Bill Text: NY S07294 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enacts the "utility penalty adjustment"; adjusts utility penalties to account for inflation; increases such penalties and ties them to inflation after January 1, 2025.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-04 - referred to corporations, authorities and commissions [S07294 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S07294-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7294 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 19, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HINCHEY -- 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, in relation to certain penalties The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "utility penalty adjustment". 3 § 2. Subdivisions 2, 3 and 4 of section 25 of the public service law, 4 subdivisions 3 and 4 as added by chapter 665 of the laws of 1980 and 5 subdivision 2, paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 and paragraph (a) of 6 subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 375 of the laws of 1986, are amended 7 and a new subdivision 4-a is added to read as follows: 8 2. Any public utility company, corporation or person and the officers, 9 agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to obey or 10 comply with a provision of this chapter or an order adopted under 11 authority of this chapter so long as the same shall be in force, shall 12 forfeit to the people of the state of New York a sum not exceeding [one] 13 two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty 14 for each and every offense and, in the case of a continuing violation, 15 each day shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense. 16 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this section, 17 any such public utility company, corporation or person and the officers, 18 agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to obey or 19 comply with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regulation 20 adopted under the authority of this chapter, adopted specifically for 21 the protection of human safety, including but not limited to the commis- 22 sion's code of gas safety regulations shall, if it is determined by the 23 commission that such safety violation caused or constituted a contribut- 24 ing factor in bringing about a death or personal injury, forfeit to the 25 state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater of: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10392-03-3S. 7294 2 1 (a) [two] six hundred [and fifty] seventy-five thousand dollars 2 constituting a civil penalty for each separate and distinct offense; 3 provided, however, that for purposes of this paragraph each day of a 4 continuing violation shall not be deemed a separate and distinct 5 offense. The total period of a continuing violation, as well as every 6 distinct violation, shall be similarly treated as a separate and 7 distinct offense for purposes of this paragraph; or 8 (b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision 9 two of this section. 10 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one or two of this 11 section, a public utility company, corporation or person and the offi- 12 cers, agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to 13 obey or comply with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regu- 14 lation adopted under authority of this chapter, designed to protect the 15 overall reliability and continuity of electric service, shall forfeit to 16 the state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater of: 17 (a) [five] one million three hundred fifty thousand dollars constitut- 18 ing a civil penalty for each separate and distinct offense; provided, 19 however, that for purposes of this paragraph each day of a continuing 20 violation shall not be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total 21 period of a continuing violation, as well as every distinct violation, 22 shall be similarly treated as a separate and distinct offense for 23 purposes of this paragraph; or 24 (b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision 25 two of this section. 26 4-a. On January first, two thousand twenty-five, and on each following 27 January first, the penalties set forth in subdivisions two, three and 28 four of this section shall be increased by the sum of the rate of 29 inflation, if greater than zero, as measured by the change in the aver- 30 age for the twelve months through June of the current year, divided by 31 the average for the twelve months through June of the preceding year in 32 the consumer price index. 33 § 3. Subdivisions 3, 4, 5 and 6 of section 25-a of the public service 34 law, as added by section 2 of part X of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, 35 are amended and two new subdivisions 7-a and 7-b are added to read as 36 follows: 37 3. Any combination gas and electric corporation determined by the 38 commission to have failed to reasonably comply as shown by a preponder- 39 ance of the evidence with a provision of this chapter, regulation or an 40 order adopted under authority of this chapter so long as the same shall 41 be in force shall forfeit a sum not exceeding the greater of [one] five 42 hundred fifty thousand dollars or two one-hundredths of one percent of 43 the annual intrastate gross operating revenue of the corporation, not 44 including taxes paid to and revenues collected on behalf of government 45 entities, constituting a civil penalty for each and every offense and, 46 in the case of a continuing violation, each day shall be deemed a sepa- 47 rate and distinct offense. 48 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this 49 section, any such combination gas and electric corporation determined by 50 the commission to have failed to reasonably comply with a provision of 51 this chapter, or an order or regulation adopted under the authority of 52 this chapter specifically for the protection of human safety or 53 prevention of significant damage to real property, including, but not 54 limited to, the commission's code of gas safety regulations shall, if it 55 is determined by the commission by a preponderance of the evidence that 56 such safety violation caused or constituted a contributing factor inS. 7294 3 1 bringing about: (a) a death or personal injury; or (b) damage to real 2 property in excess of fifty thousand dollars, forfeit a sum not to 3 exceed the greater of: 4 (i) [two] six hundred [fifty] seventy-five thousand dollars or three 5 one-hundredths of one percent of the annual intrastate gross operating 6 revenue of the corporation, not including taxes paid to and revenues 7 collected on behalf of government entities, whichever is greater, 8 constituting a civil penalty for each separate and distinct offense; 9 provided, however, that for purposes of this paragraph, each day of a 10 continuing violation shall not be deemed a separate and distinct 11 offense. The total period of a continuing violation, as well as every 12 distinct violation, shall be similarly treated as a separate and 13 distinct offense for purposes of this paragraph; or 14 (ii) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision 15 three of this section. 16 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three or four of this 17 section, a combination gas and electric corporation determined by the 18 commission to have failed to reasonably comply by a preponderance of the 19 evidence with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regulation 20 adopted under authority of this chapter, designed to protect the overall 21 reliability and continuity of electric service, including but not limit- 22 ed to the restoration of electric service following a major outage event 23 or emergency, shall forfeit a sum not to exceed the greater of: 24 (a) [five] one million three hundred fifty thousand dollars or four 25 one-hundredths of one percent of the annual intrastate gross operating 26 revenue of the corporation, not including taxes paid to and revenues 27 collected on behalf of government entities, whichever is greater, 28 constituting a civil penalty for each separate and distinct offense; 29 provided, however, that for purposes of this paragraph each day of a 30 continuing violation shall not be deemed a separate and distinct 31 offense. The total period of a continuing violation, as well as every 32 distinct violation shall be similarly treated as a separate and distinct 33 offense for purposes of this paragraph; or 34 (b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision 35 three of this section. 36 6. Any officer of any combination gas and electric corporation deter- 37 mined by the commission to have violated the provisions of subdivision 38 three, four, or five of this section, and who knowingly violates a 39 provision of this chapter, regulation or an order adopted under authori- 40 ty of this chapter so long as the same shall be in force shall forfeit a 41 sum not to exceed [one] two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars 42 constituting a civil penalty for each and every offense and, in the case 43 of a continuing violation, each day shall be deemed a separate and 44 distinct offense. 45 7-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three, four, five, 46 or six of this section, a combination gas and electric corporation 47 determined by the commission to have failed to satisfy its duty of 48 candor with the public shall forfeit a sum not to exceed five hundred 49 thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for each and every offense 50 and, in the case of a continuing violation, each day shall be deemed a 51 separate and distinct offense. 52 7-b. On January first, two thousand twenty-five, and on each following 53 January first, the penalties set forth in subdivisions three, four, 54 five, six and seven-a of this section shall be increased by the sum of 55 the rate of inflation, if greater than zero, as measured by the change 56 in the average for the twelve months through June of the current year,S. 7294 4 1 divided by the average for the twelve months through June of the preced- 2 ing year in the consumer price index. 3 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 4 have become a law.