NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3245
SPONSOR: Sayegh TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to the emergency
response plans relating to downed wires
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This legislation would add individuals to those who can report to elec-
tric companies downed power lines, starting the 36 hour timeframe for
them to be secured.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 Subparagraph (xi) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 21 of
section 66 of the public service law is amended to add the words or
individual. This section relates to the plans electric companies must
have to promptly secure downed wires within 36 hours of notification
from a municipal emergency official, this adds individual to that
section.
Section 2 is the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
JUSTIFICATION:
Under current law electric companies must have a plan to promptly secure
downed wires within 36 hours of being notified by a municipal emergency
official. This legislation greatly expands this section of law by
including individuals. The danger of downed lines is real, many resi-
dents believe when they notify their power company that the company will
take care of that concern expeditiously, however under current law this
is not a requirement. Power companies are only required to secure downed
lines within 36 hours when notified by a municipal emergency official.
Municipal emergency officials play a critical role, however they are
hamstrung by the limited bandwidth they have in an emergency, this
legislation seeks to expand the critical ability to report downed power
lines and make all individuals safer.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-20: A.11016 (Sayegh)
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3245
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 22, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SAYEGH, DICKENS, GRIFFIN, GALEF, SIMON, BUTTENS-
CHON, MONTESANO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer
Affairs and Protection
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to the emergency
response plans relating to downed wires
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph (xi) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 21 of
2 section 66 of the public service law, as added by section 4 of part X of
3 chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
4 (xi) appropriate safety precautions regarding electrical hazards,
5 including plans to promptly secure downed wires within thirty-six hours
6 of notification of the location of such downed wires from a municipal
7 emergency official or individual; and
8 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02593-01-1
