Bill Text: NY A06357 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An act to amend the public service law, in relation to providing for a discount for utility service to any benevolent or fraternal order or society incorporated under and pursuant to the laws of this state
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-06-01 - held for consideration in corporations, authorities and commissions [A06357 Detail]
Download: New_York-2009-A06357-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 6357 2009-2010 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y March 2, 2009 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MILLER, TOWNSEND -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to providing for a discount for utility service to any benevolent or fraternal order or society incorporated under and pursuant to the laws of this state THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Section 2 of the public service law is amended by adding a 2 new subdivision 5 to read as follows: 3 5. THE TERM "BENEVOLENT OR FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION", WHEN USED IN THIS 4 CHAPTER, INCLUDES ANY BENEVOLENT OR FRATERNAL ORDER OR SOCIETY INCORPO- 5 RATED UNDER AND PURSUANT TO THE LAWS OF THIS STATE. 6 S 2. Section 66 of the public service law is amended by adding a new 7 subdivision 29 to read as follows: 8 29. WITH RESPECT TO THE DETERMINATION OF FAIR AND REASONABLE 9 DISCOUNTS, THE COMMISSION SHALL DETERMINE SUCH DISCOUNTS AS FOLLOWS: 10 (A) WHERE THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL AND NON-RESIDEN- 11 TIAL RATES, THE DISCOUNTED RATE SHALL BE THE RESIDENTIAL RATE; AND 12 (B) WHERE THERE IS NO SUCH DIFFERENTIAL, THE DISCOUNT SHALL BE FAIR 13 AND REASONABLE AND NO LESS THAN TEN PERCENT NOR MORE THAN TWENTY-FIVE 14 PERCENT. 15 S 3. Section 76 of the public service law, as amended by chapter 82 of 16 the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 17 S 76. Rates charged veteran organizations, religious bodies and commu- 18 nity residences, AND BENEVOLENT OR FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS. No gas 19 corporation, electric corporation or municipality shall, directly or 20 indirectly, charge, demand, collect or receive from any post or hall 21 owned or leased by a not-for-profit corporation that is a veterans' 22 organization, or corporation or association organized and conducted in 23 good faith for religious purposes, including the operation by such 24 corporation or association of a school, notwithstanding that secular EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03744-02-9 A. 6357 2 1 subjects are taught at such school, [or] from a community residence as 2 defined in subdivision twenty-eight, twenty-eight-a or twenty-eight-b of 3 section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, provided, however, that such 4 residence shall be operated by a not-for-profit corporation and if 5 supervisory staff is on site on a twenty-four hour per day basis, that 6 the residence provides living accommodations for fourteen or fewer resi- 7 dents, OR FROM A BENEVOLENT OR FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION, a rate, regard- 8 less of the type of service offered, for any gas or electric service 9 utilized exclusively in connection with such veteran organization or for 10 such religious purposes or utilized exclusively at such community resi- 11 dence, OR BENEVOLENT OR FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION PURPOSES, greater than 12 the rates or charges charged, demanded, collected or received by such 13 gas corporation, electric corporation or municipality from domestic 14 consumers receiving single-phase service within the same village, town 15 or municipality. 16 S 4. Section 79 of the public service law is amended by adding a new 17 subdivision 6 to read as follows: 18 6. THE COMMISSION SHALL REQUIRE EACH STEAM CORPORATION PROVIDING STEAM 19 SERVICE, INSTRUMENTALITIES, OR FACILITIES TO ANY BENEVOLENT OR FRATERNAL 20 ORGANIZATION TO PROVIDE THE SAME AT A DISCOUNT, THE AMOUNT THEREOF TO BE 21 AS THE COMMISSION SHALL DETERMINE TO BE FAIR AND REASONABLE. 22 S 5. Section 89-b of the public service law is amended by adding a new 23 subdivision 8 to read as follows: 24 8. THE COMMISSION SHALL REQUIRE EACH WATER-WORKS CORPORATION PROVIDING 25 WATER SERVICE, INSTRUMENTALITIES, OR FACILITIES TO ANY BENEVOLENT OR 26 FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION TO PROVIDE THE SAME AT A DISCOUNT, THE AMOUNT 27 THEREOF TO BE AS THE COMMISSION SHALL DETERMINE TO BE FAIR AND REASON- 28 ABLE. 29 S 6. Subdivision 3 of section 92 of the public service law, as amended 30 by chapter 124 of the laws of 1911, is amended and a new subdivision 3-b 31 is added to read as follows: 32 3. No telegraph corporation or telephone corporation subject to the 33 provisions of this chapter shall, directly or indirectly, give any free 34 or reduced service, or any free pass or frank for the transmission of 35 messages by either telephone or telegraph between points within this 36 state, except to its officers, employees, agents, pensioners, surgeons, 37 physicians, attorneys-at-law and their families; to persons or corpo- 38 rations exclusively engaged in charitable and eleemosynary work and 39 ministers of religions; TO BENEVOLENT OR FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS; to 40 officers and employees of other telegraph corporations and telephone 41 corporations, railroad corporations and street railroad corporations. 42 But this subdivision shall not apply to state, municipal or federal 43 contracts. 44 3-B. THE COMMISSION SHALL REQUIRE EACH TELEPHONE CORPORATION PROVIDING 45 TELEPHONE SERVICE TO ANY BENEVOLENT OR FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION IN THIS 46 STATE TO PROVIDE SUCH SERVICE AT A DISCOUNT, THE AMOUNT THEREOF TO BE AS 47 THE COMMISSION SHALL DETERMINE TO BE FAIR AND REASONABLE. 48 S 7. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 49 it shall have become a law; provided that, the public service commission 50 is authorized and directed to immediately promulgate any and all rules 51 and regulations and take any other measures, including ratemaking 52 proceedings, necessary to implement this act.