Bill Text: NY S00370 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes a public service commission nominating board to make recommendations of persons qualified for appointment as commissioners of the public service commission.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [S00370 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00370-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           370

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 4, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. GIANARIS, HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Tele-
          communications

        AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to  the  appointment
          of members of the public service commission

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 4 of the public service law, as  added  by  chapter
     2  584 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
     3    4.  Any  commissioner  appointed  on or after July first, two thousand
     4  twenty-two, pursuant to this section shall have education and  training,
     5  and  three  or  more years of experience in one or more of the following
     6  fields: economics, engineering, law,  accounting,  business  management,
     7  utility  regulation,  public  policy, consumer advocacy or environmental
     8  management and shall be qualified for such appointment  as  provided  in
     9  section four-a of this article.
    10    §  2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 4-a to
    11  read as follows:
    12    § 4-a. Public service  commission  nominating  board.  1.  Any  person
    13  appointed  as  a commissioner pursuant to the provisions of section four
    14  of this article shall be selected from a list of  individuals  nominated
    15  as provided in subdivision two of this section.
    16    2.  (a)  There shall be established in the department a public service
    17  commission nominating board consisting of the following:
    18    (1) a representative of the utility intervention unit of the  consumer
    19  protection division appointed by the secretary of state;
    20    (2)  the  president of the New York state energy research and develop-
    21  ment authority, or his or her designee;
    22    (3) the commissioner of economic development, or his or her designee;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02505-01-3
        S. 370                              2

     1    (4) the commissioner of environmental  conservation,  or  his  or  her
     2  designee;
     3    (5) the attorney general, or his or her designee;
     4    (6)  a  professional  engineer appointed by the commissioner of educa-
     5  tion, to serve at the pleasure of such commissioner;
     6    (7) a certified public accountant appointed  by  the  commissioner  of
     7  education, to serve at the pleasure of such commissioner;
     8    (8)  a person sixty-five years of age or older appointed by the direc-
     9  tor of the state office for the aging, to serve at the pleasure of  such
    10  director;
    11    (9) a representative of business entities regulated by the commission,
    12  appointed by the governor, to serve at the pleasure of the governor;
    13    (10)  a  representative of business entities that are not regulated by
    14  the commission, appointed by the governor, to serve at the  pleasure  of
    15  the governor;
    16    (11)  a representative of labor appointed by the governor, to serve at
    17  the pleasure of the governor;
    18    (12) two members of the public appointed by the speaker of the  assem-
    19  bly, to serve at the pleasure of the speaker;
    20    (13) two members of the public appointed by the temporary president of
    21  the senate, to serve at the pleasure of the temporary president;
    22    (14)  a  member  of the public appointed by the minority leader of the
    23  assembly, to serve at the pleasure of the minority leader; and
    24    (15) a member of the public appointed by the minority  leader  of  the
    25  senate, to serve at the pleasure of the minority leader.
    26    (b)  At  its  initial  meeting in each calendar year, such board shall
    27  select from among its members a chairperson. The board may adopt  bylaws
    28  governing its proceedings.
    29    (c) The public service commission nominating board shall keep a record
    30  of  its  proceedings. Special meetings may be called by the chairperson,
    31  and shall be called by the chairperson upon receipt of a written request
    32  for a meeting signed by two or more members of the board. Written notice
    33  of the time and place of each meeting shall be sent to  each  member  of
    34  the board.
    35    (d) The public service commission nominating board shall:
    36    (1)  Review and evaluate possible appointees for the office of commis-
    37  sioner of the commission;
    38    (2) Not more than eighty-five nor less than sixty days  prior  to  the
    39  expiration  of  the term of a commissioner, or not more than thirty days
    40  after the death or resignation  of  or  termination  of  service  by,  a
    41  commissioner, provide the governor with a list of four individuals meet-
    42  ing  the  qualifications of this section who are, in the judgment of the
    43  board, the most fully qualified to serve on the  commission.  The  board
    44  shall  not  include  the name of an individual upon any such list if the
    45  appointment of that individual by the governor would result in a greater
    46  number of members of the commission  belonging  to  the  same  political
    47  party than is permitted pursuant to section four of this article.
    48    (3)  In reviewing and evaluating possible appointees for the office of
    49  commissioner of the commission, the  board  may  accept  comments  from,
    50  cooperate with and request information from any person.
    51    (e)  Within thirty days of receipt of the board's recommendations, the
    52  governor shall appoint one of the persons recommended by  the  board  to
    53  fill  a vacancy occurring in the office of commissioner. Nothing in this
    54  section shall prevent the governor in  the  governor's  discretion  from
    55  rejecting  all of the nominees of the board and reconvening the board in
    56  order to select four additional nominees. However, when the governor has
        S. 370                              3

     1  reconvened the board and the board has  provided  the  governor  with  a
     2  second  list of four names, the governor shall make the appointment from
     3  one of the names on the first list or the second list.
     4    (f)  The  members of the board shall receive no compensation for their
     5  services on the board but shall be entitled to  reimbursement  of  their
     6  actual and necessary expenses.
     7    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
     8  it shall have become a law.