Provides that all regulated local exchange telephone companies shall offer customers the option to block access to obscene information-access services and inform their customers of such blocking service; such service shall be without charge to the customer; requires public service commission to instruct such telephone companies to designate a specific prefix for messages the telephone company considers extreme.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3674
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 26, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FINCH, KOLB, BURLING, McDONOUGH, KATZ -- Multi-
Sponsored by -- M. of A. HAWLEY, MAGEE -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring local
phone companies to provide customers with a cost free option to block
certain information-access services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. Effective July 1, 1989
2 customers who wish to block "adult" messages, group calling services or
3 recorded information and entertainment services from their phones have
4 had to pay a five dollar fee. The legislature finds that customers
5 should not have to pay to block a service they never requested and that
6 this blocking option should be made available free of charge.
7 § 2. Section 91 of the public service law is amended by adding a new
8 subdivision 8 to read as follows:
9 8. (a) The cost for providing blocking services and informing custom-
10 ers thereof, shall be borne by the telephone company providing the
11 blocking service, and shall not be included in that telephone company's
12 rate base.
13 (b) The public service commission shall promulgate the appropriate
14 rules and regulations within one hundred twenty days of the effective
15 date of this subdivision.
16 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
17 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03811-01-1
