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S08113 Summary:

BILL NOS08113A
 
SAME ASSAME AS A10521
 
SPONSORPARKER
 
COSPNSRADDABBO, CARLUCCI, COMRIE, GAUGHRAN, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN, KAPLAN, KAVANAGH, LIU, MAY, METZGER, MONTGOMERY, SKOUFIS
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd 32, 89-b, 91 & 89-l, Pub Serv L
 
Relates to issuing a moratorium on utility termination of services during periods of pandemics and/or state of emergencies.
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S08113 Actions:

BILL NOS08113A
 
03/23/2020REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
05/24/2020COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION
05/24/2020AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO CONSUMER PROTECTION
05/24/2020PRINT NUMBER 8113A
05/26/2020REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
05/27/2020ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.641
05/27/2020PASSED SENATE
05/27/2020DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
05/27/2020referred to ways and means
05/27/2020substituted for a10521
05/27/2020ordered to third reading rules cal.54
05/28/2020passed assembly
05/28/2020returned to senate
06/05/2020DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR
06/17/2020SIGNED CHAP.108
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S08113 Memo:

Memo not available
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S08113 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         8113--A
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                     March 23, 2020
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens. PARKER, HOYLMAN, METZGER -- read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Energy
          and Telecommunications -- committee discharged and said bill committed
          to  the Committee on Consumer Protection -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee

        AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to issuing a morato-
          rium  on  utility  termination of services during periods of pandemics
          and/or state of emergencies
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision 6 of section 32 of the public service law, as
     2  added by chapter 686 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
     3    6. No utility corporation or municipality shall terminate  or  discon-
     4  nect  services  to  any  residential  customer for the non-payment of an
     5  overdue charge for the duration of the state disaster emergency declared
     6  pursuant to executive order two  hundred  two  of  two  thousand  twenty
     7  (herein after "the COVID-19 state of emergency").
     8    Utility  corporations  and municipalities shall have a duty to restore
     9  service, to the extent not already required under this chapter,  to  any
    10  residential  customer  within forty-eight hours if such service has been
    11  terminated during the pendency of the COVID-19 state of emergency.
    12    7. For a period of one hundred eighty days after the COVID-19 state of
    13  emergency is lifted or expires, no utility corporation  or  municipality
    14  shall  terminate  or  disconnect  the  service of a residential customer
    15  because of defaulted deferred payment agreements or arrears owed to  the
    16  utility corporation or municipality when such customer has experienced a
    17  change  in financial circumstances due to the COVID-19 state of emergen-
    18  cy, as defined by the department.   The utility corporation  or  munici-
    19  pality  shall  provide such residential customer with the right to enter
    20  into, or restructure, a deferred payment agreement without the  require-
    21  ment of a down payment, late fees, or penalties, as such is provided for
    22  in this article.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15908-07-0

        S. 8113--A                          2
 
     1    8.  Every  utility corporation or municipality shall provide notice to
     2  residential customers, in a writing to be included with a bill statement
     3  or, when appropriate, via electronic transmission the provisions of this
     4  section and shall further make reasonable efforts to  contact  customers
     5  who  have  demonstrated  a  change in financial circumstances due to the
     6  COVID-19 state of emergency for the purpose of offering such customers a
     7  deferred payment agreement consistent with the provisions of this  arti-
     8  cle.
     9    9. Implementation of the provisions of this section shall not prohibit
    10  a  utility  or  municipality  from  recovering lost or deferred revenues
    11  after the lifting or expiration of  the  COVID-19  state  of  emergency,
    12  pursuant to such means for recovery as are provided for in this chapter,
    13  and  by  means not inconsistent with any of the provisions of this arti-
    14  cle.  Nothing in this section shall prohibit a  utility  corporation  or
    15  municipality  from disconnecting service necessary to protect the health
    16  and safety of customers and the public.
    17    10. Implementation of the provisions of this section shall  not  limit
    18  the  contractual  remedies  for  damages which might be available to the
    19  terminating utility provided that an award of such damages is not incon-
    20  sistent with any of the provisions of this article.
    21    § 2. Section 89-b of the public service law is amended by adding  four
    22  new subdivisions 8, 9, 10 and 11 to read as follows:
    23    8. No water-works corporation shall terminate or disconnect the supply
    24  of  water  to  residential  accounts for the non-payment of water rents,
    25  rates or charges for  the  duration  of  the  state  disaster  emergency
    26  declared  pursuant  to  executive  order two hundred two of two thousand
    27  twenty (hereinafter "the COVID-19 state  of  emergency").    Water-works
    28  corporations  shall  have  a  duty to restore service, to the extent not
    29  already required under this chapter, to any residential customer  within
    30  forty-eight hours if such service has been terminated during the penden-
    31  cy of the COVID-19 state of emergency.
    32    9. For a period of one hundred eighty days after the COVID-19 state of
    33  emergency  is lifted or expires, no water-works corporation shall termi-
    34  nate or disconnect the service of a residential customer account because
    35  of defaulted deferred payment agreements or arrears owed to  the  water-
    36  works  corporation when such customer has experienced a change in finan-
    37  cial circumstances due to the COVID-19 state of emergency, as defined by
    38  the department. The water-works corporation shall provide such  residen-
    39  tial  customer  with the right to enter into, or restructure, a deferred
    40  payment agreement without the requirement of a down payment, late  fees,
    41  or penalties, as such is provided for in article two of this chapter.
    42    10.  Every water-works corporation shall provide notice to residential
    43  customers, in a writing to be included with a bill  statement  or,  when
    44  appropriate, via electronic transmission, the provisions of this section
    45  and  shall further make reasonable efforts to contact customers who have
    46  demonstrated a change in financial circumstances  due  to  the  COVID-19
    47  state of emergency for the purpose of offering such customers a deferred
    48  payment agreement consistent with the provisions of this article.
    49    11. Implementation of the provisions of this section shall not prohib-
    50  it  a  water-works corporation from recovering lost or deferred revenues
    51  after the lifting or expiration of  the  COVID-19  state  of  emergency,
    52  pursuant to such means for recovery as are provided for in this chapter,
    53  and  by  means not inconsistent with any of the provisions of this arti-
    54  cle.  Nothing in this section shall prohibit a  water-works  corporation
    55  from  disconnecting  service  when it is necessary to protect the health
    56  and safety of customers and the public.

        S. 8113--A                          3
 
     1    § 3. Section 91 of the public service law is amended  by  adding  four
     2  new subdivisions 9, 10, 11 and 12 to read as follows:
     3    9.  No  telephone corporation shall terminate or disconnect a residen-
     4  tial service customer for the non-payment of an overdue charge  for  the
     5  duration  of the state disaster emergency declared pursuant to executive
     6  order two hundred two of two thousand twenty (hereinafter "the  COVID-19
     7  state  of  emergency").  Telephone  corporations  shall  have  a duty to
     8  restore service, to the extent not already required under this  chapter,
     9  to any residential customer within forty-eight hours if such service has
    10  been terminated during the pendency of the COVID-19 state of emergency.
    11    10.  After  the  COVID-19  state of emergency is lifted or expires, no
    12  telephone corporation shall terminate or disconnect  the  service  of  a
    13  residential  customer  account  because  of  defaulted  deferred payment
    14  agreements or arrears  owed  to  the  telephone  corporation  when  such
    15  customer  has experienced a change in financial circumstances due to the
    16  COVID-19 state of emergency, as defined by the department.    The  tele-
    17  phone corporation shall provide such residential customer with the right
    18  to  enter into, or restructure, a deferred payment agreement without the
    19  requirement of a down payment, late  fees,  or  penalties,  as  such  is
    20  provided for in article two of this chapter.
    21    11.  Every  telephone  corporation shall provide notice to residential
    22  customers in a writing to be included with a  bill  statement  or,  when
    23  appropriate,  via electronic transmission the provisions of this section
    24  and shall further make reasonable efforts to contact customers who  have
    25  demonstrated  a  change  in  financial circumstances due to the COVID-19
    26  state of emergency for the purpose of offering such customers a deferred
    27  payment agreement consistent with the provisions of this article.
    28    12. Implementation of the provisions of this section shall not prohib-
    29  it a telephone corporation from recovering  lost  or  deferred  revenues
    30  after  the  lifting  or  expiration  of the COVID-19 state of emergency,
    31  pursuant to such means for recovery as are provided for in this chapter,
    32  and by means not inconsistent with any of the provisions of  this  arti-
    33  cle. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a telephone corporation from
    34  disconnecting  service  when  it  is necessary to protect the health and
    35  safety of customers and the public.
    36    § 4. Section 89-l of the public service law is amended by adding  four
    37  new subdivisions 3, 4, 5 and 6 to read as follows:
    38    3.  No municipality shall terminate or discontinue residential service
    39  for the nonpayment of bills, taxes, or fees  for  the  duration  of  the
    40  state  disaster  emergency  declared  pursuant  to  executive  order two
    41  hundred two of two thousand twenty (hereinafter the "COVID-19  state  of
    42  emergency").  Every municipality shall have a duty to restore service to
    43  any residential customer within forty-eight hours of the effective  date
    44  of  this  subdivision  if  such  service  has been terminated during the
    45  pendency of the COVID-19 state of emergency.
    46    4. For a period of one hundred eighty days after the COVID-19 state of
    47  emergency is lifted or  expires,  no  municipality  shall  terminate  or
    48  discontinue  the  service  of  a  residential customer   because of bill
    49  arrears, taxes, or fees owed to the municipality when such customer  has
    50  experienced  a  change  in  financial  circumstances due to the COVID-19
    51  state of emergency, as defined by the department. The municipality shall
    52  provide a residential service customer that has experienced a change  in
    53  financial  circumstances due to the COVID-19 state of emergency with the
    54  right to enter into, or restructure, a deferred payment agreement  with-
    55  out  the requirement of a down payment, late fees, or penalties, as such
    56  is provided for in article two of this chapter.

        S. 8113--A                          4
 
     1    5. Every municipality shall provide notice to residential customers in
     2  a writing to be included with a bill statement or, when appropriate, via
     3  electronic transmission the provisions of this section and shall further
     4  make reasonable efforts to contact customers  who  have  demonstrated  a
     5  change in financial circumstances due to the COVID-19 state of emergency
     6  for  the purpose of offering such customers a deferred payment agreement
     7  consistent with the provisions of this article.
     8    6. Implementation of the provisions of this section shall not prohibit
     9  a municipality from recovering lost or deferred revenues after the lift-
    10  ing or expiry of the COVID-19 state of  emergency,  provided  that  such
    11  means are not inconsistent with the provisions of this article.  Nothing
    12  in this section shall prohibit a municipality from disconnecting service
    13  when  it  is necessary to protect the health and safety of customers and
    14  the public.
    15    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
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