Bill Text: NY S04234 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Prohibits utility corporations from charging customers for gas or electric service which was rendered more than two months prior to the mailing of the first bill to the customer; requires utility corporations to provide a two-year history of charges in their bills.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-12-22 - APPROVAL MEMO.84 [S04234 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04234-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4234--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 6, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
          cations  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to the  finality  of
          certain utility charges and the contents of utility bills

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 41 of the public service  law,  as
     2  added by chapter 713 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
     3    1.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no utility corporation
     4  or municipality [may] shall charge a residential  customer  for  gas  or
     5  electric  service which was rendered more than [six] two months prior to
     6  the mailing of the first bill to the customer for  such  service  unless
     7  the  failure  of  the corporation or municipality to bill sooner was not
     8  due to the neglect of the corporation or municipality or was due to  the
     9  culpable  conduct  of  the  customer. If the customer remains liable for
    10  such service, the utility shall permit payments  to  be  made  under  an
    11  installment payment plan, provided, however, that the utility or munici-
    12  pality  may  require prompt payment if the non-billing resulted from the
    13  culpable conduct of the customer. Any such installment payment plan  may
    14  provide  for a downpayment of up to one-half of the amounts due from the
    15  customer, or three months average billing, whichever is less.
    16    § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 41-a to
    17  read as follows:
    18    § 41-a. Finality of charges; non-residential customers.  Notwithstand-
    19  ing any other provision of law, no utility corporation  or  municipality
    20  shall  charge  a  non-residential  customer  for gas or electric service
    21  which was rendered more than two months prior  to  the  mailing  of  the
    22  first  bill  to  the customer for such service unless the failure of the
    23  corporation or municipality to bill sooner was not due to the negligence

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04105-05-3
        S. 4234--A                          2

     1  or neglect of the corporation or municipality or was due to the culpable
     2  conduct of the customer.
     3    §  3.  Section 44 of the public service law is amended by adding a new
     4  subdivision 7 to read as follows:
     5    7. As part of every billing, the utility corporation  or  municipality
     6  shall provide both in graph and written form, for the prior two years of
     7  the  customer  or  the  prior customers at the same address, the monthly
     8  usage of the customer, the monthly  unit  charges  for  usage,  and  the
     9  monthly  billing  charge  amount to the customer. This requirement shall
    10  apply to both residential and non-residential customers.
    11    § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    12  ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.