Bill Text: NY A06181 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Requires a safety and reliability inspection of all telephone poles used by telephone corporations providing telephone service to more than one million subscribers and the replacement or removal of deficient poles.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 49-15)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-07-11 - enacting clause stricken [A06181 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-A06181-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Requires a safety and reliability inspection of all telephone poles used by telephone corporations providing telephone service to more than one million subscribers and the replacement or removal of deficient poles.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 49-15)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-07-11 - enacting clause stricken [A06181 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-A06181-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6181
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 9, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HOYT, BOYLAND, SPANO, PHEFFER, MAGNARELLI,
JAFFEE, MAISEL, LUPARDO, COLTON, GALEF, GABRYSZAK, SCHROEDER, CASTRO,
WEISENBERG, MILLMAN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CALHOUN, HIKIND,
LATIMER, LIFTON, McENENY, McKEVITT, PAULIN, SAYWARD, THIELE, TITUS,
ZEBROWSKI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations,
Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring a safe-
ty and reliability inspection of all telephone poles used by telephone
corporations providing telephone service to more than one million
subscribers and the replacement or removal of deficient poles
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby declares that
2 unsafe, inadequate or unreliable telephone poles are a danger to the
3 general public and to telecommunications workers; that such telephone
4 poles impair the effective delivery of telecommunications services; and
5 that the public interest requires increased oversight of the safety and
6 reliability of jurisdictional telecommunications services carried over
7 or by above ground telephone lines, as such are defined in article 1 of
8 the public service law; and that the public interest requires a set of
9 minimum fines to ensure compliance with this statute by each telephone
10 corporation serving over one million subscribers.
11 S 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 98-a to
12 read as follows:
13 S 98-A. SAFETY AND RELIABILITY INSPECTION. 1. THE PUBLIC SERVICE
14 COMMISSION SHALL, WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS
15 SECTION, REQUIRE TELEPHONE CORPORATIONS PROVIDING TELEPHONE SERVICE TO
16 MORE THAN ONE MILLION SUBSCRIBERS, TO CONDUCT A STUDY OF THE SAFETY AND
17 RELIABILITY OF ALL TELEPHONE POLES USED BY SUCH CORPORATIONS TO PROVIDE
18 TELEPHONE SERVICE WITHIN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, AND TO REPORT UPON THE
19 FOLLOWING FACTORS:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07005-01-1
A. 6181 2
1 (A) THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TELEPHONE POLES PER COUNTY;
2 (B) THE NUMBER OF TELEPHONE POLES WITHIN EACH COUNTY THAT ARE SPLIT OR
3 SHATTERED FOR MORE THAN FIVE PERCENT OF THE LENGTH OF SUCH POLES;
4 (C) THE NUMBER OF TELEPHONE POLES PER COUNTY THAT ARE SEVERED OR
5 PARTIALLY SEVERED FROM THEIR BASE;
6 (D) THE NUMBER OF TELEPHONE POLES PER COUNTY THAT ARE ATTACHED DIRECT-
7 LY TO OTHER TELEPHONE POLES ("STRAPPED") BY MEANS OTHER THAN THE UTILITY
8 LINES CONNECTING SUCH POLES;
9 (E) THE NUMBER OF STRAPPED POLES, OF WHICH EITHER OR BOTH POLES ARE
10 SPLIT OR SHATTERED FOR MORE THAN FIVE PERCENT OF THE LENGTH OF SUCH
11 POLES;
12 (F) ANY POLES THAT NO LONGER COMPLY WITH ANSI SAFETY STANDARD O5.1;
13 AND
14 (G) ANY TELEPHONE POLES FROM WHICH ALL ELECTRICAL, TELEPHONE AND CABLE
15 EQUIPMENT OR ELECTRICAL, TELEPHONE AND CABLE LINES HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY
16 REMOVED FROM THE POLES AND TO WHICH NO NEW TELEPHONE, ELECTRICAL OR
17 CABLE PLANT AND EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN ATTACHED FOR AT LEAST THIRTY DAYS.
18 2. TELEPHONE POLES IDENTIFIED IN SUBDIVISIONS (B), (C), (D), (E), (F)
19 AND (G) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE PRESUMED TO BE NO
20 LONGER SAFE, ADEQUATE OR RELIABLE FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE AND AN
21 ENDANGERMENT TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS WORKERS, AND
22 SHALL BE SUBJECT TO SUCH STANDARDS FOR REPLACEMENT OF UNSAFE POLES, OR
23 FINES, OR BOTH, AS MAY BE REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION.
24 3. THE TELEPHONE POLE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY STUDY REQUIRED BY THIS
25 SECTION SHALL BE COMPLETED BY EACH TELEPHONE CORPORATION SERVING MORE
26 THAN ONE MILLION SUBSCRIBERS WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF
27 THIS SECTION. THE TELEPHONE POLE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY STUDY REQUIRED
28 BY THIS SECTION SHALL CONTAIN SUCH TELEPHONE CORPORATION'S PLAN (THE
29 "CORRECTIVE PLAN") FOR REPLACING, WITHIN ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS OF THE
30 ISSUANCE OF SUCH REPORT (THE CORRECTIVE PLAN "COMPLETION DATE"), ALL
31 POLES SPLIT OR SHATTERED FOR MORE THAN FIVE PERCENT OF THE LENGTH OF
32 SUCH POLES, ALL POLES SEVERED OR PARTIALLY SEVERED FROM THEIR BASE, ALL
33 POLES THAT ARE STRAPPED DIRECTLY TO OTHER TELEPHONE POLES, ALL POLES
34 FROM WHICH ALL ELECTRICAL, TELEPHONE AND CABLE EQUIPMENT OR ELECTRICAL,
35 TELEPHONE AND CABLE LINES HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY REMOVED FROM THE POLES
36 AND TO WHICH NO NEW TELEPHONE, ELECTRICAL OR CABLE PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
37 HAS BEEN ATTACHED FOR AT LEAST THIRTY DAYS, (COLLECTIVELY, "UNSAFE"
38 POLES).
39 4. UPON ITS COMPLETION, THE TELEPHONE POLE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY
40 STUDY REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION SHALL BE SUBMITTED AS A REPORT, BY EACH
41 TELEPHONE CORPORATION SERVING MORE THAN ONE MILLION SUBSCRIBERS TO THE
42 PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, THE GOVERNOR, THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE
43 SENATE, THE SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY, AND THE CHAIR OF BOTH THE SENATE
44 AND ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEES ON CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND
45 COMMISSIONS.
46 5. THE STUDY TO BE COMPLETED BY THE TELEPHONE CORPORATION SHALL INCOR-
47 PORATE REPORTS OF POLES NON COMPLIANT WITH THE FACTORS IDENTIFIED IN
48 SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION PROVIDED TO THE TELEPHONE CORPORATION BY
49 MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, TELEPHONE CORPORATION UNIONS, AND LOCAL,
50 MUNICIPAL, COUNTY, AND STATE GOVERNMENT AND AGENCIES.
51 6. ALL TELEPHONE POLES IDENTIFIED AS UNSAFE OR NONCOMPLIANT WITH ANSI
52 SAFETY STANDARD O5.1, IN THE CORRECTIVE PLAN REQUIRED IN THE TELEPHONE
53 POLE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY STUDY, SHALL BE REPLACED BY THE TELEPHONE
54 CORPORATION OWNING SUCH POLES, WITHIN ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS OF THE
55 ISSUANCE OF SUCH REPORT.
A. 6181 3
1 7. REPLACEMENT OF THE POLES IDENTIFIED AS UNSAFE OR NONCOMPLIANT IN
2 THE CORRECTIVE PLAN SHALL BE CONDUCTED BY PROPERLY TRAINED, EXPERIENCED
3 AND EQUIPPED EMPLOYEES OF EACH TELEPHONE CORPORATION SERVING OVER ONE
4 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS PREPARING THE STUDY.
5 8. A FINE OF ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS PER MONTH PER UN-REPLACED POLE
6 SHALL BE ASSESSED AGAINST EACH TELEPHONE POLE THAT A TELEPHONE CORPO-
7 RATION SERVING MORE THAN ONE MILLION SUBSCRIBERS HAS IDENTIFIED AS
8 UNSAFE OR NONCOMPLIANT IN ITS STUDY, AND HAS NOT REPLACED WITHIN ONE
9 HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS OF THE ISSUANCE OF THE TELEPHONE POLE SAFETY AND
10 RELIABILITY REPORT.
11 S 3. The public service commission shall begin, within ninety days of
12 the effective date of this act, a rulemaking proceeding to establish
13 statewide safety and reliability standards for wooden telephone poles,
14 and to establish penalties for the violation of such standards. Penal-
15 ties for violation of established standards shall not be less than $150
16 per month per un-replaced pole. The rulemaking proceeding to establish
17 statewide safety and reliability standards for wooden telephone poles
18 and to establish penalties for the violation of such standards shall be
19 completed within one year of its inception.
20 S 4. Severability. If any provision of this act, or the application
21 thereof to any person or circumstance, shall be adjudged by any court of
22 competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such judgment
23 shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall
24 be confined in its operation to the provision of this act, or in its
25 application to the person or circumstance, directly involved in the
26 controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
27 S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
