NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9076
SPONSOR: Santabarbara TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to state aid eligibility
for library construction and making technical corrections thereto; to
amend chapter 498 of the laws of 2011 amending the education law relat-
ing to the public library construction grant program, in relation to the
effectiveness thereof; and to repeal certain provisions of the education
law relating thereto
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to make permanent the reduced match for
library construction aid, conform the existing match and eligibility
requirements applicable to projects located in "economically disadvan-
taged" and "economically distressed" communities, and remove the cap of
fifty percent of total systemwide project allocations applicable to
certain individual library aid projects.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends subdivision 1 of section 273-a of the education law to
permit aid of up to ninety percent of the total project approved costs
for buildings of public libraries located in an economically disadvan-
taged community; makes technical amendments to subdivisions 2, 3 and 4
regarding single building project and coordinated applications, respec-
tively, and repeals the existing cap of fifty percent of total system-
wide project allocations applied to certain individual library aid
projects within the library system. § 2: Amends subdivision 1 of section
273a of the education law in conformity with the changes made in § 1 and
to repeal the current sunset provision applicable to that subdivision. §
3: Unifies the differing provisions currently found in two separate
subdivision is of section 273-a of the education law. § 4: removes the
sunset provisions currently applicable to portions of section 273-a of
the education law. § 5: Establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
About twenty percent of the library systems statewide could not use
their full construction aid allocation because of the complexity embed-
ded in current program rules. This bill streamlines the present approach
to library construction aid, provides for greater decision-making flexi-
bility at the system level, and offers greater opportunity for systems
to annually utilize their full allocation. Current law provides "reduced
match" opportunities for libraries located in "economically disadvan-
taged" localities (up to 75% aidable) and for libraries located in
"economically distressed" localities (up to 90% aidable). This bill
creates a unified approach to project applications by removing the aida-
ble distinction between libraries located in economically disadvantaged
and economically distressed localities to generally qualify public
libraries in economically disadvantaged localities for aid of up to 90%
of the total project approved costs. The bill also provides greater
stability for library systems and individual libraries as they plan
their construction projects, because it also removes the existing sunset
provision. Finally, this bill removes the current requirement that no
more than 50% of funding for a library system go to libraries in econom-
ically distressed communities. Removing the cap and allowing increased
local control will enable library systems to better ensure that monies
go where they are most needed.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however that the
amendments to subdivision 1 of section 273-a of the education law made
by section one of this act shall be subject to the expiration and rever-
sion of such subdivision pursuant to section 2 of chapter 120 of the
laws of 2020, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of section
two of this act shall take effect.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9076
IN ASSEMBLY
February 6, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Libraries and Education Technology
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to state aid eligibility
for library construction and making technical corrections thereto; to
amend chapter 498 of the laws of 2011 amending the education law
relating to the public library construction grant program, in relation
to the effectiveness thereof; and to repeal certain provisions of the
education law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 273-a of the education law, as amended by chapter
2 381 of the laws of 2019, subdivision 1 as amended by section 1 of chap-
3 ter 333 of the laws of 2022, subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 627 of
4 the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
5 § 273-a. State aid for library construction. 1. State aid shall be
6 provided for up to fifty percent of the total project approved costs,
7 excluding feasibility studies, plans or similar activities, for projects
8 for the installation and infrastructure of broadband services, and for
9 the acquisition of vacant land and the acquisition, construction, reno-
10 vation or rehabilitation, including leasehold improvements, of buildings
11 of public libraries and library systems chartered by the regents of the
12 state of New York or established by act of the legislature subject to
13 the limitations provided in subdivision six of this section and upon
14 approval by the commissioner, except that state aid may be provided for
15 up to [seventy-five] ninety percent of the total project approved costs
16 for buildings of public libraries that are located in an economically
17 disadvantaged community [and that state aid may be provided for up to
18 ninety percent of the total project approved costs for buildings of
19 public libraries that are located in an economically distressed communi-
20 ty]. Provided however that the state liability for aid paid pursuant to
21 this section shall be limited to funds appropriated for such purpose.
22 Aid shall be provided on approved expenses incurred during the period
23 commencing July first and ending June thirtieth for up to six years, or
24 until the project is completed, whichever occurs first. Provided, howev-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13766-01-3
A. 9076 2
1 er, that public libraries that received aid for projects pursuant to
2 this section commencing July first, two thousand seventeen through July
3 first, two thousand nineteen and are unable to complete such projects
4 due to the state disaster emergency declared pursuant to executive order
5 number two hundred two of two thousand twenty, as amended, shall be
6 provided an additional twelve months from the statutory project end date
7 to complete such projects. Fifty percent of such aid shall be payable
8 to each system or library upon approval of the application by the
9 department. Forty percent of such aid shall be payable in the next state
10 fiscal year. The remaining ten percent shall be payable upon project
11 completion.
12 2. Each single building project application for state aid shall be
13 submitted by the board of trustees of the library or library system
14 responsible for the operation of the subject building to the commission-
15 er for his or her review and approval, after having been reviewed and
16 approved by the governing board of the public library system of which
17 such library is a member. Each single building project application
18 shall:
19 a. demonstrate that resources are or shall be available to provide for
20 maximum utilization of the project if approved;
21 b. contain verification in such form as may be acceptable to the
22 commissioner that the total cost of the project, exclusive of state aid,
23 has been or will be obtained;
24 c. demonstrate that library operations would be made more economical
25 as a consequence of approval;
26 d. be limited to one project concerning such building, provided that
27 no building shall be the subject of more than one single building
28 project application per year;
29 e. contain documentation, where such an application requests state aid
30 in an amount greater than fifty percent, demonstrating how the project
31 will address the service needs of one or more economically disadvantaged
32 communities. Such documentation may demonstrate need through poverty
33 rates, concentrations of English language learners, low high school
34 graduation rates, limited fiscal capacity or other relevant factors; and
35 f. [contain documentation, where such an application requests state
36 aid in an amount greater than seventy-five percent, demonstrating how
37 the project will address the service needs of one or more economically
38 distressed communities. An application must demonstrate that the average
39 poverty rate within the library's service area is equal to or greater
40 than the New York state average poverty rate using federal census data;
41 and the library must demonstrate that it lacks the capacity to provide
42 twenty-five percent of the project costs; and
43 g.] provide such other information as may be required by the commis-
44 sioner.
45 3. Coordinated applications for state aid allocated under paragraph b
46 of subdivision six of this section shall be submitted by the public
47 library system. The public library system shall be responsible for
48 managing all coordinated projects. Each coordinated project application
49 shall be approved by the board of trustees of each participating library
50 and library system responsible for the operation of the said buildings.
51 Coordinated project applications shall be submitted to the commissioner
52 for his or her review and approval, after having been reviewed and
53 approved by the governing board of the public library system of which
54 such libraries are members. Each coordinated project application shall:
55 a. demonstrate that resources are or shall be available to provide for
56 maximum utilization of the project if approved;
A. 9076 3
1 b. contain verification in such form as may be acceptable to the
2 commissioner that the total cost of the project, exclusive of state aid,
3 has been or will be obtained;
4 c. demonstrate that library operations would be made more economical
5 as a consequence of approval;
6 d. provide that no one building shall be the subject of more than one
7 coordinated project application per year; and
8 e. provide such other information as may be required by the commis-
9 sioner.
10 4. In approving any single building project application that would
11 receive state aid beyond fifty percent of the total project approved
12 costs, the board of trustees of the library system shall give particular
13 attention to addressing the library service needs of economically disad-
14 vantaged communities as provided for in paragraph e of subdivision two
15 of this section.
16 [4. In approving any application that would receive state aid beyond
17 seventy-five percent of the total project approved costs, the board of
18 trustees of the library system shall give particular attention to
19 addressing the library service needs of economically distressed communi-
20 ties as provided for in paragraph f of subdivision two of this section.
21 No more than fifty percent of the total funds appropriated to a library
22 system in subdivision six of this section may be used to support the
23 total costs for projects that would receive state aid beyond seventy-
24 five percent of the total project approved costs.]
25 5. In approving any new single building or coordinated project appli-
26 cation the commissioner shall consider the condition of existing
27 libraries and, where appropriate, the needs of isolated or economically
28 disadvantaged communities, provided that no application shall be
29 approved for a project that is deemed by the commissioner to have been
30 completed prior to the date of the application.
31 6. Aid shall be distributed pursuant to this section as follows:
32 a. sixty percent of the funds appropriated pursuant to this section
33 shall be made available to libraries within each system by the commis-
34 sioner in such manner as to insure that the ratio of the amount received
35 within each system to the whole of the aid made available pursuant to
36 this paragraph is no greater than the ratio of the population served by
37 such system to the population of the state;
38 b. forty percent of the funds appropriated pursuant to this section
39 shall be made available to library systems or libraries within each
40 system by the commissioner in such manner as to insure that an equal
41 amount is received within each system in the state;
42 c. any funds made available pursuant to paragraph a or b of this
43 subdivision which by April first of each succeeding fiscal year, are
44 declined by such libraries or library systems for any reason, or which
45 cannot otherwise be used by such libraries or library systems for any
46 reason, shall be made available by the commissioner to other eligible
47 libraries within such system, or if no such library can use such funds
48 shall be reallocated among the other library systems and their libraries
49 in a manner that will to the extent possible provide from such reallo-
50 cated funds an equal amount to each such system.
51 7. The commissioner shall adopt rules and regulations as are necessary
52 to carry out the purposes and provisions of this section.
53 8. The commissioner shall submit to the temporary president of the
54 senate and the speaker of the assembly an annual report describing those
55 projects that have received state funding of greater than fifty percent
56 of project costs and the communities to be served by those projects.
A. 9076 4
1 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 273-a of the education law, as amended
2 by section 2 of chapter 333 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 1. State aid shall be provided for up to fifty percent of the total
5 project approved costs, excluding feasibility studies, plans or similar
6 activities, for projects for the installation and infrastructure of
7 broadband services, and for the acquisition of vacant land and the
8 acquisition, construction, renovation or rehabilitation, including
9 leasehold improvements, of buildings of public libraries and library
10 systems chartered by the regents of the state of New York or established
11 by act of the legislature subject to the limitations provided in subdi-
12 vision six of this section and upon approval by the commissioner, except
13 that state aid may be provided for up to [seventy-five] ninety percent
14 of the total project approved costs for buildings of public libraries
15 that are located in an economically disadvantaged community [and that
16 state aid may be provided for up to ninety percent of the total project
17 approved costs for buildings of public libraries that are located in an
18 economically distressed community]. Provided however that the state
19 liability for aid paid pursuant to this section shall be limited to
20 funds appropriated for such purpose. Aid shall be provided on approved
21 expenses incurred during the period commencing July first and ending
22 June thirtieth for up to six years, or until the project is completed,
23 whichever occurs first. Fifty percent of such aid shall be payable to
24 each system or library upon approval of the application by the depart-
25 ment. Forty percent of such aid shall be payable in the next state
26 fiscal year. The remaining ten percent shall be payable upon project
27 completion.
28 § 3. Section 273-a of the education law, as amended by chapter 389 of
29 the laws of 2019, is REPEALED.
30 § 4. Section 2 of chapter 498 of the laws of 2011 amending the educa-
31 tion law relating to the public library construction grant program, as
32 amended by section 32-a of part A of chapter 56 of the laws of 2023, is
33 amended to read as follows:
34 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
35 the date on which it shall have become a law [and shall expire and be
36 deemed repealed March 31, 2026].
37 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however that
38 the amendments to subdivision 1 of section 273-a of the education law
39 made by section one of this act shall be subject to the expiration and
40 reversion of such subdivision pursuant to section 2 of chapter 120 of
41 the laws of 2020, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of
42 section two of this act shall take effect.
