Bill Text: NY S05388 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires all public authorities owning, leasing, and controlling critical infrastructure to study the potential consequences of privatization.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-06 - REFERRED TO CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS [S05388 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S05388-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5388
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                     May 14, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen. PERKINS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations,  Authorities
         and Commissions
       AN ACT requiring all public authorities owning, leasing, and controlling
         critical  infrastructure to study the potential consequences of priva-
         tization
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Legislative  findings. 1. New York state must have suffi-
    2  cient numbers of properly  designed  and  maintained  bridges,  tunnels,
    3  roads, airports, ports, container ports and railroads ("critical infras-
    4  tructure")  in order to retain its economic competitiveness and grow its
    5  economy.
    6    2. Much of the state's existing critical infrastructure is  aging,  is
    7  experiencing capacity problems, has had maintenance problems, or in some
    8  other  manner  has  become  a  candidate for re-engineering, rebuilding,
    9  replacement or supplementation.
   10    3. The most critical and expensive infrastructure in New York state to
   11  re-engineer, rebuild or replace is under the  control  or  ownership  of
   12  public  authorities,  and such critical transportation infrastructure is
   13  under consideration for sale,  long-term  lease  or  other  transfer  of
   14  ownership or control to the private business sector ("privatization").
   15    S  2.  1.  All  public  authorities  shall immediately suspend issuing
   16  concessions or selling or otherwise transferring, or issuing notices  of
   17  inquiry ("NOIs") or requests for proposal ("RFPs") for leasing, or sell-
   18  ing  or  otherwise  transferring  control of any critical transportation
   19  infrastructure, until each of such public authorities has issued a study
   20  reporting on the effects of  privatization  of  critical  transportation
   21  infrastructure,  and  all  public authorities shall forbear from issuing
   22  concessions or selling or otherwise transferring, or issuing notices  of
   23  inquiry    ("NOIs")  or  requests for proposals ("RFPs") for leasing, or
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD02302-01-5
       S. 5388                             2
    1  selling or otherwise transferring control of any critical transportation
    2  infrastructure during the pendency of such studies  (the  "privatization
    3  report").
    4    2.  (a) Each public authority shall issue its individual report to the
    5  assembly  committees  on  corporations,  authorities  and   commissions,
    6  economic  development,  transportation,  and  ways and means, and to the
    7  senate committees on commerce, economic development and small  business,
    8  corporations,  authorities  and  commissions,  and  transportation  (the
    9  "Committees").
   10    (b) Each public  authority's  report  shall  evaluate  in  detail  the
   11  following:
   12    (i)  the  impact  that  sale  or  transfer  of control of its critical
   13  infrastructure would have upon the authority's ability to  pay  any  and
   14  all  debt  it has issued, or succeeded to, that is guaranteed or secured
   15  by any revenues arising from the authority's critical infrastructure, or
   16  by the ownership of such critical infrastructure;
   17    (ii) whether the critical infrastructure involved any existing  priva-
   18  tization initiatives in the United States are comparable in scope, scale
   19  and  value  to  the  critical  infrastructure  controlled  by the public
   20  authority ("comparable projects");
   21    (iii) the progress to date of any comparable projects and whether  any
   22  such  projects  have  experienced  cost overruns or delays, or otherwise
   23  have failed, or succeeded, in meeting the deadlines and costs put  forth
   24  by the private entity.
   25    3.  (a)  The privatization report shall be due on or within 14 days of
   26  December 1, 2015. Within 90 days after the date  each  public  authority
   27  submits  the  report  provided for in subdivision one of this section to
   28  the committees, such committees may, severally or  collectively,  submit
   29  further issues for study and inclusion in such report, which said public
   30  authorities  shall  study  and include within such report within 60 days
   31  after receipt of any such submission, at which point said public author-
   32  ities shall submit the privatization report to the governor, the  tempo-
   33  rary  president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority
   34  leaders of the senate and assembly, the chairperson and ranking minority
   35  member of the senate corporations, authorities and  commissions  commit-
   36  tee,  and  the  chairperson  and ranking minority member of the assembly
   37  corporations, authorities and commissions committee.
   38    (b) The governor, the temporary president of the senate,  the  speaker
   39  of  the  assembly,  the minority leaders of the senate and assembly, the
   40  chairperson and ranking minority  member  of  the  senate  corporations,
   41  authorities  and  commissions committee, and the chairperson and ranking
   42  minority member of the assembly corporations,  authorities  and  commis-
   43  sions  committee  shall  have a period of 90 days within which to submit
   44  further issues for study and inclusion in such report, which said public
   45  authorities shall study and include within such report  within  60  days
   46  after receipt of any such submission.
   47    (c)  No  public authority shall take any action to privatize any crit-
   48  ical infrastructure owned by it, leased by it, or  otherwise  controlled
   49  by  it,  including  but  not  limited  to the actions enumerated in this
   50  section, until the privatization  report,  including  responses  to  its
   51  submission  by  the committees, legislators and the executives mentioned
   52  above shall, have been completed and submitted to said persons.
   53    S 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
   54  have  become  a  law.  Any  rule  or regulation necessary for the timely
   55  implementation of this act on its effective date may be  promulgated  on
   56  or before such date.