Requires corporations and municipalities to notify property owners prior to beginning services that may interfere with a property owner's ability to enjoy, use, or access such property owner's property; requires notice to include direct contact information for any subcontractor being used for such services; exempts cases where a natural or man-made disaster or state of emergency occurs.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5918--B
Cal. No. 879
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 22, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni-
cations -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported favorably from
said committee, ordered to first and second report, amended on second
report, ordered to a third reading, and to be reprinted as amended,
retaining its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring corpo-
rations and municipalities to notify property owners prior to begin-
ning certain services
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
2 119-d to read as follows:
3 § 119-d. Notification to property owners. 1. Prior to beginning any
4 scheduled service that may interfere with a property owner's ability to
5 enjoy, use, or access such property owner's property, a gas corporation,
6 an electric corporation, a gas and electric corporation, a water corpo-
7 ration, a steam corporation, a telegraph corporation, a telephone corpo-
8 ration or a municipality rendering equivalent utility services shall
9 provide notice to such property owner that such service is to be
10 performed. Such notice shall include, but not be limited to, the service
11 to be performed, the expected duration of such service, the location of
12 such service, any road closures or detours that shall occur due to such
13 service, any necessary equipment, including service vehicles, that may
14 intrude upon the property owner's property or interfere with such prop-
15 erty owner's ability to enjoy, use, or access such property owner's
16 property, and the contact information for the corporation or munici-
17 pality performing such service. Notice shall be given as far in advance
18 as circumstances may allow, but shall be given no more than thirty days
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09978-03-3
S. 5918--B 2
1 in advance of the start date of such service and no less than five days
2 in advance of the start of such service.
3 2. A gas corporation, an electric corporation, a gas and electric
4 corporation, a water corporation, a steam corporation, a telegraph
5 corporation, a telephone corporation or a municipality rendering equiv-
6 alent utility services subject to the provisions of this section shall
7 provide notice to property owners, in writing or, when appropriate, via
8 electronic transmission and shall further make reasonable efforts to
9 contact property owners prior to beginning any scheduled service that
10 may interfere with a property owner's ability to enjoy, use, or access
11 such property owner's property.
12 3. A gas corporation, an electric corporation, a gas and electric
13 corporation, a water corporation, a steam corporation, a telegraph
14 corporation, a telephone corporation or a municipality rendering equiv-
15 alent utility services subject to the provisions of this section shall
16 provide to property owners, as part of any notice required pursuant to
17 subdivision one or two of this section, direct contact information for
18 any subcontractor being used for such service.
19 4. The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of a
20 natural or man-made disaster or state of emergency pursuant to article
21 two-B of the executive law, or where the need to provide such notice
22 would prevent the timely installation, restoration or repair of a utili-
23 ty customer's service.
24 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
25 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment
26 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
27 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
28 completed on or before such effective date.
