A08164 Summary:

BILL NOA08164B
 
SAME ASSAME AS S07811
 
SPONSOROtis
 
COSPNSRBrennan, McDonald, Mayer, Galef, Rosenthal, Titone
 
MLTSPNSRBuchwald
 
Add Art 4-C S89-q, Pub Serv L
 
Relates to energy services company marketing standards; enacts provisions restricting telemarketing to customers who enroll in an opt-out registry.
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A08164 Actions:

BILL NOA08164B
 
08/30/2013referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
01/08/2014referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
05/29/2014amend (t) and recommit to corporations, authorities and commissions
05/29/2014print number 8164a
06/03/2014reported referred to codes
06/06/2014amend and recommit to codes
06/06/2014print number 8164b
06/12/2014reported referred to rules
06/16/2014reported
06/16/2014rules report cal.269
06/16/2014ordered to third reading rules cal.269
06/17/2014passed assembly
06/17/2014delivered to senate
06/17/2014REFERRED TO RULES
06/18/2014SUBSTITUTED FOR S7811
06/18/20143RD READING CAL.1524
06/18/2014PASSED SENATE
06/18/2014RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
12/18/2014delivered to governor
12/29/2014vetoed memo.571
12/29/2014tabled
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A08164 Floor Votes:

DATE:06/17/2014Assembly Vote  YEA/NAY: 109/27
Yes
Abbate
No
Curran
No
Hawley
Yes
Markey
Yes
Quart
Yes
Steck
Yes
Abinanti
Yes
Cusick
Yes
Heastie
Yes
Mayer
No
Ra
Yes
Stirpe
Yes
Arroyo
Yes
Cymbrowitz
Yes
Hennessey
Yes
McDonald
ER
Raia
Yes
Sweeney
Yes
Aubry
Yes
Davila
Yes
Hevesi
No
McDonough
Yes
Ramos
Yes
Tedisco
No
Barclay
Yes
DenDekker
Yes
Hikind
Yes
McKevitt
Yes
Rivera
ER
Tenney
Yes
Barrett
Yes
Dinowitz
Yes
Hooper
No
McLaughlin
Yes
Roberts
Yes
Thiele
Yes
Benedetto
No
DiPietro
Yes
Jacobs
Yes
Miller
Yes
Robinson
Yes
Titone
No
Blankenbush
No
Duprey
Yes
Jaffee
Yes
Millman
Yes
Rodriguez
Yes
Titus
No
Borelli
Yes
Englebright
No
Johns
No
Montesano
Yes
Rosa
No
Walter
Yes
Braunstein
Yes
Fahy
No
Katz
Yes
Morelle
Yes
Rosenthal
Yes
Weinstein
Yes
Brennan
Yes
Farrell
Yes
Kavanagh
Yes
Mosley
Yes
Rozic
Yes
Weisenberg
Yes
Brindisi
No
Finch
Yes
Kearns
Yes
Moya
Yes
Russell
Yes
Weprin
Yes
Bronson
No
Fitzpatrick
AB
Kellner
No
Nojay
Yes
Ryan
Yes
Wright
Yes
Brook-Krasny
No
Friend
Yes
Kim
Yes
Nolan
Yes
Saladino
Yes
Zebrowski
Yes
Buchwald
Yes
Galef
Yes
Kolb
Yes
Oaks
Yes
Santabarbara
Yes
Mr. Speaker
No
Butler
Yes
Gantt
No
Lalor
Yes
O'Donnell
Yes
Scarborough
Yes
Cahill
Yes
Garbarino
Yes
Lavine
Yes
Ortiz
Yes
Schimel
Yes
Camara
No
Giglio
Yes
Lentol
Yes
Otis
Yes
Schimminger
Yes
Ceretto
Yes
Gjonaj
Yes
Lifton
No
Palmesano
Yes
Sepulveda
Yes
Clark
Yes
Glick
Yes
Lopez
No
Palumbo
ER
Simanowitz
Yes
Colton
Yes
Goldfeder
Yes
Lupardo
Yes
Paulin
Yes
Simotas
Yes
Cook
No
Goodell
Yes
Lupinacci
Yes
Peoples-Stokes
Yes
Skartados
No
Corwin
Yes
Gottfried
Yes
Magee
Yes
Perry
Yes
Skoufis
Yes
Crespo
No
Graf
Yes
Magnarelli
Yes
Pichardo
Yes
Solages
No
Crouch
Yes
Gunther
Yes
Malliotakis
Yes
Pretlow
Yes
Stec

‡ Indicates voting via videoconference
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A08164 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         8164--B
 
                               2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     August 30, 2013
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. OTIS, BRENNAN, McDONALD, MAYER, GALEF -- Multi-
          Sponsored by -- M. of A. BUCHWALD -- read once  and  referred  to  the
          Committee  on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions -- recommitted
          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  commit-
          tee  --  reported  and referred to the Committee on Codes -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to  marketing  prac-
          tices of energy services companies
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that on March 14,
     2  1996, the public service commission authorized energy services companies
     3  (ESCOs) to compete with traditional utilities to supply  consumers  with
     4  electricity  or  natural  gas.  Since  then, approximately 85 ESCOs have
     5  become certified to provide electricity in New York state and  over  100

     6  ESCOs  have  become  certified  to  provide natural gas. The legislature
     7  further finds that on October 19, 2012, the  public  service  commission
     8  instituted  a new proceeding (12-M-0476) to examine aspects of the resi-
     9  dential and small non-residential retail energy markets  in  the  state,
    10  during  the course of which proceeding, the department of public service
    11  found that some large scale non-residential  customers  were  benefiting
    12  from  competition,  while  some  small  non-residential  and residential
    13  customers were not benefiting and paying more for energy than they typi-
    14  cally would pay with their utility. The legislature further  finds  that
    15  the proceeding discovered "major weaknesses in the residential and small
    16  non-residential retail energy markets due to the lack of accurate, tran-
    17  sparent  and  useful information and marketing behavior that creates and

    18  too often relies on customer confusion."  Therefore, to protect  custom-
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11695-05-4

        A. 8164--B                          2
 
     1  ers,  the legislature finds it necessary to establish enhanced penalties
     2  to end abusive practices.
     3    §  2. The public service law is amended by adding a new article 4-C to
     4  read as follows:
     5                                 ARTICLE 4-C
     6                          ENERGY SERVICE COMPANIES
     7  Section 89-q. Energy services company marketing standards.
     8    § 89-q. Energy services company  marketing  standards.    1.  For  the

     9  purpose of this section:
    10    (a)  "Energy services company" or "ESCO," shall mean any entity eligi-
    11  ble to sell energy services to end use customers using the  transmission
    12  or distribution system of a utility corporation.
    13    (b)  "Distribution  utility"  shall mean a gas or electric corporation
    14  owning, operating or managing electric or gas facilities for the purpose
    15  of distributing gas or electricity to end users.
    16    (c) "ESCO marketing representative" shall mean any employee  or  agent
    17  of  an  ESCO  that engages in any marketing activity intended to enroll,
    18  contract or sell energy services to end use customers with such ESCO.
    19    (d) "Independent third party verification" shall mean the confirmation

    20  of a customer's agreement to take service from an  ESCO,  by  an  entity
    21  that is independent of the ESCO.
    22    (e) "ESCO marketing opt-out registry" shall mean a list of residential
    23  and  small non-residential customers that do not want to be called by an
    24  ESCO or ESCO marketing representative.
    25    2. The commission shall direct each energy services  company  and  any
    26  ESCO  marketing  representative  selling  or  offering  for  sale energy
    27  services to residential or small non-residential customers to:
    28    (a) remove a residential or  small  non-residential  customer's  name,
    29  telephone, and contact information from any ESCO marketing database upon
    30  such residential or small non-residential customer's request;

    31    (b)  provide  to  a  potential  residential  or  small non-residential
    32  customer: the name of the ESCO marketing representative on the call, the
    33  name of the ESCO on whose behalf the call is being made and the  purpose
    34  of  such  call  and,  upon  request, the ESCO marketing representative's
    35  identification number;
    36    (c) indicate that the contract for provision of energy services by  an
    37  ESCO will not affect the residential or small non-residential customer's
    38  existing  relationship  with the distribution utility service other than
    39  that such residential or small non-residential customer will  no  longer
    40  be purchasing electricity and/or natural gas from the distribution util-
    41  ity;

    42    (d)  immediately  transfer  a  residential  or  small  non-residential
    43  customer to a representative who speaks the residential or small non-re-
    44  sidential customer's primary language or terminate the call;
    45    (e) use independent third  party  verification,  as  approved  by  the
    46  commission,  prior  to  enrolling a residential or small non-residential
    47  customer; and
    48    (f) prohibit ESCO marketing representatives  from  asserting  that  an
    49  ESCO is acting on behalf of a distribution utility.
    50    3.  (a)  The  commission  shall  require  each distribution utility to
    51  establish an ESCO marketing opt-out registry. Each distribution  utility
    52  shall provide an annual notice to its residential and small non-residen-

    53  tial customers on how such customers may access and enroll onto its ESCO
    54  marketing opt-out registry.
    55    (b)  No  ESCO or ESCO marketing representative shall market, including
    56  but not limited to telephone calls, to a residential or small  non-resi-

        A. 8164--B                          3
 
     1  dential  customers  that  is  on a distribution utility's ESCO marketing
     2  opt-out registry.
     3    4.  (a)  The  commission  is  hereby granted the authority, subject to
     4  paragraph (b) of this subdivision, to assess  a  civil  penalty  not  to
     5  exceed  one thousand dollars against any ESCO when such ESCO or its ESCO
     6  marketing representatives knowingly fails or neglects to comply with any

     7  provision of this section or any regulation or order of  the  commission
     8  implementing or enforcing the provisions of this section. In the case of
     9  a continuing violation, the commission is hereby authorized to deem each
    10  day a separate and distinct offense.
    11    (b)  Whenever the commission has reason to believe that an ESCO should
    12  be subject to imposition of a civil penalty or penalties as set forth in
    13  this subdivision, the commission shall notify  such  ESCO.  Such  notice
    14  shall  include,  but  shall  not  be limited to (i) the date and a brief
    15  description of the facts and nature of each act or failure  to  act  for
    16  which such penalty is proposed; (ii) the amount of each penalty that the

    17  commission proposes to assess; and (iii) the option to request a hearing
    18  to  demonstrate  why  the  proposed  penalty  or penalties should not be
    19  assessed against such ESCO.
    20    5. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit any  authority  of
    21  the  commission  or the Long Island power authority to limit, suspend or
    22  revoke the eligibility of an energy services company or  ESCO  marketing
    23  representative  to  sell, offer, or market energy services for violation
    24  of any provision of law, rule, regulation or policy enforceable  by  the
    25  commission or the Long Island power authority.
    26    6. Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the commission
    27  or  the  Long  Island power authority to adopt additional orders, guide-

    28  lines, practices, policies, rules or regulations relating to the market-
    29  ing practices of energy services companies to residential, small non-re-
    30  sidential and commercial customers, whether in person (including door to
    31  door), or by mail, telephone or other electronic  means,  that  are  not
    32  inconsistent with the provisions of this section.
    33    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    34  have become a law; provided however that the public  service  commission
    35  is  authorized  and  directed to take any and all actions, including but
    36  not limited to the promulgation of any  orders,  guidelines,  practices,
    37  policies, rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of
    38  this act on or before such effective date.
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