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.
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