New York State Assembly

 
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A02396 Summary:

A02396 Actions:

A02396 Committee Votes:

Committee:CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS   Chair:Paulin      
DATE:05/25/2021AYE/NAY:19/7  Action: Favorable refer to committee Rules        
Paulin
Aye
Lemondes
Nay
Cook
Aye
Blankenbush
Nay
Galef
Aye
Friend
Nay
Rodriguez
Aye
Lalor
Nay
Quart
Aye
Palmesano
Nay
Otis
Aye
Angelino
Nay
Rozic
Aye
Jensen
Nay
Kim
Aye
Seawright
Aye
Dilan
Aye
Richardson
Aye
De La Rosa
Aye
Pheffer Amato
Aye
Vanel
Aye
Carroll
Aye
Niou
Aye
Fall
Aye
Jean-Pierre
Aye
Gonzalez-Rojas
Aye

Committee:RULES   Chair:Heastie      
DATE:06/01/2021AYE/NAY:23/7  Action: Favorable         
Heastie
Aye
Barclay
Nay
Gottfried
Aye
Hawley
Nay
Nolan
Excused
Giglio
Nay
Weinstein
Aye
Blankenbush
Nay
Pretlow
Aye
Norris
Nay
Cook
Aye
Montesano
Aye
Glick
Aye
Ra
Nay
Aubry
Aye
Brabenec
Nay
Englebright
Aye
Dinowitz
Aye
Colton
Aye
Magnarelli
Aye
Perry
Aye
Paulin
Aye
Peoples-Stokes
Aye
Benedetto
Aye
Lavine
Aye
Lupardo
Aye
Zebrowski
Aye
Thiele
Aye
Braunstein
Aye
Dickens
Aye
Davila
Aye

A02396 Floor Votes:

A02396 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
 submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)



 
BILL NUMBER: A2396A           Revised 5/20/2021
 
SPONSOR: Woerner (MS)

 
TITLE OF BILL:
 
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to requirements for
certain contracts for attachments to utility poles and the use of utili-
ty ducts, trenches and conduits
 
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
 
The purpose of this bill is to make changes to the Public Service Law to
include the use of broadband internet attachments on existing utility
poles, to ensure contracts for such attachments are universal within a
given town, village or city, and to equitably and fairly distribute the
costs of pole replacements when a pole replacement is required to accom-
modate an attachment request.
 
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
 
Section 1 of the bill amends § 119-a of the public service law to
include the use of broadband internet attachments on existing utility
poles, mandate that when a contract for attachments to utility poles is
created, all such poles, ducts, trenches and conduits located within a
given village, city or town, pursuant to a negotiated site license, are
included, equitably and fairly distributing the costs of pole replace-
ments among the pole owner and the prospective attacher when a pole
replacement is required to accommodate an attachment request, and allow-
ing the pole owner to recover such incurred pole replacement costs in a
rider apart from their base rates.
 
Section 2 of the bill establishes the effective date.
 
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN. ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):

Changes "census tract" to "town, village or city". Adds language prohib-
iting a pole owner from shifting all pole replacements costs to a
prospective attacher as a condition of gaining accesses to the pole,
instead limiting such costs the attacher may be liable for to just the
remaining net book value of the existing pole to be replaced and any
incremental costs the pole owner would incur by installing a new pole to
accommodate the specific request. Allows for a pole owner to recover the
costs of a pole replacement, performed in response to an attachment
request, in the form of a charge separate and apart from their base
rates.
 
 
JUSTIFICATION:
 
Across New York State, thousands of people live without reliable broad-
band internet services. Infrastructure, like telephone utility poles,
already exist in the most rural areas of the state and can be utilized
by cable companies looking to install broadband internet services to
these areas. Current business practices and regulatory conditions have
substantially increased the costs to pole attachers, particularly in
rural areas. Whereas prior to 2015 the breakeven case for a broadband
company was 4 houses per mile, post-2015 it became 7 houses per mile.
Now, with the new DoT Fee and $15 broadband mandate, the breakeven case
has become well over 25 homes per mile. This bill will help bring costs
down.
When cable companies seek to install broadband Internet service, they
must obtain contracts to use space on existing utility poles. For each
utility pole a company intends to use, they must obtain an individual
contract to use space on that pole. This bill would amend the Public
Service Law by including all utility poles in a given city, town or
village under one contract. By including all poles under one contract, a
more efficient system is created for cable companies to complete the
process of installing broadband internet services. This would increase
the likelihood that cable companies will service more areas of the state
and ensure that all homes within a city, town or village receive the
same level of service. This amendment will also reduce the cost of serv-
ing homes located or, low density roads.
 
Additionally, pole owners have often engaged in the practice of delaying
the replacement of aging utility poles until a prospective attacher
requests to attach their facilities to the pole, whereby such pole owner
will condition access to the pole on the attacher agreeing to pay all
the costs associated with replacing the pole, even in instances where
the pole has the capacity to accommodate such attachments. This practice
of unfairly shifting all the replacement costs to prospective attachers
can massively increase the cost of deploying necessary broadband infras-
tructure to underserved parts of the state, disincentivizing such
investment overall in these areas. This bill makes much needed fixes to
this practice, prohibiting this practice by pole owners and allowing for
the shifting to attachers of only those costs that are fair and equita-
ble for them to incur in connection with a pole replacement.
 
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
 
A.8823 of 2020: Referred to Corporations, Authorities and Commissions.
 
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
 
None.
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

A02396 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         2396--A
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 19, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. WOERNER, DeSTEFANO, MONTESANO, STIRPE, BARRON --
          Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. HAWLEY, SALKA, TAGUE -- read  once  and
          referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
          --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
          and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to requirements  for
          certain  contracts  for  attachments  to  utility poles and the use of
          utility ducts, trenches and conduits
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. Section 119-a of the public service law, as added by chap-
     2  ter 703 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 119-a. Attachments to utility poles; use of utility ducts,  trenches
     4  and  conduits.  1.  The  commission  shall prescribe just and reasonable
     5  rates, terms and conditions for attachments to utility poles and the use
     6  of utility ducts, trenches and conduits.  A  just  and  reasonable  rate
     7  shall assure the utility of the recovery of not less than the additional
     8  cost  of  providing  a  pole  attachment  or  of using a trench, duct or
     9  conduit nor more than the actual operating expenses and return on  capi-
    10  tal  of the utility attributed to that portion of the pole, duct, trench
    11  or conduit used.  With respect to cable television and broadband  inter-
    12  net  attachments  and use, such portion shall be the percentage of total
    13  usable space on a pole or the total capacity of the duct or conduit that
    14  is occupied by the facilities of the user. Usable  space  shall  be  the
    15  space  on a utility pole above the minimum grade level which can be used
    16  for the attachment of wires and cables. With respect to cable television
    17  and broadband internet attachments and use, a contract  for  attachments
    18  to  utility  poles  and  the use of utility ducts, trenches and conduits
    19  shall include all such poles, ducts, trenches and conduits located with-
    20  in a given village, town or city, pursuant to a negotiated site license.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01209-02-1
        A. 2396--A                          2
 
     1    2. In connection with a new pole attachment, in no  instance  shall  a
     2  pole  owner avoid responsibility for pole replacement costs by unreason-
     3  ably postponing replacement until receiving a  new  attachment  request,
     4  nor  may  a  pole  owner require a requesting attacher to pay the entire
     5  cost  of  such  pole  replacement  or for bringing a pole or third-party
     6  equipment into compliance with current safety and construction standards
     7  when replacement or compliance upgrades are not necessitated  solely  by
     8  the new attacher.
     9    3.  Where  a  pole owner performs a pole replacement to accommodate an
    10  attachment request, the pole owner may not require the attacher, or  any
    11  existing  attacher,  to pay any portion of the cost of such replacement,
    12  except as provided in subdivision four of this section, where  there  is
    13  not  insufficient  capacity,  clearance  or  loading  to accommodate the
    14  request.
    15    4. If a pole  replacement  is  necessitated  because  of  insufficient
    16  vertical space or clearance to accommodate an attachment request, or the
    17  attachment  will  exceed  loading, the requesting attacher shall only be
    18  liable for the following costs in connection with the  replacement:  (a)
    19  the  remaining  net  book value of the pole being replaced that, but for
    20  the new attachment, could have remained in service until such time as it
    21  was fully depreciated and/or reached the end of its service life or used
    22  and useful life to the pole owner, whichever would come first;  and  (b)
    23  the  incremental  costs associated with the pole owner installing a pole
    24  beyond what said owner would have installed in its normal course of pole
    25  replacement, if applicable to the request.
    26    5. Where a pole owner performs a pole replacement  in  response  to  a
    27  pole  attachment  request,  such  owner  may  apply to the commission to
    28  recover such reasonably and prudently incurred costs in connection  with
    29  such  pole  replacement  in  a  charge  separate and apart from its base
    30  rates.
    31    § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    32  have become a law.

A02396 LFIN:

 
NO LFIN

A02396 Chamber Video/Transcript: