All proposals for such transportation, maintenance, mobile instructional units, or cafeteria and restaurant service shall be in such form as the commissioner may prescribe. Advertisement for bids shall be published in a newspaper or newspapers designated by the board of education or trustee of the district having general circu-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08562-01-7
A. 4591 2
lation within the district for such purpose. Such advertisement shall contain a statement of the time when and place where all bids received pursuant to such advertisement will be publicly opened and read either by the school authorities or by a person or persons designated by them. All bids received shall be publicly opened and read at the time and place so specified. At least five days shall elapse between the first publication of such advertisement and the date so specified for the opening and reading of bids. The requirement for competitive bidding shall not apply to an award of a contract for the transportation of pupils or a contract for mobile instructional units, if such award is based on an evaluation of proposals in response to a request for proposals pursuant to paragraph e of this subdivision. The requirement for competitive bidding shall not apply to annual, biennial, or triennial extensions of a contract nor shall the requirement for competitive bidding apply to quadrennial or quinquennial year extensions of a contract involving transportation of pupils, maintenance of school buses or mobile instructional units secured either through competitive bidding or through evaluation of proposals in response to a request for proposals pursuant to paragraph e of this subdivision, when such extensions (1) are made by the board of education or the trustee of a district, under rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioner, and, (2) do not extend the original contract period beyond five years from the date cafeteria and restaurant service commenced thereunder and in the case of contracts for the transportation of pupils, for the maintenance of school buses or for mobile instructional units, that such contracts may be extended, except that power is hereby vested in the commissioner, in addition to his existing statutory authority to approve or disapprove transportation or maintenance contracts, (i) to reject any extension of a contract beyond the initial term thereof if he finds that amount to be paid by the district to the contractor in any year of such proposed extension fails to reflect any decrease in the regional consumer price index for the N.Y., N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J. area, based upon the index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) during the preceding twelve month period; and (ii) to reject any extension of a contract after ten years from the date transportation or maintenance service commenced thereunder, or mobile instructional units were first provided, if in his opinion, the best interests of the district will be promoted thereby. Upon such rejection of any proposed extension, the commissioner may order the board of education or trustee of the district to seek, obtain and consider bids pursuant to the provisions of this section. The board of education or the trustee of a school district electing to extend a contract as provided herein, may, in its discretion, increase the amount to be paid in each year of the contract extension by an amount not to exceed the regional consumer price index increase for the N.Y., N.Y.-Northeastern, N.J. area, based upon the index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), during the [preceding] twelve month period ending on December thirty-first immediately preceding the commencement of the contract extension, provided it has been satisfactorily established by the contractor that there has been at least an equivalent increase in the amount of his cost of operation, during the period of the contract.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.