BILL NUMBER: S8904
SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law and the general municipal law, in
relation to certain lease terms for BOCES properties
 
PURPOSE:
To allow BOCES to lease with public entities for up to 20 years.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subparagraph 1 of paragraph p of subdivision 4 of
section 1950 of the education law to authorize BOCES to lease real prop-
erty from public entities for up to 20 years.
Section 2 amends paragraph b of subdivision 1 and subdivision 5 of
section 403-a of the education law to make conforming changes.
Section 3 amends subdivision a of section 72-h of the general municipal
law to make conforming changes.
Section 4 provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) provide shared educa-
tional programming and services to their component districts around the
state, allowing districts to offer students programs they might not
otherwise be able to by working collaboratively.
Many BOCES lease land or buildings for programmatic and administrative
use. For many districts, leasing is more achievable than purchasing land
because BOCES are financially dependent on their component districts and
in many cases, serve a large geographic area. In some areas of the
state, there is plenty of available privately owned space, giving
districts a plethora of options to choose from. In other areas, private
space is in short supply and cost prohibitive, and BOCES are forced to
look for public space to lease.
Under current law, BOCES may lease real property from private entities
for up to 20 years, but for only 10 years from public entities. Longer
leases allow districts to amortize any needed upgrades or improvements
over a longer period of time. Shorter leases tend to be riskier because
the lessor may be less likely to agree to allow modifications to a
space, and BOCES have to distribute the costs to districts over a short
period of time. This bill would create parity between public and private
leases, allowing BOCES to lease for up to 20 years in both cases, giving
BOCES more flexibility in identifying space.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S8904: 1950 education law, 1950(4) education law, 72-h general municipal law