Bill Text: NY S02619 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to establishing the furloughed or non-pay federal workers revolving loan program and fund; provides zero percent interest loans to residential electric and natural gas customers who have been either furloughed or designated non-pay federal employees due to a period of a lapse in discretionary appropriations by the federal government in order to assist such customers in paying their electric and gas bills.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [S02619 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S02619-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2619

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 23, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
          cations

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the public service law and the state finance law, in
          relation to establishing the furloughed  or  non-pay  federal  workers
          revolving  loan program and fund; and providing for the repeal of such
          provisions upon expiration thereof

          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  66-u to read as follows:
     3    § 66-u. Furloughed or non-pay federal workers  loan  program.  1.  The
     4  commission  shall create a furloughed or non-pay federal workers revolv-
     5  ing loan program in order to provide  zero  percent  interest  loans  to
     6  residential  electric  and  natural  gas  customers who have been either
     7  furloughed or designated non-pay federal employees due to a period of  a
     8  lapse in discretionary appropriations by the federal government in order
     9  to assist such customers in paying their electric and gas bills.
    10    2.  (a) The commission may make, upon application duly made, up to the
    11  amounts available by appropriation, loans for the  payment  of  electric
    12  and gas bills by eligible customers.
    13    (b)  The  commission shall have the power to make such rules and regu-
    14  lations as may be necessary and proper to  effectuate  the  purposes  of
    15  this section.
    16    3.  (a)  Application for loans may be made by residential electric and
    17  natural gas customers who have  been  either  furloughed  or  designated
    18  non-pay  federal  employees  due to a period of a lapse in discretionary
    19  appropriations by the federal government.
    20    (b) Every application shall be in a form acceptable to the  commission
    21  and  shall  require  documentation demonstrating financial need and that
    22  the applicant has been furloughed or designated non-pay as a result of a

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06350-01-3
        S. 2619                             2

     1  period of a lapse in discretionary appropriations by the federal govern-
     2  ment.
     3    § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-qq to
     4  read as follows:
     5    § 99-qq. Furloughed or non-pay federal workers revolving loan fund. 1.
     6  There  is hereby established in the joint custody of the comptroller and
     7  the public service commission a fund to be known as the  "furloughed  or
     8  non-pay  federal worker revolving loan fund". Such fund shall consist of
     9  moneys made available pursuant to appropriation and any other sources in
    10  order to provide zero percent interest loans to residential electric and
    11  natural gas customers who have  been  either  furloughed  or  designated
    12  non-pay  federal employees pursuant to section sixty-six-u of the public
    13  service law.
    14    2. The fund shall consist of all moneys appropriated for its  purpose,
    15  all  moneys  transferred  to  such  fund pursuant to law, and all moneys
    16  required by this section or any other law to be paid into or credited to
    17  this fund, including all moneys received by the fund or donated  to  it,
    18  payments  of  principal  on  loans  made from the fund, and any interest
    19  earnings which may accrue from the investment or reinvestment of  moneys
    20  from the fund.
    21    3.  Moneys  of  the  fund,  when  allocated, shall be available to the
    22  public service commission to make loans as provided  in  section  sixty-
    23  six-u of the public service law. Up to five percent of the moneys of the
    24  fund  may  be  used  to pay the expenses, including personal service and
    25  maintenance and operation, in connection with the administration of such
    26  loans.
    27    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
    28  deemed repealed one year after it shall have become a law.