Requires utility companies to provide written notice to the owner of a residential property of the date and approximate time the utility company will enter onto the property and the purpose for which the utility company employee or contractor shall be entering onto the property.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5166
SPONSOR: Solages TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring utility
companies to give homeowners notice of intent to enter onto private
property
PURPOSE:
To ensure the privacy of homeowners by requiring utility companies to
give homeowners notice of their intent to enter their property.
SUMMARY:
Section 1. Amends the public service law by adding a new section 44-a.
Section 2. Sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently there is no legal requirement for a utility to provide advance
notice to a property owner when their employees must enter a property.
Many utility agreements contain clauses that require notice only when
there must be a full meter replacement
1. By requiring utility compa-
nies to provide a reasonable notice of intent prior to entering private
property for any reason, we can help ease the privacy and safety
concerns that constituents have expressed.
RACIAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
TBD.
GENDER JUSTICE IMPACT:
TBD.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A8968; referred to corporations, authorities, and commissions
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
(1) https://new-york-waterlibertyutilities.com/
uploads/Tariff%2OPSC~/020No.%201 -%20Liberty%20Utilities%20
(New%20York%20Water)/020Coro.%20 Effective%204.1.2023%20Website.pdf
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5166
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 12, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring utility
companies to give homeowners notice of intent to enter onto private
property
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section
2 44-a to read as follows:
3 § 44-a. Notice of intent to enter onto private property. Prior to
4 entering onto any residential private property to effect installations,
5 disconnections, repairs, service work or meter readings, a utility
6 company shall provide written notice to the owner of the property of the
7 date and approximate time of the intended entry and the purpose for
8 which the utility company employee or contractor shall be entering onto
9 the property.
10 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
11 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09224-01-5
