June 15, 2012, Albany, NY – PC Public Affairs reflects on a successful legislative session that included a number of victories for the New York School Bus Contractors Association; none more important than the extension of the student transportation request for proposal law for another five years.
“We were more than pleased with our budget victories this year,” said Andre Claridge, PC Public Affairs Managing Partner. “It was a team effort that yielded tremendous results. Working side-by-side with NYSBCA members, we were successful in getting critical school bus contractor initiatives included in this year’s final budget and equally successful at blocking those provisions that the industry viewed as harmful.”
Extension of the RFP law is critically important to the school bus contractor industry because it allows school districts to procure pupil transportation services by utilizing a request for proposal instead of just a low bid process. The RFP law ensures the private contractor industry is providing the safest, most reliable and cost-effective student transportation possible.
In January of this year, the association’s hard work was rewarded when the Governor introduced his Executive Budget proposal and included a five year extension of the request for proposal law – marking the first time the pupil transportation request for proposal law was included in an Executive Budget proposal. After the Governor introduced his Executive Budget, PC Public Affairs’ lobbying team and NYSBCA’s legislative committee quickly jumped into action.
With a sense that this year’s budget process was going to conclude on time, PC Public Affairs accelerated its lobbying and advocacy efforts to ensure there was no question that the request for proposal law would be extended as part of this year’s final agreed-upon state budget. NYSBCA President Phil Vallone, the association’s legislative committee, a number of board members and its lobbying team spent the first three months of 2012 meeting with the Governor’s Education Secretary, the Division of Budget, key members of the legislature and their staff to make the case in support or the association’s budget priorities.
Leading the charge in the legislature to extend the RFP law was Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Senator John Flanagan (Republican from Long Island). Senator Flanagan and his staff were fully engaged on this issue and worked tirelessly to ensure the Senate Majority supported the Governor’s proposal to extend the law. As the Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Senator Flanagan also worked closely with Assembly Education Chairwoman, Cathy Nolan (Democrat from Queens) to gain a compromise on the.
Although the extending the state’s request for proposal law for another five years was NYSBCA’s first priority, it did not hinder the association’s efforts on other budget initiatives. This year’s budget also called for a reduction of the number of school bus inspections which many contractors felt would have jeopardized the safety and reputation of private contractor-provided student transportation across the state.
Recognizing the seriousness of this budget proposal, NYSBCA’s legislative committee and the PC Public Affairs lobbying team worked quickly to convince the legislature and the Governor that it was important to maintain the state’s biannual bus inspection process. The lobbying efforts stressed the effectiveness of the state’s proven biannual inspection process – a process that has helped keep New York school buses among the safest in the nation.
Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, Senator Charles Fushillo and Chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee championed our cause and worked with the Governor’s office to not only preserve the current bi-annual school bus inspection process, but enhance it by providing funding for new performance-based school bus inspections.
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