A 8750: Relates to lease terms for zero-emission school buses; permits leases of up to 12 years.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8750 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY June 2, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to lease terms for zero- emission school buses The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 21-a of section 1604 of the education law, as 2 amended by chapter 563 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 21-a. To lease a motor vehicle or vehicles to be used for the trans- 5 portation of the children of the district from a school district, board 6 of cooperative educational services or county vocational education and 7 extension board or from any other source, under the conditions specified 8 in this subdivision. No such agreement for the lease of a motor vehicle 9 or vehicles shall be for a term of more than one school year, provided 10 that when authorized by a vote of the qualified voters of the district 11 such lease may have a term of up to five years, or [eight] twelve years 12 for the lease of zero-emission school buses as defined in section thir- 13 ty-six hundred thirty-eight of this chapter. Where the trustee or board 14 of trustees enter into a lease of a motor vehicle or vehicles pursuant 15 to this subdivision for a term of one school year or less, such trustee 16 or board shall not be authorized to enter into another lease for the 17 same or an equivalent replacement vehicle or vehicles, as determined by 18 the commissioner, without obtaining approval of the qualified voters of 19 the school district. 20 § 2. Paragraph i of subdivision 25 of section 1709 of the education 21 law, as amended by chapter 563 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read 22 as follows: 23 i. In addition to the authority granted in paragraph e of this subdi- 24 vision, the board of education shall be authorized to lease a motor 25 vehicle or vehicles to be used for the transportation of the children of 26 the district from sources other than a school district, board of cooper- 27 ative educational services or county vocational education and extension 28 board under the conditions specified in this paragraph. No such agree- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13103-01-5 
 A. 8750 2 1 ment for the lease of a motor vehicle or vehicles shall be for a term of 2 more than one school year, provided that when authorized by a vote of 3 the qualified voters of the district such lease may have a term of up to 4 five years, or [eight] twelve years for the lease of zero-emission 5 school buses as defined in section thirty-six hundred thirty-eight of 6 this chapter. Where the board of education enters a lease of a motor 7 vehicle or vehicles pursuant to this paragraph for a term of one school 8 year or less, such board shall not be authorized to enter into another 9 lease of the same or an equivalent replacement vehicle or vehicles, as 10 determined by the commissioner, without obtaining approval of the 11 voters. 12 § 3. Paragraph e of subdivision 7 of section 3602 of the education 13 law, as amended by chapter 563 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read 14 as follows: 15 e. In determining approved transportation capital, debt service and 16 lease expense for aid payable in the two thousand five--two thousand six 17 school year and thereafter, the commissioner, after applying the 18 provisions of paragraph c of this subdivision to such expense, shall 19 establish an assumed amortization pursuant to this paragraph to deter- 20 mine the approved capital, debt service and lease expense of the school 21 district that is aidable in the current year, whether or not the school 22 district issues debt for such expenditures, subject to any deduction 23 pursuant to paragraph d of this subdivision. Such assumed amortization 24 shall be for a period of five years, and for the two thousand twenty- 25 two--two thousand twenty-three school year and thereafter such assumed 26 amortization for zero-emission school buses as defined in section thir- 27 ty-six hundred thirty-eight of this article and related costs pursuant 28 to paragraph f of subdivision two of section thirty-six hundred twenty- 29 three-a of this article shall be for a period of eight years, provided 30 that where a district enters into a lease agreement longer than eight 31 years such assumed amortization period shall be the length of such lease 32 agreement, and shall commence twelve months after the school district 33 enters into a purchase contract or lease of the school bus, charging 34 station, hydrogen fueling station, or equipment, or a general contract 35 for the construction, reconstruction, lease or purchase of a transporta- 36 tion storage facility or site in an amount less than ten thousand 37 dollars. Such assumed amortization shall provide for equal semiannual 38 payments of principal and interest based on an assumed interest rate 39 established by the commissioner pursuant to this paragraph. By the first 40 day of September of the current year commencing with the two thousand 41 five--two thousand six school year, each school district shall provide 42 to the commissioner in a format prescribed by the commissioner such 43 information as the commissioner shall require for all capital debt 44 incurred by such school district during the preceding school year for 45 expenses allowable pursuant to subdivision two of section thirty-six 46 hundred twenty-three-a of this article. Based on such reported amorti- 47 zations and a methodology prescribed by the commissioner in regulations, 48 the commissioner shall compute an assumed interest rate that shall equal 49 the average of the interest rates applied to all such debt issued during 50 the preceding school year. The assumed interest rate shall be the inter- 51 est rate of each such school district applicable to the current year for 52 the purposes of this paragraph and shall be expressed as a decimal to 53 five places rounded to the nearest eighth of one-one hundredth. 54 § 4. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same 55 manner as chapter 563 of the laws of 2024, takes effect.