2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 14-AA - School District Exploration for Natural Gas Fields › 368 - Exploration, Development and Production of Natural Gas Fields by School Districts.

§  368.  Exploration, development and production of natural gas fields
  by school districts. 1. "Natural gas producing facility" as used in this
  article shall mean all real  estate,  fixtures,  and  personal  property
  operated,  owned,  used  or  to  be used for or in connection with or to
  facilitate the production, conveyance, transportation, distribution,  or
  furnishing of natural gas.
2.  Notwithstanding  any  general  or special law to the contrary, any
  school district may engage in the exploration and development of natural
  gas fields, and further, may construct, lease, purchase,  own,  acquire,
  use  and/or operate any natural gas producing facility which is situated
  on real property owned  by  the  school  district  for  the  purpose  of
  producing, conveying, transporting and furnishing natural gas for school
  district  purposes. A school district producing natural gas in excess of
  the amount required for school district purposes may convey,  transport,
  furnish, sell or transfer such excess.
3.  No school district, other than a city school district, may perform
  any of the acts authorized under the provisions of this  section  unless
  and until the provisions of the education law relating to voter approval
  of such acts have been complied with.
4.  Any  school  district  may  acquire the necessary rights to extend
  pipes  across  public  highways  or  other  lands  for  the  purpose  of
  transporting  natural  gas  from  the  natural gas producing facility to
  other real property owned by the school district.
5.  Any  school  district  may  finance  the  cost   of   exploration,
  development  and  production  of natural gas and the cost of the natural
  gas producing facility in whole or in  part  by  levying  taxes  in  the
  manner  authorized  by the education law, or the same may be financed in
  whole or in part pursuant to the local finance law.
6. The exploration, development and production of such natural gas and
  the purchase, acquisition, leasing and construction of such natural  gas
  producing facility shall be effected by such school district in the same
  manner as other contracts, purchases and leases  are effected by and for
  such  school  districts  and  shall  be  governed by all laws applicable
  thereto.
7. All of the provisions of article four of the public service law and
  article twenty-three of the environmental conservation law,  so  far  as
  the  same  are  applicable,  shall  apply  to  a  school  district which
  furnishes to itself natural gas under this section except that a  school
  district  need not apply to or obtain from the public service commission
  a certificate of authority.
8. Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize the sale or transfer
  of natural gas by a school  district  to  any  other  person  except  as
  provided in subdivision two hereof.
9.  For the purposes of this section, school district shall be defined
  to  include  a  board  of  cooperative  educational  services,  provided
  however,  that the provisions of subdivision three of this section shall
  not apply to  such  boards  of  cooperative  educational  services,  and
  provided further that:
a. No board of cooperative educational services may perform any of the
  acts  authorized  under  the provisions of this section unless and until
  (i) a proposition is submitted to  the  voters  of  any  such  board  of
  cooperative  educational  services  in accordance with the provisions of
  subdivision two of section nineteen hundred fifty-one of  the  education
  law  and (ii) any such board of cooperative educational services and all
  of its component school districts enter into an agreement or  agreements
  providing for the performance of any such acts.
b.  No such component school district shall enter into an agreement or
  agreements unless such agreement or agreements have been approved  by  a

  majority vote of the entire voting strength of the board of education of
  such a component school district.
c. Any such agreement or agreements shall also provide for the sharing
  of  the  cost  of exploring, developing or producing natural gas and the
  cost of the natural gas producing facility among each  component  school
  district.  Such agreement or agreements in addition to providing for all
  other matters deemed necessary and proper shall (i) set forth  the  cost
  of  such  exploration,  development or production of natural gas and the
  cost of the natural gas producing facility and costs incidental  thereto
  and (ii) provide for an allocation and apportionment of such costs among
  the  component  school  districts on such equitable basis as the parties
  thereto shall determine and agree, and the proportion of the total  cost
  to  be provided by each such district in accordance with such allocation
  and apportionment. Such agreement or agreements shall be executed by all
  the component school districts of such board of cooperative  educational
  services  and  such  board  of  cooperative  educational  services. Such
  agreement or agreements may provide that each component school  district
  of  such  a  board  of  cooperative  educational services shall issue an
  agreed upon amount of its obligations in a total  amount  sufficient  to
  acquire or construct such facilities, or that all component districts of
  such  board  shall  together  issue  joint obligations pledging the full
  faith and credit for all component districts jointly and that each  such
  district  shall  pay  a  specified  share of annual debt service on such
  joint obligations in accordance with the provisions of article five-g of
  this chapter and applicable provisions of the local finance law.
d. Each such component school district is authorized  to  finance  its
  share  of the cost of exploring, developing or producing natural gas and
  the cost of the natural gas producing facility together with  the  costs
  incidental  to such financing, including, but not limited to legal fees,
  printing, engraving and publication of notices, either from any  current
  funds  legally  available  therefor,  or  by the issuance of obligations
  pursuant to the local  finance  law;  provided,  however,  that  (i)  no
  approval  of  the  voters  of  such  component  school district shall be
  required, (ii) the voting of a special tax or a tax to be  collected  in
  installments  shall  not  be  a condition precedent to the adoption of a
  bond resolution for such object or purpose, (iii) a majority vote of the
  entire voting strength of the board of education shall be sufficient for
  adoption of such a bond resolution, which bond resolution may be adopted
  at a regular meeting, or a special meeting of  the  board  of  education
  called  on  not less than twelve hours oral or written notice, which may
  be held either within or outside of such district, (iv)  any  such  bond
  resolution  shall  be  adopted  prior  to  the execution by the board of
  cooperative educational services and the component school  districts  of
  such board of cooperative educational services of the agreement required
  by paragraph b of this subdivision.
e.  Such agreement shall further provide that title to the natural gas
  producing facility shall vest in the board  of  cooperative  educational
  services  which  title  shall  be  held  by  the  board  of  cooperative
  educational services for the benefit and on behalf of all the  component
  school districts of such board executing such agreement.
f.  Nothing  herein  contained shall be construed to permit any school
  district in a city as defined in subdivision two-b of  section  2.00  of
  the  local finance law to contract indebtedness for such specific object
  or purpose in excess of the limitation prescribed by  subdivision  b  of
  section  104.00  of  such  law, without complying with the provisions of
  subdivision c thereof. A school district, other than a  school  district
  in  a  city,  may  not  issue  bonds or bond anticipation notes for such
  specific object or purpose in excess of  the  limitation  prescribed  by

  subdivision  d of section 104.00 of such law, without complying with the
  requirements of paragraphs one through three of such subdivision.