Protect School Bus Workers

Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 236 of the family court act, as amended by chapter 424 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:

(b) Such order shall further require that such transportation shall be provided within thirty days of the issuance of such order, and, shall be provided as part of a municipal cooperation agreement, as part of a contract awarded to the lowest responsible bidder in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred three of the general municipal law, or as part of a contract awarded pursuant to an evaluation of proposals to the extent authorized by paragraphs e and f of subdivision fourteen of section three hundred five of the education law and otherwise consistent with the provisions of this subdivision, and that buses and vehicles utilized in the performance of such contract shall meet the minimum requirements for school age children as established by the commissioner of transportation. When, in the city of New York, the board of education or the city school district awards a contract or contracts for transportation, the board or city school district shall include employee protection provisions rationally relating to the promotion of a pool of qualified workers and the avoidance of labor disputes, including but not limited to provisions for the preference in hiring of employees performing work for employers under contracts with the board of education or the city school district, the preservation of wages, benefits and seniority for such employees, and other provisions relating to the hiring, compensation, and retention of employees.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD09228-01-7

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§ 2. 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. Provided, further, that all transportation contracts for cities with a population of one million or more shall include employee protection provisions rationally relating to the promotion of a pool of qualified workers and the avoidance of labor disputes, including but not limited to provisions for the preference in hiring of employees performing work for employers under contracts with the board of education or the city school district, the preservation of wages, benefits and seniority for such employees, and other provisions relating to the hiring, compensation, and retention of employees. 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 circulation 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

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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, 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.

§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.