Board of Educ. of Farmingdale Union Free School Dist. v. Gulotta

• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
• Writing for the Court: Before THOMPSON
• Citation: Board of Educ. of Farmingdale Union Free School Dist. v. Gulotta, 549 N.Y.S.2d 740, 157 A.D.2d 642 (N.Y. App. Div. 1990)
• Decision Date: 08 January 1990
• Docket Number: No. 3,No. 2,No. 1,1,2,3
• Parties: BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the FARMINGDALE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Respondents, v. Thomas GULOTTA, etc., et al., Appellants. (Action) EDUCATIONAL BUS TRANSPORTATION, INC., et al., Respondents, v. COUNTY OF NASSAU, et al., Appellants. (Action) BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, etc., Respondent, v. COUNTY OF NASSAU, et al., Appellants. (Action)

Page 740

549 N.Y.S.2d 740

157 A.D.2d 642

BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the FARMINGDALE UNION FREE SCHOOL

DISTRICT, et al., Respondents, v. Thomas GULOTTA, etc., et al., Appellants. (Action No. 1)

EDUCATIONAL BUS TRANSPORTATION, INC., et al., Respondents, v. COUNTY OF NASSAU, et al., Appellants. (Action No. 2)

BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, etc., Respondent, v. COUNTY OF NASSAU, et al., Appellants. (Action No. 3)

Supreme Court, Appellate Division Second Department.

Jan. 8, 1990.

Edward T. O'Brien, County Atty., Mineola (Patricia M. Carroll, of counsel), for appellants.

Cooper, Sapir & Cohen, P.C., Hempstead (Robert E. Sapir, of counsel), for respondents in Action No. 1.

Ingerman, Smith, Greenberg, Gross, Richmond, Heidelberger & Reich, Northport (Lawrence W. Reich, of counsel), for respondents in Action Nos. 2 and 3.

Before THOMPSON, J.P., and LAWRENCE, KUNZEMAN and HARWOOD, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.

In consolidated actions for a judgment declaring that Local Laws, 1987, No. 4 of the County of Nassau is unconstitutional, illegal, and invalid, the defendants appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (O'Shaughnessy, J.), entered August 18, 1989, which granted that relief.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.

On September 28, 1987, Local Laws, 1987, No. 4 of the County of Nassau was adopted by the County's Board of Supervisors and signed by the County Executive. The law, which became effective on October 15, 1987, added a new title D-6 to chapter 21 of the Nassau County Administrative Code which sets forth that it was "the intent of the County of Nassau, as an exercise of its police power, to promote the general health, safety and welfare of its residents by enacting this legislation, since it is a finding of the County Executive and the Board of Supervisors that the licensing of school bus companies is a desirable practice to insure the safety and the protection of its residents with respect to the safe operation of school buses within the County of Nassau" (Nassau County Administrative Code § 21-16.0). The law contains detailed provisions (1) requiring that school bus companies obtain licenses before, inter alia, owning, maintaining or operating transportation services, (2) authorizing safety inspections of school buses, and (3) conferring wide powers on the County Commissioner of Consumer Affairs to administer the law.

The plaintiffs in these three consolidated actions sought a judgment declaring that Local Laws, 1987, No. 4 of the County of Nassau is unconstitutional and therefore invalid. In the judgment appealed from, the Supreme Court declared the law to be unconstitutional, illegal and invalid. In its decision, the court held that the provision providing for licensing of school bus companies by the County Commissioner of Consumer Affairs as a prerequisite to their operation of school buses within the county ran afoul of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1604. In addition, the court held that the State had pre-empted the area of legislation dealing with transportation of school children by enacting Education Law §§ 3623 and 3624, Transportation Law § 140(2)(a) and (2)(c), and Vehicle and Traffic Law § 375(20), (21), and (21-b).

We recognize that the home rule provisions of our State Constitution confer broad police powers upon a local government concerning the welfare of its citizens, (see, Jancyn Mfg. Corp. v. County of Suffolk, 71 N.Y.2d 91, 96, 524 N.Y.S.2d 8, 518 N.E.2d 903). A local government may not, however, impose an additional layer of regulation where the State Legislature has evidenced its intention to pre-empt the field of regulation (see, N.Y. Const., art IX, § 2[c]; Consolidated Edison Co. of N.Y. v. Town of Red Hook, 60 N.Y.2d 99, 104-105, 468 N.Y.S.2d 596, 456 N.E.2d 487; People v. De Jesus, 54 N.Y.2d 465, 446 N.Y.S.2d 207, 430 N.E.2d 1260; cf., Jancyn Mfg. Corp. v. County of Suffolk, supra ). Nor may a local government exercise police powers in an enactment which is inconsistent with a State law. Legislative intent to pre-empt a field need not be expressly stated but may be implied (Consolidated Edison Co. of N.Y. v. Town of Red Hook, supra, 60 N.Y.2d at 105, 468 N.Y.S.2d 596, 456 N.E.2d 487), and impermissible inconsistency may be found even where no direct conflict exists if the local...