Bill Text: NY S07668 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits utility termination of services due to the COVID-19 pandemic for residential and small business customers who experience a financial hardship due to the pandemic.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-03 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S07668 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S07668-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7668 IN SENATE January 5, 2022 ___________ 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, in relation to prohibiting termination of utility services due to financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; repealing certain provisions of such law relat- ing thereto; 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. Subdivisions 8 and 9 of section 32 of the public service 2 law are REPEALED and four new subdivisions 8, 9, 11 and 12 are added to 3 read as follows: 4 8. Every utility corporation or municipality shall provide notice to 5 residential and small business customers, in a writing to be included 6 with a bill statement or, when appropriate, via electronic transmission 7 the provisions of this section and shall further make reasonable efforts 8 to contact customers who have experienced a financial hardship due to 9 the COVID-19 pandemic for the purpose of offering such customers a 10 deferred payment agreement consistent with the provisions of this arti- 11 cle. 12 9. Implementation of the provisions of this section shall not prohibit 13 a utility or municipality from recovering lost or deferred revenues 14 after June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-two, pursuant to such means 15 for recovery as are provided for in this chapter, and by means not 16 inconsistent with any of the provisions of this article. Nothing in 17 this section shall prohibit a utility corporation or municipality from 18 disconnecting service necessary to protect the health and safety of 19 customers and the public. 20 11. No utility corporation or municipality shall terminate or discon- 21 nect the service of a residential customer or small business customer 22 because of defaulted deferred payment agreements or arrears owed to the 23 utility corporation or municipality when such customer has experienced a 24 financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as defined by the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14169-03-2S. 7668 2 1 department. The utility corporation or municipality shall provide such 2 residential or small business customer with the right to enter into, or 3 restructure, a deferred payment agreement without the requirement of a 4 down payment, late fees, or penalties, as such is provided for in this 5 article with such prohibition on down payments, late fees, or penalties 6 applicable to all arrears incurred during such deferment pursuant to 7 this subdivision. For purposes of this section the department shall 8 define the term "small business customer." 9 12. A utility corporation or municipality shall have a duty to restore 10 service, to the extent not already required under this chapter, to any 11 residential or small business customer that has experienced financial 12 hardship from the COVID-19 pandemic within forty-eight hours if such 13 service has been terminated for the default of a deferred payment agree- 14 ment or non-payment of arrears and with no penalties for such termi- 15 nation or restoration of service. 16 § 2. Subdivision 12 of section 89-b of the public service law, as 17 added by chapter 106 of the laws of 2021, is renumbered subdivision 13. 18 § 3. Subdivisions 10 and 11 of section 89-b of the public service law 19 are REPEALED, and four new subdivisions 10, 11, 14 and 15 are added to 20 read as follows: 21 10. Every water-works corporation shall provide notice to residential 22 and small business customers, in a writing to be included with a bill 23 statement or, when appropriate, via electronic transmission the 24 provisions of this section and shall further make reasonable efforts to 25 contact customers who have experienced a financial hardship due to the 26 COVID-19 pandemic for the purpose of offering such customers a deferred 27 payment agreement consistent with the provisions of this article. 28 11. Implementation of the provisions of this section shall not prohib- 29 it a water-works corporation from recovering lost or deferred revenues 30 after June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-two, pursuant to such means 31 for recovery as are provided for in this chapter, and by means not 32 inconsistent with any of the provisions of this article. Nothing in 33 this section shall prohibit a water-works corporation from disconnecting 34 service necessary to protect the health and safety of customers and the 35 public. 36 14. No water-works corporation shall terminate or disconnect the 37 service of a residential or small business customer account because of 38 defaulted deferred payment agreements or arrears owed to the water-works 39 corporation when such customer has experienced a financial hardship due 40 to the COVID-19 pandemic, as defined by the department. The water-works 41 corporation shall provide such residential or small business customer 42 with the right to enter into, or restructure, a deferred payment agree- 43 ment without the requirement of a down payment, late fees, or penalties, 44 as such is provided for in this article with such prohibition on down 45 payments, late fees, or penalties applicable to all arrears incurred 46 during such deferment pursuant to this subdivision. For purposes of this 47 section the department shall define the term "small business customer." 48 15. Water-works corporations shall have a duty to restore service, to 49 the extent not already required under this chapter, to any residential 50 or small business customer that has experienced financial hardship from 51 the COVID-19 pandemic within forty-eight hours if such service has been 52 terminated for the default of a deferred payment agreement or non-pay- 53 ment of arrears and with no penalties for such termination or restora- 54 tion of service.S. 7668 3 1 § 4. Subdivisions 5 and 5-a of section 89-l of the public service law 2 are REPEALED and four new subdivisions 5, 5-a, 7 and 8 are added to read 3 as follows: 4 5. Every municipality shall provide notice, in the same frequency that 5 the customer receives a regular bill, to residential customers, non-re- 6 sidential customers whose accounts service residential premises, and 7 small business customers in a writing to be included with a bill state- 8 ment or, when appropriate, via electronic transmission the provisions of 9 this section and shall further make reasonable efforts to contact 10 customers who have experienced a financial hardship due to the COVID-19 11 pandemic for the purpose of offering such customers a deferred payment 12 agreement consistent with the provisions of this section and article two 13 of this chapter. 14 5-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this 15 section, for the purposes of subdivisions three, four and five of this 16 section, a "municipality" shall also include a public water authority 17 established pursuant to article five of the public authorities law. 18 Every municipality shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the commis- 19 sion for purposes of enforcing the provisions of subdivisions three, 20 four, and five of this section pursuant to section twenty-four, twenty- 21 five, and twenty-six of this chapter. 22 7. No municipality shall terminate or discontinue service to, or 23 place, sell or enforce any lien on the real property of, a residential 24 customer, a non-residential customer whose account services residential 25 premises, or small business customer because of bill arrears, taxes, or 26 fees owed to the municipality when such customer has experienced a 27 financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as defined by the 28 department. The municipality shall provide such residential customer, a 29 non-residential customer whose account services residential premises, or 30 small business customer with the right to enter into, or restructure, a 31 deferred payment agreement without the requirement of a down payment, 32 late fees, or penalties, as such is provided for in article two of this 33 chapter. The duration of a deferred payment agreement entered into or 34 restructured pursuant to this subdivision shall be determined as such is 35 provided for in article two of this chapter and shall not be limited to 36 the covered period. A deferred payment agreement entered into or 37 restructured pursuant to this subdivision shall remain subject to the 38 provisions of article two of this chapter until the termination of the 39 agreement as such is provided in article two of this chapter. For 40 purposes of this section the department shall define the term "small 41 business customer." The term "covered period" shall mean between the 42 effective date of this section and June thirtieth, two thousand twenty- 43 two. 44 8. A municipality shall have a duty to restore service, to the extent 45 not already required under this chapter, to any residential or small 46 business customer that has experienced financial hardship from the 47 COVID-19 pandemic within forty-eight hours if such service has been 48 terminated for the default of a deferred payment agreement or non-pay- 49 ment of arrears and with no penalties for such termination or restora- 50 tion of service. 51 § 5. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- 52 sion, section or subpart of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 53 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 54 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 55 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 56 or subpart thereof directly involved in the controversy in which suchS. 7668 4 1 judgment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the 2 intent of the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if 3 such invalid provisions had not been included herein. 4 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall have been deemed 5 to have been in full force and effect on and after December 21, 2021 and 6 shall expire on June 30, 2022 when upon such date the provisions of this 7 act shall be deemed repealed provided, however, that the amendments to 8 subdivision 13 of section 89-b of the public service law made by section 9 two of this act shall not affect the expiration of such subdivision and 10 shall be deemed to be repealed therewith.
