A07554 Summary:

BILL NOA07554B
 
SAME ASSAME AS S05451-C
 
SPONSORCahill
 
COSPNSRRosenthal L, Thiele, Steck
 
MLTSPNSR
 
 
Directs the department of public service to prepare written reports on the effect the COVID-19 state of emergency has on certain utilities of electric, gas, water, wastewater, and telephone service to commercial and residential customers in the state and on the affordability of services.
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A07554 Actions:

BILL NOA07554B
 
05/13/2021referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
01/05/2022referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
05/10/2022amend (t) and recommit to corporations, authorities and commissions
05/10/2022print number 7554a
05/25/2022amend (t) and recommit to corporations, authorities and commissions
05/25/2022print number 7554b
06/02/2022reference changed to ways and means
06/02/2022reported referred to rules
06/03/2022reported
06/03/2022rules report cal.691
06/03/2022substituted by s5451c
 S05451 AMEND=C PARKER
 03/05/2021REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
 04/28/20211ST REPORT CAL.852
 05/03/20212ND REPORT CAL.
 05/04/2021ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
 06/02/2021AMENDED ON THIRD READING 5451A
 06/07/2021PASSED SENATE
 06/07/2021DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
 06/07/2021referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
 01/05/2022died in assembly
 01/05/2022returned to senate
 01/05/2022REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
 01/11/20221ST REPORT CAL.120
 01/12/20222ND REPORT CAL.
 01/18/2022ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
 05/10/2022AMENDED ON THIRD READING (T) 5451B
 05/25/2022AMENDED ON THIRD READING (T) 5451C
 06/02/2022PASSED SENATE
 06/02/2022DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
 06/02/2022referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
 06/03/2022substituted for a7554b
 06/03/2022ordered to third reading rules cal.691
 06/03/2022passed assembly
 06/03/2022returned to senate
 11/22/2022DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR
 11/23/2022VETOED MEMO.73
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A07554 Committee Votes:

WAYS AND MEANS Chair:Weinstein DATE:06/02/2022AYE/NAY:29/4 Action: Favorable refer to committee Rules
WeinsteinAyeRaAye
GlickAyeFitzpatrickAye
NolanAyeHawleyNay
PretlowAyeMontesanoAye
ColtonAyeBlankenbushNay
CookAyeNorrisNay
CahillAyeBrabenecAye
AubryAyePalmesanoNay
CusickAyeByrneAye
BenedettoAyeAshbyAye
WeprinAye
RamosExcused
BraunsteinAye
McDonaldAye
RozicAye
DinowitzAye
JoynerExcused
MagnarelliAye
ZebrowskiAye
BronsonAye
DilanAye
SeawrightAye
HyndmanAye
WalkerAye
Bichotte HermelAye

RULES Chair:Gottfried DATE:06/03/2022AYE/NAY:25/3 Action: Favorable
HeastieExcusedBarclayAye
GottfriedAyeHawleyNay
NolanExcusedGiglioAye
WeinsteinAyeBlankenbushAye
PretlowAyeNorrisNay
CookAyeMontesanoAye
GlickAyeRaAye
AubryAyeBrabenecNay
EnglebrightAye
DinowitzAye
ColtonExcused
MagnarelliAye
PaulinAye
Peoples-StokesAye
BenedettoAye
LavineAye
LupardoAye
ZebrowskiAye
ThieleAye
BraunsteinAye
DickensAye
DavilaAye
HyndmanAye

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A07554 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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A07554 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         7554--B
 
                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 13, 2021
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL, L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to
          the  Committee  on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions -- recom-
          mitted to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities  and  Commissions
          in  accordance  with  Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged,
          bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
          committee  --  again  reported  from  said  committee with amendments,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT directing the department of public service to prepare  a  written
          report on the affordability of utility 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 declaration. In  response  to  the
     2  COVID-19 pandemic, chapters 108 and 126 of the laws of 2020 were adopted
     3  to ensure that New Yorkers would not be deprived of gas, electric, water
     4  service, helping households follow the vital state policy of "sheltering
     5  in place."  The moratorium prohibited termination of utility services at
     6  a  pivotal  moment  when it became evident that sanitary conditions were
     7  required to combat the COVID-19 virus and  keep  New  Yorkers  safe  and
     8  healthy,  especially  seniors and the medically vulnerable. The legisla-
     9  ture finds and declares that it is unknown to the state  the  number  of
    10  New Yorkers who had their services terminated or disconnected during the
    11  pandemic.  The  legislature  finds  that  many utility customers rely on
    12  continuous service for heat, water, and electricity to  power  necessary
    13  equipment, such as life-saving health care devices and other New Yorkers
    14  require  cooling  during extreme heat conditions and heat during extreme
    15  cold conditions, particularly when congregate care cooling  and  heating
    16  facilities are not safe for use by medically vulnerable households.  The
    17  legislature  finds that the state requires comprehensive data concerning
    18  New Yorkers' ability to afford utility service, including the number  of
    19  New  Yorkers  who  had their services terminated or who are currently at
    20  risk of termination during the pandemic. The legislature finds that this
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03808-16-2

        A. 7554--B                          2
 
     1  data is critical to ascertain the effectiveness of  the  moratorium  and
     2  other  COVID-19  consumer protections, as well as the disruptive effects
     3  that the pandemic has had on utility customers'  finances,  and  utility
     4  finances  and  services,  and  the  public health, safety and welfare of
     5  millions of medically and financially vulnerable citizens. The  legisla-
     6  ture  also  finds that the permanent collection and reporting of utility
     7  data is imperative to  gain  regular  updates  on  and  evaluate  trends
     8  concerning  the scale and extent of terminations and utility debt across
     9  the state, so that evidence-based policy can be properly crafted  there-
    10  after.
    11    § 2. 1. As used in this act:
    12    a.  "Assistance  program"  shall  mean any program offered to eligible
    13  low-income customers to assist with the costs of electricity,  gas,  and
    14  water,  including  but not limited to the low-income home energy assist-
    15  ance program, any low-income affordability plans as provided  by  public
    16  service  commission  case  number  14-M-0565, and/or any other financial
    17  assistance program provided through or by New York state  or  individual
    18  utilities, counties or municipalities.
    19    b.  "COVID-19  state of emergency" shall mean the state disaster emer-
    20  gency declared pursuant to executive order 202 of 2020.
    21    c. "Commission" shall mean the public service commission.
    22    d. "Municipality" shall have the same meaning  as  subdivision  16  of
    23  section  2  of  the  public  service law and shall include potable water
    24  districts and potable water systems owned and/or  operated  by  a  city,
    25  town, village, authority or other governmental subdivision.
    26    e.  "Utility"  shall  mean  a municipality, utility corporation, steam
    27  corporation, water-works corporation, an electric corporation as defined
    28  in subdivision 13 of section 2 of the public service law, a  gas  corpo-
    29  ration  as  defined in subdivision 11 of section 2 of the public service
    30  law, a combination gas and electric corporation as defined  in  subdivi-
    31  sion  14  of section 2 of the public service law, a steam corporation as
    32  defined in subdivision 22 of section 2 of the public service law and any
    33  other community water system as defined in 10 NYCRR § 5-1.1.
    34    f. "Utility corporation" shall have the same meaning  as  subdivisions
    35  23 and 24 of section 2 of the public service law.
    36    g.  "Water-works  corporation" shall have the same meaning as subdivi-
    37  sion 27 of section 2 of the public service law.
    38    2. a. Every utility shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the public
    39  service commission for the purposes of enforcing the provisions of  this
    40  act  pursuant  to  sections 24, 25 and 26 of the public service law. The
    41  commission shall adjudicate complaints and  conduct  investigations  for
    42  violation  of this act in the manner provided by the provisions of arti-
    43  cle 2 of the public service law.
    44    b. Within 180 days after the effective date of this act,  the  commis-
    45  sion  shall  prepare  and  submit  to the governor and the legislature a
    46  written report that shall make findings and  recommendations  concerning
    47  the affordability of electric, gas, and water services to commercial and
    48  residential  customers in this state. An updated report shall be submit-
    49  ted one year after the commission has submitted such initial  report  to
    50  the  governor  and legislature.   Without unreasonably exposing consumer
    51  personally identifiable information in a  manner  that  violates  public
    52  service  law  and public service commission practice or federal law, the
    53  reports shall include but not be limited  to  the  following,  with  all
    54  information  to  be  broken  down  by utility, type of service provided,
    55  month, customer class and county:

        A. 7554--B                          3
 
     1    (1) the number of customers and how that number compares to the previ-
     2  ous year's number of customers on the same month and day;
     3    (2)  the  number  of  disconnection  notices  sent due to non-payment,
     4  disconnections due to non-payment, reconnections of customers that  were
     5  disconnected  for  non-payment,  and  how  those  numbers compare to the
     6  previous year on the same month and day;
     7    (3) the number of liens on real property placed, sold, or enforced due
     8  to non-payment, and how those numbers compare to the  previous  year  on
     9  the same month and day, if applicable;
    10    (4)  the number of customers in arrears by 1-90 days, 90-180 days, and
    11  greater than 180 days at the end of each month, the total dollar  amount
    12  of  arrears,  and  how those numbers compare to the previous year on the
    13  same month and day.  Provided, however, that a utility  or  municipality
    14  may  petition  the  commission, in a form and manner to be determined by
    15  the commission, to allow such utility or municipality  to  provide  such
    16  data  in  an alternative format if the specificity set forth in this act
    17  cannot be obtained  from  an  existing  utility  information  technology
    18  system  and  such  data would result in the increase of customer utility
    19  bills;
    20    (5) the number of customers that became eligible for disconnection due
    21  to bill non-payment but were not disconnected  because  of  any  legally
    22  mandated  or  voluntary suspension of disconnections due to the COVID-19
    23  state of emergency, or for any other statutory, regulatory or  voluntary
    24  reason  irrespective  of the COVID-19 emergency, or such other states of
    25  emergency as may follow the end of the COVID-19 emergency;
    26    (6) the number of customers enrolled in deferred payment agreements at
    27  the end of each month;
    28    (7) the number of customers that entered into, successfully completed,
    29  or defaulted from a deferred payment agreement, and  how  those  numbers
    30  compare to the previous year on the same month and day;
    31    (8)  available customer assistance programs, including terms of eligi-
    32  bility, and any enhancements  to  the programs that have  been  made  or
    33  are planned to address actual or anticipated increased demand;
    34    (9)  the  number  of  customers  that applied for financial assistance
    35  under each applicable assistance program, and how those numbers  compare
    36  to the previous year on the same month and day;
    37    (10)  the  number of customers receiving assistance under each assist-
    38  ance program at the end of  each  month,  the  total  dollar  amount  of
    39  assistance  provided  for arrears, the total dollar amount of assistance
    40  provided for current or future bills and the average amount per  custom-
    41  er, and how those numbers compare to the previous year on the same month
    42  and day;
    43    (11)  the  number  of  customers  charged late fees, penalties, recon-
    44  nection fees, interest,  and  any  other  charge  associated  with  late
    45  payment of a bill;
    46    (12) the total dollar amount of late fees, penalties, interest, recon-
    47  nection  fees  and  any  other  charge  associated with late payment per
    48  customer, the average  and  median  dollar  amount  billed  to  customer
    49  accounts and the average and median utility usage per customer account;
    50    (13)  the  methods and contents of general communications by utilities
    51  to customer accounts concerning their rights  and  available  assistance
    52  programs, excluding any customer-specific communications; and
    53    (14)  the commission's assessment of whether existing customer assist-
    54  ance programs are presently and will in the future be sufficient to meet
    55  the financial needs of customer accounts in arrears who  are  unable  to

        A. 7554--B                          4
 
     1  pay those arrears in full, as well as the needs of customer accounts who
     2  may be unable to pay bills for current service.
     3    c.  Following the commission's submission of the reports to the gover-
     4  nor and legislature such reports shall be  posted  on  the  commission's
     5  website  and  be  subject  to 30 days of public comment on affordability
     6  from the date of the submission to the governor and the legislature. The
     7  commission shall provide meaningful  opportunities for   public  comment
     8  from   all   persons who will be impacted by findings of the commission,
     9  including   persons living in disadvantaged  communities  and  in  rural
    10  communities  across  the  state  in  entirety.  Within  90  days  of the
    11  submission of the initial report, the commission shall conduct at  least
    12  five  public    hearings in different regions of the state,  as  defined
    13  by  the empire state development  corporation,  and  provide  meaningful
    14  opportunity for comment. The public hearings may be held virtually.
    15    d.  Each  utility  shall, within 90 days of the effective date of this
    16  act, submit to the commission, in a form and manner  determined  by  the
    17  commission,  the  information  required  pursuant to paragraph b of this
    18  subdivision.  Six months after the submission of the initial  report  to
    19  the  governor  and legislature, each utility shall submit to the commis-
    20  sion, in a form and manner determined by the commission, the information
    21  required pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision. Each utility shall
    22  publish on its website the data it reports pursuant to  this  paragraph,
    23  simultaneously with submission of the data to the commission.
    24    3. If the data required by this act cannot reasonably be obtained from
    25  an existing utility information technology system without an increase in
    26  customer  utility  bills,  a  utility  or  municipality may petition the
    27  commission, in a form and manner to be determined by the commission,  to
    28  provide the required data in an alternative format.
    29    4.  The  commission  shall publish on its website the reports required
    30  pursuant to subdivision two of this  section,  simultaneously  with  the
    31  submission  of  each report.   The reports shall include the information
    32  required pursuant to this section in a spreadsheet format.
    33    § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
    34  sion,  section  or  part  of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of
    35  competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment  shall  not  affect,
    36  impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall  be  confined  in
    37  its  operation  to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
    38  or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
    39  ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
    40  the legislature that this act would  have  been  enacted  even  if  such
    41  invalid provisions had not been included herein.
    42    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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