Establishes a public service commission nominating board to make recommendations of persons qualified for appointment as commissioners of the public service commission.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7225
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 4, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. GIANARIS, HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered
printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy
and Telecommunications
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to the appointment
of members of the public service commission
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 4 of the public service law, as
2 added by chapter 584 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
3 4. Any commissioner appointed on or after July first, two thousand
4 twenty-two, pursuant to this section shall have education and training,
5 and three or more years of experience in one or more of the following
6 fields: economics, engineering, law, accounting, business management,
7 utility regulation, public policy, consumer advocacy or environmental
8 management and shall be qualified for such appointment as provided in
9 section four-a of this article.
10 § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 4-a to
11 read as follows:
12 § 4-a. Public service commission nominating board. 1. Any person
13 appointed as a commissioner pursuant to the provisions of section four
14 of this article shall be selected from a list of individuals nominated
15 as provided in subdivision two of this section.
16 2. (a) There shall be established in the department a public service
17 commission nominating board consisting of the following:
18 (1) a representative of the utility intervention unit of the consumer
19 protection division appointed by the secretary of state;
20 (2) the president of the New York state energy research and develop-
21 ment authority, or their designee;
22 (3) the commissioner of economic development, or their designee;
23 (4) the commissioner of environmental conservation, or their designee;
24 (5) the attorney general, or their designee;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01792-01-5
S. 7225 2
1 (6) a professional engineer appointed by the commissioner of educa-
2 tion, to serve at the pleasure of such commissioner;
3 (7) a certified public accountant appointed by the commissioner of
4 education, to serve at the pleasure of such commissioner;
5 (8) a person sixty-five years of age or older appointed by the direc-
6 tor of the state office for the aging, to serve at the pleasure of such
7 director;
8 (9) a representative of business entities regulated by the commission,
9 appointed by the governor, to serve at the pleasure of the governor;
10 (10) a representative of business entities that are not regulated by
11 the commission, appointed by the governor, to serve at the pleasure of
12 the governor;
13 (11) a representative of labor appointed by the governor, to serve at
14 the pleasure of the governor;
15 (12) two members of the public appointed by the speaker of the assem-
16 bly, to serve at the pleasure of the speaker;
17 (13) two members of the public appointed by the temporary president of
18 the senate, to serve at the pleasure of the temporary president;
19 (14) a member of the public appointed by the minority leader of the
20 assembly, to serve at the pleasure of the minority leader; and
21 (15) a member of the public appointed by the minority leader of the
22 senate, to serve at the pleasure of the minority leader.
23 (b) At its initial meeting in each calendar year, such board shall
24 select from among its members a chairperson. The board may adopt bylaws
25 governing its proceedings.
26 (c) The public service commission nominating board shall keep a record
27 of its proceedings. Special meetings may be called by the chairperson,
28 and shall be called by the chairperson upon receipt of a written request
29 for a meeting signed by two or more members of the board. Written notice
30 of the time and place of each meeting shall be sent to each member of
31 the board.
32 (d) The public service commission nominating board shall:
33 (1) Review and evaluate possible appointees for the office of commis-
34 sioner of the commission;
35 (2) Not more than eighty-five nor less than sixty days prior to the
36 expiration of the term of a commissioner, or not more than thirty days
37 after the death or resignation of or termination of service by, a
38 commissioner, provide the governor with a list of four individuals meet-
39 ing the qualifications of this section who are, in the judgment of the
40 board, the most fully qualified to serve on the commission. The board
41 shall not include the name of an individual upon any such list if the
42 appointment of that individual by the governor would result in a greater
43 number of members of the commission belonging to the same political
44 party than is permitted pursuant to section four of this article.
45 (3) In reviewing and evaluating possible appointees for the office of
46 commissioner of the commission, the board may accept comments from,
47 cooperate with and request information from any person.
48 (e) Within thirty days of receipt of the board's recommendations, the
49 governor shall appoint one of the persons recommended by the board to
50 fill a vacancy occurring in the office of commissioner. Nothing in this
51 section shall prevent the governor in the governor's discretion from
52 rejecting all of the nominees of the board and reconvening the board in
53 order to select four additional nominees. However, when the governor has
54 reconvened the board and the board has provided the governor with a
55 second list of four names, the governor shall make the appointment from
56 one of the names on the first list or the second list.
S. 7225 3
1 (f) The members of the board shall receive no compensation for their
2 services on the board but shall be entitled to reimbursement of their
3 actual and necessary expenses.
4 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
5 it shall have become a law.
