Requires gas and electric utilities to make available to landlords or lessors, upon request of prospective tenants or lessees, information concerning gas and electric charges incurred for residential rental premises.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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131
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. SQUADRON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni-
cations
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to making gas and
electric billing information for residential rental premises available
upon request
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 66-o to read as follows:
3 § 66-o. Gas and electric billing information for residential rental
4 premises. Every gas corporation, electric corporation and municipality
5 shall make available to any landlord or lessor of residential rental
6 premises, within ten days of receipt of a written or internet request
7 therefor from any prospective tenant or lessee thereof, prior to the
8 commencement of tenancy or execution of a lease, information consisting
9 of the average monthly charges incurred at such premises for gas or
10 electric service or both for the life of the dwelling unit or the
11 preceding two year period, whichever is shorter. The letter by the
12 prospective tenant or lessee shall include their name, address, driver's
13 license number or social security number or taxpayer identification
14 number or non-driver ID card or any official documented or undocumented
15 immigration identification, signature, and acknowledge that this billing
16 information requested may only be used for the purpose of determining
17 prior gas and electric usage as a factor in deciding to occupy the
18 dwelling unit. Each prospective tenant or lessee is limited to a total
19 of five requests in a calendar year within the state of New York. Such
20 information shall be identified solely by the address of the dwelling
21 unit, and no other information identifying the owner, lessee, or other
22 occupant of the dwelling unit shall be utilized for, or made available
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02673-01-7
S. 131 2
1 in connection with, the furnishing of billing information pursuant to
2 this section. Such information shall be furnished to both the landlord
3 or lessor and to the prospective tenant or lessee with an imposition of
4 a five dollar charge to the prospective tenant or lessee requesting the
5 billing information payable to the gas corporation, electric corporation
6 and municipality providing such information.
7 § 2. The public service commission is directed to: (a) create a proc-
8 ess whereby a prospective tenant or lessee may obtain by written request
9 or by the internet to the gas corporation, electric corporation and
10 municipality the average monthly electric and gas charges for the life
11 of the dwelling unit or the preceding two year period, whichever is
12 shorter, prior to the commencement of tenancy or execution of a lease
13 while maintaining the privacy of the current tenant or lessor; (b)
14 ensure the request is made only for the purpose of deciding whether to
15 occupy a dwelling unit; and (c) determine the cost of providing the
16 information by the utility and assess a fee to the prospective tenant or
17 lessee requesting the information payable to the gas corporation, elec-
18 tric corporation and municipality providing the information.
19 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
20 it shall have become a law; provided that the public service commission
21 is authorized to promulgate any and all rules and regulations and take
22 any other measures necessary to implement this act on its effective date
23 on or before such date.