Requires corporations and municipalities to notify property owners prior to beginning services that may interfere with a property owner's ability to use, or access such 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--C
Cal. No. 1177
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 -- recommitted to
the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications in accordance with
Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- reported favorably from said committee,
ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading, passed
by Senate and delivered to the Assembly, recalled, vote reconsidered,
restored to third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, 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-e to read as follows:
3 § 119-e. Notification to property owners. 1. Prior to beginning any
4 scheduled service that may interfere with a property owner's ability to
5 use, or access such owner's property, a gas corporation, an electric
6 corporation, a gas and electric corporation, a water corporation, a
7 steam corporation, a telegraph corporation, a telephone corporation or a
8 municipality rendering equivalent utility services shall provide notice
9 to such property owner that such service is to be performed. Such notice
10 shall include, but not be limited to, the service to be performed, the
11 expected duration of such service, the location of such service, any
12 road closures or detours that shall occur due to such service, any
13 necessary equipment, including service vehicles, that may intrude upon
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09978-08-4
S. 5918--C 2
1 the property owner's property or interfere with such property owner's
2 ability to use, or access such property owner's property, and the
3 contact information for the corporation or municipality performing such
4 service. Notice shall be given as far in advance as circumstances may
5 allow, but shall be given no more than thirty days in advance of the
6 start date of such service and no less than five days in advance of the
7 start of such service. Notice shall be provided to property owners
8 whose property boundaries are adjacent to such work to be performed, and
9 any other property owner such as a gas corporation, an electric corpo-
10 ration, a gas and electric corporation, a water corporation, a steam
11 corporation, a telegraph corporation, a telephone corporation or a muni-
12 cipality rendering equivalent utility services believes will be directly
13 impacted by such service to be performed.
14 2. A gas corporation, an electric corporation, a gas and electric
15 corporation, a water corporation, a steam corporation, a telegraph
16 corporation, a telephone corporation or a municipality rendering equiv-
17 alent utility services subject to the provisions of this section shall
18 provide notice to property owners, in writing or, when appropriate, via
19 electronic transmission and shall further make reasonable efforts to
20 contact property owners prior to beginning any scheduled service that
21 may interfere with a property owner's ability to use, or access such
22 property owner's property.
23 3. A gas corporation, an electric corporation, a gas and electric
24 corporation, a water corporation, a steam corporation, a telegraph
25 corporation, a telephone corporation or a municipality rendering equiv-
26 alent utility services subject to the provisions of this section shall
27 provide to property owners, as part of any notice required pursuant to
28 subdivision one or two of this section, direct contact information for
29 any subcontractor being used for such service.
30 4. The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of a
31 natural or man-made disaster or state of emergency pursuant to article
32 two-B of the executive law, or where the need to provide such notice
33 would prevent the timely installation, restoration or repair of a utili-
34 ty customer's service. Additionally, the provisions of this section
35 shall not apply to work scheduled at the request of the customer if the
36 utility has provided the customer written notice of the scheduled date.
37 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
38 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment
39 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
40 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
41 completed on or before such effective date.
