Bill Text: NY S04832 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to access to state aid adjustments for prior years and payment schedules for multi-year recoveries for state aid.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-06-04 - referred to education [S04832 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S04832-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4832
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      March 2, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  MARCELLINO  --  (at request of the State Education
          Department) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be
          committed to the Committee on Education
        AN  ACT  to  amend the education law, in relation to access to state aid
          adjustments for prior  years  and  payment  schedules  for  multi-year
          recoveries for state aid
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Paragraphs a and c of subdivision 5 of section 3604 of  the
     2  education law, paragraph a as amended by chapter 161 of the laws of 2005
     3  and  paragraph c as added by chapter 82 of the laws of 1995, are amended
     4  to read as follows:
     5    a. State aid adjustments. All errors or omissions in the apportionment
     6  shall be corrected by the commissioner. Whenever a school  district  has
     7  been  apportioned  less  money  than  that  to which it is entitled, the
     8  commissioner may allot to such district the balance to which it is enti-
     9  tled. Whenever a school district has been apportioned  more  money  than
    10  that  to which it is entitled, the commissioner may, by an order, direct
    11  such moneys to be paid back to the state to be credited to  the  general
    12  fund  local  assistance  account  for  state  aid to the schools, or may
    13  deduct such amount from the  next  apportionment  to  be  made  to  said
    14  district,  provided, however, that, upon notification of excess payments
    15  of aid for which a recovery must be made by the state through  deduction
    16  of  future  aid payments, a school district may request that such excess
    17  payments be  recovered  by  deducting  such  excess  payments  from  the
    18  payments due to such school district and payable in the month of June in
    19  (i)  the  school  year  in which such notification was received and (ii)
    20  [the two succeeding school years, provided further that there  shall  be
    21  no  interest  penalty assessed against such district or collected by the
    22  state. Such request shall be made to the commissioner in  such  form  as
    23  the  commissioner  shall  prescribe, and shall be based on documentation
    24  that the total amount to be recovered is in excess of one percent of the
    25  district's total general fund  expenditures  for  the  preceding  school
    26  year.  The  amount to be deducted in the first year shall be the greater

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10289-01-7
        S. 4832                             2

     1  of (i) the sum of the amount of such excess payments that is  recognized
     2  as  a liability due to other governments by the district for the preced-
     3  ing school year and the positive remainder of the district's  unreserved
     4  fund  balance at the close of the preceding school year less the product
     5  of the district's total general  fund  expenditures  for  the  preceding
     6  school year multiplied by five percent, or (ii) one-third of such excess
     7  payments.  The amount to be recovered in the second year shall equal the
     8  lesser of the remaining amount of such excess payments to  be  recovered
     9  or  one-third  of such excess payments, and the remaining amount of such
    10  excess payments shall be recovered in the  third  year]  in  up  to  ten
    11  succeeding  school  years,  as  determined  by the commissioner in regu-
    12  lations,  wherein  the  commissioner  shall  establish  any  eligibility
    13  requirements  and/or  payment  schedule  for  such  multi-year recovery.
    14  Provided further that, notwithstanding  any  other  provisions  of  this
    15  subdivision,  any  pending  payment  of moneys due to such district as a
    16  prior year adjustment payable pursuant to paragraph c of  this  subdivi-
    17  sion  for  aid  claims that had been previously paid as current year aid
    18  payments in excess of the amount to which the district is  entitled  and
    19  for  which  recovery  of  excess payments is to be made pursuant to this
    20  paragraph, shall be reduced at the time of actual payment by any remain-
    21  ing unrecovered balance of such excess payments, and the remaining sche-
    22  duled deductions of such excess  payments  pursuant  to  this  paragraph
    23  shall be reduced by the commissioner to reflect the amount so recovered.
    24  The  commissioner shall certify no payment to a school district based on
    25  a claim submitted later than three years after the close of  the  school
    26  year  in  which such payment was first to be made.  For claims for which
    27  payment is first to be made in the nineteen hundred  ninety-six--ninety-
    28  seven school year, the commissioner shall certify no payment to a school
    29  district based on a claim submitted later than two years after the close
    30  of such school year. For claims for which payment is first to be made in
    31  the  nineteen  hundred ninety-seven--ninety-eight school year and there-
    32  after, the commissioner shall certify no payment to  a  school  district
    33  based  on  a claim submitted later than one year after the close of such
    34  school year. Provided, however, no payments shall be barred  or  reduced
    35  where  such  payment  is  required  as  a result of a final audit of the
    36  state. It is further  provided  that,  until  June  thirtieth,  nineteen
    37  hundred  ninety-six,  the  commissioner  may  grant  a  waiver  from the
    38  provisions of this section for any school district if it is in the  best
    39  educational  interests  of the district pursuant to guidelines developed
    40  by the commissioner and approved by the director of the budget.
    41    c. Payment of moneys due for prior years. State aid payments  due  for
    42  prior  years in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision shall
    43  be paid either: (i) from funds available  in  the  general  support  for
    44  public  school  appropriation  as  a  result  of the deduction of excess
    45  payments of aid pursuant to paragraph a of  this  subdivision,  or  (ii)
    46  within  the  limit  of  the  appropriation designated therefor provided,
    47  however, that each eligible claim shall be payable in the order that  it
    48  has  been approved for payment by the commissioner, but in no case shall
    49  a single claim draw down more than forty percent of the appropriation so
    50  designated for a single year, and provided further that no  claim  shall
    51  be  set aside for insufficiency of funds to make a complete payment, but
    52  shall be eligible for a partial payment in one year and shall retain its
    53  priority date status for appropriations designated for such purposes  in
    54  future years.
    55    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.