Bill Text: NY A03247 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires utility companies maintain a toll free number for consumers to call to report service outages which shall be made available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-6)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to ways and means [A03247 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A03247-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3247--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 22, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SAYEGH, DICKENS, GRIFFIN, MONTESANO, SEAWRIGHT, DeSTEFANO, GOTTFRIED, OTIS, SIMON, GALEF, THIELE, SANTABARBARA, TAGUE, DURSO, LAWLER -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. B. MILLER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes -- reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the public service law, the public authorities law and the general business law, in relation to requiring utility companies maintain a toll free number for reporting service outages 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. Toll free number for service outages. 1. Any gas corpo- 4 ration, electric corporation, gas and electric corporation, water corpo- 5 ration, steam corporation or a municipality rendering equivalent utility 6 services is required to establish, provide and maintain a toll free 7 phone number for consumers of such utility to call for reporting service 8 outages. Such toll free number shall: 9 a. be attended twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; 10 b. have the capacity to adequately address a surge in phone call 11 volume during an emergency situation or extreme weather conditions; 12 c. be posted clearly and conspicuously on the homepage of the utility 13 company's website; and 14 d. be posted clearly and conspicuously on the first page of each 15 consumer's billing statement. 16 2. The failure to comply with the provisions in this section shall 17 subject any gas corporation, electric corporation, gas and electric 18 corporation, water corporation, steam corporation or a municipality EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02590-09-1A. 3247--A 2 1 rendering equivalent utility services to the penalties authorized in 2 section twenty-five of this chapter. 3 3. Any municipality shall have the opportunity to petition the commis- 4 sion for an exemption from the requirements of this section if such 5 municipality can show that such requirements are unduly burdensome. 6 § 2. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section 7 1020-mm to read as follows: 8 § 1020-mm. Toll free number for service outages. 1. The service 9 provider shall be required to establish, provide and maintain a toll 10 free phone number for consumers of service provided by the service 11 provider to call for reporting service outages. Such toll free number 12 shall: 13 (a) be attended twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; 14 (b) have the capacity to adequately address a surge in phone call 15 volume during an emergency situation or extreme weather conditions; 16 (c) be posted clearly and conspicuously on the homepage of the author- 17 ity's website; and 18 (d) be posted clearly and conspicuously on the first page of each 19 consumer's billing statement. 20 2. The failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall 21 subject the service provider to the penalties authorized in section 22 twenty-five of the public service law. 23 § 3. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 24 399-yyyy to read as follows: 25 § 399-yyyy. Toll free number for cable television and internet service 26 outages. 1. Any cable television or internet service provider rendering 27 equivalent utility services is required to establish, provide and main- 28 tain a toll free phone number for consumers of such utility to call for 29 reporting service outages. Such toll free number shall: 30 (a) be attended twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; 31 (b) have the capacity to adequately address a surge in phone call 32 volume during an emergency situation or extreme weather conditions; 33 (c) be posted clearly and conspicuously on the homepage of the cable 34 television or internet service provider's website; and 35 (d) be posted clearly and conspicuously on the first page of each 36 consumer's billing statement. 37 2. The failure to comply with the provisions in this section shall 38 subject any cable television or internet service provider rendering 39 equivalent utility services to the penalties authorized in section twen- 40 ty-five of the public service law. 41 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 42 have become a law.