Relates to residential gas service rate discount programs for low-income and senior households; establishes the residential gas service rate discount for low-income and senior households fund; provides that an eligible household shall pay no more than six percent of such eligible household's total monthly income on gas, oil, kerosene or petroleum services and gas corporations shall offer a discount to ensure such eligible household's gas, oil, kerosene or petroleum bill or payment agreement reflect such discounted price.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4432
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 4, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- 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 residential gas
service rate discount programs for low-income and senior households;
and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the
residential gas service rate discount for low-income and senior house-
holds fund
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 74-c to read as follows:
3 § 74-c. Residential gas service rate discount program for low-income
4 and senior households. 1. Every gas corporation shall, no later than
5 sixty days after the effective date of this section, offer a discounted
6 rate program on services to an eligible household to be applied to the
7 actual amount charged to such household for the standard rate of gas,
8 oil, kerosene or petroleum and associated equipment, at a rate deter-
9 mined based on each eligible household's monthly income. For the
10 purposes of this section "eligible households" shall mean any household
11 whose gross income is at or below eighty percent of the area median
12 income, household median age is at or above sixty-two years of age or
13 any other household as determined by the commissioner to be eligible.
14 2. a. Under the program established pursuant to this section, an
15 eligible household shall pay no more than six percent of such eligible
16 household's total monthly income on gas, oil, kerosene or petroleum
17 services and gas corporations shall offer a discount to ensure such
18 eligible household's gas, oil, kerosene or petroleum bill or payment
19 agreement reflect such discounted price.
20 b. An eligible household shall submit proof of monthly income to the
21 gas corporation providing services to such eligible household to deter-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05918-01-5
S. 4432 2
1 mine the discounted price pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision.
2 Acceptable proof of monthly income shall be determined by the commis-
3 sioner.
4 c. An eligible household's discounted price shall be reflected on any
5 bill or payment agreement sent by a gas corporation.
6 3. Every gas corporation shall submit to the department, no later than
7 November fifteenth of the year this section takes effect, and annually
8 thereafter, a compliance report setting forth:
9 a. the number of consumers availing themselves of the discount
10 required by this section;
11 b. a description of the procedures being used to verify the eligibil-
12 ity of households receiving such discount;
13 c. a description and samples of the advertising or marketing efforts
14 undertaken to advertise or promote such discount;
15 d. a description of all residential gas rates including pricing,
16 offered by such person, business, corporation, or their agents; and
17 e. such other information as the department may require to provide
18 funding to such a gas corporation for the administration of this
19 program.
20 4. The department shall administer the funds made available pursuant
21 to section ninety-one-h of the state finance law to gas corporations
22 based on the needs of eligible households as documented in the annual
23 reports submitted to the department pursuant to subdivision three of
24 this section.
25 5. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application
26 may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of the
27 state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction by a special
28 proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of
29 not less than five days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such
30 violation; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or
31 justice that the defendant has, in fact, violated this section, an
32 injunction may be issued by the court or justice, enjoining and
33 restraining any further violations, without requiring proof that any
34 person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby. In any such
35 proceeding, the court may make allowances to the attorney general as
36 provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of section eighty-three
37 hundred three of the civil practice law and rules, and direct restitu-
38 tion. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this
39 section has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more
40 than one thousand dollars per violation. Such penalty shall be credited
41 to the residential gas service rate discount for low-income and senior
42 households fund established in section ninety-one-h of the state finance
43 law for the administration of this section. In connection with any such
44 proposed application, the attorney general is authorized to take proof
45 and make a determination of the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in
46 accordance with the civil practice law and rules.
47 § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 91-h to
48 read as follows:
49 § 91-h. Residential gas service rate discount for low-income and
50 senior households fund. 1. There is hereby established in the joint
51 custody of the commissioner of taxation and finance and the comptroller,
52 a special fund to be known as the "residential gas service rate discount
53 for low-income and senior households fund".
54 2. Such fund shall consist of all revenues received by the department
55 of taxation and finance, pursuant to the provisions of section seventy-
56 four-c of the public service law and all other moneys appropriated,
S. 4432 3
1 credited or transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant
2 to law. Nothing in this section shall prevent the state from receiving
3 grants, gifts or bequests for the purposes of the fund as defined in
4 this section and depositing them into the fund according to law.
5 3. Monies of the fund shall be expended solely for low-income and
6 senior household programs approved by the department of public service.
7 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of
8 the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner
9 of public service.
10 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
11 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
12 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
13 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
14 on or before such effective date.
