Bill Text: NY A10458 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Requires school districts to continue to make payments of benefits, compensation and emoluments pursuant to the terms of any contract for transportation of school children that were in effect as of the date of any school closure which is due to a declared emergency as if the services had been provided.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-09-09 - print number 10458a [A10458 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A10458-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10458

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 18, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Perry) --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Education

        AN ACT to  amend  the  education  law,  in  relation  to  payment  under
          contracts for transportation services during a declared state of emer-
          gency

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 14 of section  305  of  the  education  law  is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph h to read as follows:
     3    h.  Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, if a
     4  school district is closed due to a properly executed  declaration  of  a
     5  state or local emergency pursuant to article two-B of the executive law,
     6  such  district shall continue to make payments of benefits, compensation
     7  and emoluments pursuant to the terms of any contract for  transportation
     8  of  school  children entered into pursuant to this subdivision that were
     9  in effect on the date of the closure as if the services for  such  bene-
    10  fits,  compensation,  and  emoluments  had  been provided, and as if the
    11  school district had remained open. Payments received  pursuant  to  this
    12  paragraph  by a contractor providing pupil transportation services shall
    13  be used to meet payroll and fixed cost obligations of the contractor.  A
    14  school  district  shall  make  all  reasonable  efforts to renegotiate a
    15  contract in good faith subject to this paragraph and may direct contrac-
    16  tors providing pupil transportation  services  who  are  a  party  to  a
    17  contract  and receive payments from the school district under this para-
    18  graph, to provide services on behalf of the school  district  which  may
    19  reasonably  be  provided and are within the general expertise or service
    20  provisions of the original contract.   Negotiations  shall  not  include
    21  indirect  costs such as fuel or tolls. As a condition of negotiations, a
    22  contractor for pupil transportation services shall reveal to the  school
    23  district  whether  the  entity has insurance coverage for the payment of
    24  benefits, compensation, and  emoluments  pursuant  to  the  terms  of  a
    25  contract  with a contractor for pupil transportation services under this
    26  paragraph for services which otherwise would not have been provided  had
    27  the  school facilities remained open. Nothing in this paragraph shall be

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16213-02-0
        A. 10458                            2

     1  construed to require a school district to make payments to  a  party  in
     2  material breach of a contract with a contractor for pupil transportation
     3  services  if  the  breach  was  not  due  to  a closure resulting from a
     4  declared  state  of  emergency,  declared  public health emergency, or a
     5  directive by an appropriate health agency or officer.
     6    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  any
     7  contracts  or  collective bargaining agreements in effect beginning with
     8  the 2019-2020 academic year.