STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4696
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 14, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sen. FLANAGAN -- 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 clarifying the
mandatory time within which the public service commission must act
upon petitions submitted by regulated entities and the citizenry
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 5 of the public service law is amended by adding
2 two new subdivisions 7 and 8 to read as follows:
3 7. a. The commission shall take formal action upon all petitions
4 received by it within ninety days of the date of filing of such peti-
5 tion.
6 b. Within ninety days of the effective date of this subdivision the
7 commission shall take formal action upon all petitions pending before it
8 for which there is no statute of limitations or other statutory timeline
9 within which action must take place. If, however, the commission deter-
10 mines that taking formal action to determine some or all of such pending
11 petitions would not be in the public interest, the commission may issue
12 a report detailing the facts and circumstances upon which it based such
13 decision, to the governor, temporary president of the senate, speaker of
14 the assembly, minority leaders of the senate and assembly, chairperson
15 and ranking minority member of the senate energy and telecommunications
16 committee, and the chairperson and ranking minority member of the assem-
17 bly corporations, authorities and commissions committee.
18 c. For the purposes of this section, the term "petition" shall mean a
19 formal written request addressed to the commission, or to its delegates,
20 or to any successor in function, stating the facts and circumstances
21 relied upon as a cause for action by the commission. A "petition" shall
22 not include a prudency petition defined in paragraph c of subdivision
23 eight of this section.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09611-01-1
S. 4696 2
1 8. a. The commission shall take formal action upon all prudency
2 petitions received by it within thirty days of the date of filing of
3 such petition.
4 b. Within thirty days of the effective date of this subdivision the
5 commission shall take formal action upon all prudency petitions pending
6 before it.
7 c. For the purposes of this section, the term "prudency petition",
8 shall mean any petition requesting the commission commence an investi-
9 gation into any entity that the commission regulates that alleges impru-
10 dent behavior with respect to the operation and maintenance of such
11 entity, or the emergency planning and response of that entity that
12 results, will result, or has the potential to result, in increased costs
13 or rates to ratepayers.
14 § 2. Severability. If any provision of this act or its application to
15 any person or circumstance is held invalid, this invalidity does not
16 affect other provisions or applications of this act that can be given
17 effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the
18 provisions of this act are declared to be severable.
19 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
