Bill Text: NY S06619 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to public hearing requirements before a gas or electric corporation closes a call center.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2014-12-17 - SIGNED CHAP.520 [S06619 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-S06619-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         6619
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   February 14, 2014
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sens. SAVINO, MAZIARZ -- 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 public hearing
         requirements before a gas or electric corporation closes a call center
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 13 of section 65 of the public
    2  service  law, as added by chapter 330 of the laws of 2010, is amended to
    3  read as follows:
    4    (b) No gas or electric corporation shall close a call center or  other
    5  facility providing the customer assistance set forth in paragraph (a) of
    6  this subdivision or relocate such customer assistance to another area of
    7  New  York  state or outside of New York state without notice and hearing
    8  before the commission.  UPON RECEIPT OF THE NOTICE REQUIRED PURSUANT  TO
    9  THIS  PARAGRAPH,  THE  COMMISSION  SHALL  PROMPTLY  FIX  A  DATE FOR THE
   10  COMMENCEMENT OF A PUBLIC HEARING THEREON NOT LESS THAN TWENTY  NOR  MORE
   11  THAN  SIXTY  DAYS  AFTER  SUCH  RECEIPT. THE TESTIMONY PRESENTED AT SUCH
   12  HEARING MAY BE PRESENTED IN WRITING OR ORALLY, PROVIDED THAT THE COMMIS-
   13  SION MAY MAKE RULES DESIGNED TO EXCLUDE REPETITIVE, REDUNDANT OR  IRREL-
   14  EVANT TESTIMONY.  THE COMMISSION SHALL MAKE A RECORD OF ALL TESTIMONY IN
   15  ALL  CONTESTED  HEARINGS.  FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION "PUBLIC HEARING"
   16  MEANS A PUBLIC FORUM AT A  PHYSICAL  LOCATION,  ATTENDED  BY  COMMISSION
   17  MEMBERS OR THEIR DESIGNEES, WHERE ORAL TESTIMONY IS ACCEPTED AND WRITTEN
   18  TESTIMONY MAY BE SUBMITTED FOR INCLUSION IN THE RECORD. SUCH FORUM SHALL
   19  BE  OPEN  TO  PARTIES  TO  THE PROCEEDING AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC FOR THE
   20  PRESENTATION OF COMMENTS THAT SHALL BE LIMITED TO RELEVANT FACTS DIRECT-
   21  LY RELATED  TO  THE  PROCEEDING  IN  QUESTION.  SUCH  HEARING  SHALL  BE
   22  COMMENCED  UPON  PROPER  NOTICE TO THE PARTIES TO THE PROCEEDING AND THE
   23  PUBLIC AT LEAST FOURTEEN DAYS PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED DATE.
   24    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD13865-02-4