PC Public Affairs recently brought in one of the Capital Region’s media A-listers, Jason Keller, to head up its media division.  Keller is the firm’s Director of Media Relations and is a former media personality at 102.7 EQX (one of the nation’s best known independently owned alternative rock stations located in Manchester, Vermont).  Jason Keller has worked with high-profile clients like Apple, Molson, MSG and most recently helped launch the nation’s first mass production of an electric school bus by Trans Tech Bus of Warwick, NY.

The firm is providing strategic communications, government relations and business development services.  To see two of the stories that came as a result of the firm’s strategic communications services, click the name of following publications to see the articles: School Bus Fleet Article or School Transportation News Article.  Additional coverage included, but was not limited to Fox News, NPR, and the Wall Street Journal.

Most recent Wall Street Journal article.

The Governor introduced his property tax cap bill in January, but it wasn’t until after the state’s budget was passed in April that state legislators and staff began working toward an agreement on capping property taxes and bringing mandate relief to local governments and school districts.

After careful review of the Governor’s property tax cap and mandate relief bill, PC Public Affairs lobbying team identified a number of issues that would have potentially harmed New York’s school children and the school bus contractor industry.  One of the most concerning, was Governor Cuomo’s proposal to repeal section 2023 of the Education Law.  His proposal would have forced schools districts to stop certain school bus services in the event their budgets failed to gain voter approval – forcing many children to find other means of transportation or even walking to school.

Once negotiations began on the tax cap bill, it was clear there were also a number of proposals coming out of the legislature that could potentially harm the school bus contractor industry for years to come.  From transportation contract piggybacking to unrealistic school bus ridership restrictions, there was an all out assault on pupil transportation and private contractors.

“The pupil transportation industry has unjustly had a target on its back for the last four years,” said Andre Claridge, Managing Partner, PC Public Affairs.  “Years of fiscal mismanagement and overspending by previous Governors and legislatures created a situation where many Albany politicians and bureaucrats are desperate to find revenue to support their big-government spending initiatives.  So rather than turn to an industry that saves state and local taxpayers over $200 million every year, they instead turn to the same failed government systems that have made New York State one of the highest taxed states in the nation.”

“Our job is to ensure the voice of New York’s school bus contractors, distributors and manufacturers are heard and that the laws coming out of Albany do not negatively impact the school bus industry, said Claridge.  “We were fully engaged throughout the entire negotiation process surrounding the property tax cap and mandate relief bill.  We worked hard to block harmful initiatives like contract piggybacking and a provision in the Governor’s bill that would have forced schools to stop providing busing services until their budgets received voter approval.”

Summary of government affairs results pertaining to the new Property Tax Cap and Mandate Relief Law signed by Governor Cuomo on June 24, 2011:

1. Governor Cuomo’s property tax cap and mandate relief proposal repealed Sec. 2023 of the Education Law forcing schools to stop school bus services if a school budget failed to gain voter approval.  Lobbying efforts were successful in stopping Governor Cuomo from repealing Sec. 2023 of the Education Law ensuring that school bus services remain an ordinary and contingent expense and continue even if a school budget fails to gain voter approval.
2. Lobbying efforts blocked a piggybacking initiative being pushed by Senator LaValle and Assemblyman Thiele that would have allowed school districts to share transportation services for students living on shared transportation routes by entering into a joint contract with another school district and that school district’s transportation contractor without going out to bid.
3. An amended version of Senator Martins’ bill that sought to clarify the law regarding pupil transportation ridership was included in the tax cap law.  The new law provides for a 10% ridership cushion and also provides for a backup plan for emergency situations to ensure there are enough seats and buses available.  Nothing exempts schools from providing transportation to those children that need it.  The government affairs team worked with Senator Martins and Senate Education Committee staff to ensure the law would not negatively impact the school bus industry.
4. The legislative team was successful in getting school district expenditures for transportation leasing and transportation capital debt service exempted from the tax cap.  The Governor’s bill originally included them as expenditures that could be subjected to the tax cap.

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(left to right) -- Andre Claridge of PC Public Affairs, actor Chazz Palmenteri of A Bronx Tale, and Frederico Polsinelli of PC Public Affairs.

June 6, 2011 — Albany, NY, PC Public Affairs helped make the Italian American Legislative Conference a huge success by hosting actor Chazz Palmenteri at this year’s events in Albany and Troy, NY. The New York actor, who is famous for writing and staring in the film “A Bronx Tale” among many others, received recognition for his life accomplishments at a ceremony held in Troy, NY.  New York Lt. Governor Duffy and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos also presented Mr. Palmenteri with official resolutions recognizing his achievements and valuable contributions to the Italian American culture.

“It was a hard fought battle,” said Claridge.  ”Working closely with the industry, we made our case to the legislature and the Governor’s Office and won on the merits of the issue.  We represent an important industry that helps safely transport over 1.3 million children to school all while saving New York taxpayers over $200 million a year.”

The budget battle started in January when Governor Cuomo released his budget proposal to the legislature.  The Governor’s budget included a number of well intentioned provisions to help school districts save money on their transportation services, unfortunately, the Governor’s proposal did not consider the negative impact it would have had on the school bus contractors and bus distributor industries.

The Governor’s budget proposal would have…

…allowed school districts to enter into shared service agreements with other school districts and government entities – and unfairly excluded contractors from bidding on or competing with school districts for the work.

…allowed school districts to enter into unspecified cost-effective management agreements set forth by the State Education Department (SED) – there was no mention of considering contractors or how SED would have determined what was cost-effective.  Nothing required school districts to disclose their true costs of providing pupil transportation services which would have put contractors at an unfair disadvantage.  Nothing in the Governor’s proposal required the state or SED to recognize the significant savings that contractors currently provide to the state, school districts and taxpayers.

…limited the purchasing or replacing of school buses unless it was deemed by SED to be a cost-effective solution.

…prevented the replacement of school buses of 10 or more passengers unless it was older than 10 years and had mileage of more than 120,000 miles.

…prevented the replacement of school buses of less than 10 passengers unless it was older than 6 years and had a mileage of more than 75,000.

…required that if a lease were to be extended beyond the expected life of a school bus, that it be demonstrated to SED that leasing the bus would cost less than owning the bus.

“It was clear from the outset that the Cuomo administration failed to recognize the negative impact these particular proposals would have had on our client,” said Claridge. “It certainly was not intentional, it’s just an unfortunate reality at times that good government ideas do not always get fully vetted before they are introduced. Even the best ideas can have unintended consequences; it’s our job to ensure we educate the politicians and their staff to ensure that our clients and the taxpayers of our state are protected.”

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“This is a major disappointment for the hard working men and women of the University Police Officers Union,” said Claridge.  ”The police transfer bill means a lot to them and I am sure Assemblyman Canestrari and Senator Craig Johnson are as confused as we are as to why Governor Paterson would veto a bill he voted for when he was Senator.”

The legislation would amend the civil service law to include New York State University Police Officers in the provisions of the law which allow police officers to transfer from one police force or department to another [Section 58 (4) of the Civil Service Law] without having to take another civil service examination.  The legislation seeks to correct a legislative oversight by granting the New York State University Police Officers parity with other police officers in New York State who currently have the right to make lateral transfers to other police forces or departments without having to take another civil service exam.

New York State University Police Officers have been unfairly prevented from making lateral transfers even though they take and are hired from the same competitive civil service exams taken by municipal police officers, complete the same health and psychological exams prescribed and conducted by the New York State Department of Civil Service and must pass the same physical fitness exams administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services to municipal police officers in New York State.

The legislation does not require a police agency to hire an officer applying for a lateral transfer; it merely gives the officers the right to make application to a different police agency without being unfairly penalized by having to take the civil service exam more than once for a position of equal standards.  In addition, the legislation would allow police officers from other departments to transfer into the SUNY police force.  The legislation would only apply to those officers who meet all required employer standards.

“The original law which granted police officer status to SUNY Police Officers (Chapter 424 of the laws of 1998) should have included a provision to allow them to make lateral transfers,” said Claridge.  ”This legislation merely addresses one of a handful of legislative oversights created by the original law which gave police officer status to SUNY police officers.”

“We are truly perplexed by the Governor’s action,” said Claridge.  ”I’ve been in meetings with the Governor where he has expressed concern over laws that treated groups of people unfairly, this would have been an opportunity for him to correct one of those injustices.”

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