What's happening
This bill allows New York school districts that missed certain building project reporting deadlines to retroactively receive state aid if they submit required reports by December 31, 2019.
Why it matters
Prevents financial hardship for districts. By allowing late reports to be accepted and state aid to be provided retroactively, the bill protects school districts from losing critical building aid for technical reporting delays, which could otherwise strain local budgets or lead to program cuts.
Balances accountability with flexibility. The legislation still requires districts to submit all necessary documentation by a firm (but extended) deadline, ensuring oversight and minimizing the risk of abuse, while also recognizing that bureaucratic or timing errors shouldn't permanently penalize districts.
Adjusts aid to reflect reporting delay. The education department is directed to pro-rate the amount of aid based on how late the final report was filed, ensuring that districts are not unjustly rewarded for delays, but also not fully deprived of aid, which incentivizes timely compliance in the future.
Clarifies how past overpayments are handled. If a district previously received too much aid due to reporting errors, this bill provides a mechanism to recover those overpayments by deducting them from future aid, thus maintaining fiscal responsibility and reducing administrative confusion.
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Who cares
School districts that missed final cost-report deadlines
The bill would validate late filings for qualifying building projects if districts submit reports by December 31, 2019, and obtain the education commissioner's approval.
State Education Department
The bill would require the department to prorate approved project costs based on the filing delay relative to the project's useful life.
School district budget officials
Aid owed for school years before 2020–2021 would be paid through the specified prior-year payment process, with pending payments reduced by any remaining unrecovered excess aid.
Headline styles
Forgive Late School Reports
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to education
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
914
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sens. YOUNG, AKSHAR, SERINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to ratify and validate certain actions of school districts relating to the filing of final building project cost reports, and directing the payment of state aid for school district building projects affected thereby
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the actions or omissions of any school district which failed to submit a final building project cost report by June 30 of the school year following June 30 of the school year in which a certificate of substantial completion of the project is issued by the architect or engineer, or six months after issuance of such certificate, whichever is later, are hereby ratified and validated, provided, that such building project was eligible for aid in a year for which the commissioner of education is required to prepare an estimate of apportionments due and owing pursuant to paragraph c of subdivision 21 of section 305 of the education law, provided, further, that such school district submits a final cost report on or before December 31, 2019 and such report is approved by the commissioner of education, and provided, further, that any amount due and payable for school years prior to the 2020--2021 school year as a result of this act shall be paid pursuant to the provisions of paragraph c of subdivision 5 of section 3604 of the education law.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any pending payment of moneys due to such district as a prior year adjustment payable pursuant to paragraph c of subdivision 5 of section 3604 of the education law for aid claims that had been previously paid in excess as current year aid payments and for which recovery of excess payments
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04021-01-9
S. 914 2
is to be made pursuant to this act, shall be reduced by any remaining unrecovered balance of such excess payments, and the remaining scheduled deductions of such excess payments pursuant to this act shall be reduced by the commissioner of education to reflect the amount so recovered.
(c) The education department is hereby directed to adjust the approved costs of the aforementioned projects on a pro-rata basis to reflect the number of years between June 30 of the school year following June 30 of the school year in which the certificate of substantial completion of the project is issued by the architect or engineer, or six months after issuance of such certificate, whichever is later and the date upon which the district filed a final cost report as a proportion of the useful life of the project, and to consider such adjusted approved costs as valid and proper obligations of such school districts.
§ 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 ratify and validate certain actions of school districts relat- ing to the filing of final building project cost reports, and directing the payment of state aid for school district building projects affected thereby
Purpose or general idea of bill
Provides building aid forgiveness to school districts that would other- wise lose aid due to inadvertent, minor, and technical errors.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1. Provides that the actions and omissions of any school district which failed to submit a final building cost report prior to December 31, 2018 shall be considered legalized, validated, and rati- fied.
Section 2. Provides for an immediate effective date.
Justification
When the State or school districts make errors relating to building aid, the districts have to pay the State back money they were provided or become ineligible to lost aid even though the State had budgeted for that expense. These errors tend to be minor in nature, such as a miscom- munication during a staff transition or a clerical error. While these errors are minor, the amount of money school districts lose out on is not.
Establishing a period of forgiveness would encourage legislative effi- ciencies by eliminating the need for standalone bills and also make it easier for districts to collect their reimbursements. The State has already budgeted for aid for districts under these scenarios, so it would not require additional appropriations.
There is previous precedent for aid forgiveness. The 2012-13 State Budg- et provided for forgiveness of building aid for capital projects that was lost due to inadvertent, minor, technical, or clerical errors prior to the 2011-12 school year.
Prior legislative history
2018: S.7727 Passed Senate
Fiscal implications
Unknown.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.