What's happening
This bill requires the governor to submit five-year capital plans for SUNY and CUNY, ensuring full funding for critical maintenance needs.
Why it matters
Mandates long-term planning. By requiring the governor to submit five-year capital plans for SUNY and CUNY, the bill ensures that facility needs are addressed proactively and systematically, rather than through last-minute or piecemeal funding.
Guarantees full funding for urgent repairs. The legislation compels the state to appropriate enough funds every year to meet 100% of identified critical maintenance needs, reducing the risk of campus infrastructure failures that can disrupt learning and campus life.
Separates maintenance from new projects. The bill clearly distinguishes between funding for existing facility upkeep and new capital initiatives, preventing new construction from crowding out essential repairs and maintenance.
Imposes accountability and transparency. By referencing the Facility Condition Index (FCI) and requiring a data-driven approach to allocating funds, the bill introduces industry-standard metrics and a transparent methodology for determining how resources are distributed among campuses.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Five-Year College Plans
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to higher education
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 59–0
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.246
- Print number 3548a
- Amend and recommit to finance
- Referred to finance
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to higher education
Show 6 earlier actions
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 61–0
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.725
- Referred to finance
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Fund SUNY and CUNY Repairs
In Assembly Committee · Ways And Means · Sponsor Deborah Glick
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3548--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 8, 2019
Introduced by Sens. STAVISKY, LAVALLE, ADDABBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance -- recommitted to the Committee on Finance in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to five-year capital plans for the state university of New York and the city university of New York
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 22-c of the state finance law is amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
7. For the fiscal year beginning on April first, two thousand twentyone and every fifth fiscal year thereafter, the governor shall submit to the legislature as part of the annual executive budget, five-year capital plans for the state university of New York state-operated campuses and city university of New York senior colleges. Such plans shall provide for the annual appropriation of capital funds to cover one hundred percent of the annual critical maintenance needs identified by each university system, and may include funds for new infrastructure or other major capital initiatives, provided that such funding for new infrastructure or other major capital initiatives shall not count towards meeting the overall critical maintenance requirement. In the event that such plan is unable to fund one hundred percent of the critical maintenance needs due to the limitation imposed by article five-B of this chapter, the director of the budget shall develop five-year capital plans whereby the implementation of each capital plan would annually reduce the overall facility condition index (FCI) for each university system. For the purposes of this subdivision, "facility condition index" shall mean an industry benchmark that measures the ratio of deferred maintenance dollars to replacement dollars for the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05692-02-0
S. 3548--A 2
purposes of analyzing the effect of investing in facility improvements. The apportionment of capital appropriations to each state-operated campus or senior college shall be based on a methodology to be developed by the director of the budget, in consultation with the state university of New York and city university of New York.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the state finance law, in relation to five-year capital plans for the state university of New York and the city university of New York
Purpose
To provide five-year capital plans for SUNY and CUNY for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2021.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Amends section 22-c of the state finance law to direct the Governor to submit a five-year capital plan that meets 100 percent of the critical maintenance needs identified by each public university system or annually reduces the facility condition index for each univer- sity system.
Section 2. Provides for an immediate effective date.
Justification
As part of the fiscal year 2008-2009 budget, the Legislature enacted a five-year capital plan with annual critical maintenance appropriations of $550 million for the State University of New York and $284.2 million for the City University of New York. These appropriations provided the State's public colleges and universities with the ability to plan for capital expenditures and substantially reduce the backlog of critical maintenance projects. Since the conclusion of that plan in the 2012-2013 budget cycle, the budget process has failed to produce a similarly robust capital plan for the SUNY and CUNY systems. As such, the academic facilities at our public colleges and universities, as well as the three SUNY hospitals, are in danger of not receiving the annual investment necessary for proper maintenance.
This bill would incorporate capital planning for SUNY and CUNY into the overall capital plan submitted to the Legislature by requiring that the Governor submit five-year capital plans for SUNY and CUNY as part of the Executive Budget. This requirement would ensure that the facilities at our public institutions of higher education receive the capital funding necessary to meet their annual critical maintenance needs or reduce the facility condition index which measures the current condition of facili- ties requiring capital investment.
Although this bill was vetoed by the Governor in 2015, 2017, and 2018, this measure is still of the utmost importance. Ensuring capital funding for SUNY and CUNY is essential to their ability to continue to provide exemplary education for students of the State of New York. Building infrastructure across SUNY and CUNY campuses remains in dire need of critical maintenance because buildings are crumbling under the students' feet. This funding will further assist the efforts to reduce efforts to reduce facility condition indexes.
Legislative history
2019: S.3548 - Passed Senate. 2018: S.7236 (Veto 319); 2017: S.1625 (Veto 205); 2015: S.5217/A.7388
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.