Bill Text: NY S08983 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to requiring the establishment of automatic payment plans; requires investor owned combination utility companies headquartered in New York to establish a statewide program to provide eligible participants with affordability payment plans.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-03 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S08983 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S08983-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8983 IN SENATE May 3, 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 requiring the establishment of automatic payment plans 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-t to read as follows: 3 § 66-t. Utility automatic payment plans. 1. Within one hundred eighty 4 days of the effective date of this section, notwithstanding any other 5 provision of law, the commission is authorized and directed to require 6 investor owned combination utility companies headquartered in New York 7 to establish a statewide program to provide eligible participants with 8 affordability payment plans. Investor owned combination utility compa- 9 nies shall automatically provide appropriate payment plans to qualifying 10 low income individuals who provide documentation of their eligibility 11 status. The fiscal impact of such a program shall not be borne by 12 customers and shall not be added to bills rendered by the investor owned 13 combination utility company to customers. Enrollment shall be available 14 at any time during the year. For the purposes of this section, "combina- 15 tion utility company" shall mean a utility company that provides elec- 16 tric, gas, or steam service. 17 2. (a) The commission shall engage with investor owned combination 18 utility companies to establish automated file matching mechanisms that 19 will provide, via electronic means, investor owned combination utility 20 companies with a list of eligible participants within the utility compa- 21 ny's service territory. The commission shall provide such information to 22 such utility companies no less than semi-annually. An investor owned 23 combination utility company which offers such a payment plan program 24 shall conspicuously advertise the availability of such plan on the 25 website of such utility company. 26 (b) The commission shall also create a mechanism by which an individ- 27 ual's documentation is submitted and reasonably and promptly reviewed EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15615-01-2S. 8983 2 1 for qualification as proper documentation of the individual's eligibil- 2 ity status. Such mechanism shall also provide for electronic submission 3 of documentation. 4 3. An individual or household shall be determined to be eligible for a 5 payment plan if such individual or household provides documentation of 6 eligibility for any of the following programs: 7 (a) temporary assistance for needy families (family assistance); 8 (b) safety net assistance (public assistance); 9 (c) supplemental security income (SSI); 10 (d) supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP); 11 (e) low income home energy assistance program; 12 (f) veteran's disability pension; 13 (g) veteran's surviving spouse pension; 14 (h) child health plus; 15 (i) lifeline; 16 (j) home energy assistance program (HEAP); 17 (k) direct vendor or utility guarantee; 18 (l) temporary assistance to needy families (TANF); 19 (m) social security disability insurance (SSDI); 20 (n) emergency rental assistance program (ERAP); and 21 (o) any other income-based assistance program identified by the 22 commission. 23 4. (a) When devising payment plans, the utility company shall consider 24 the circumstances and financial condition of the customer including: 25 (i) The amount due, if any, on the account; 26 (ii) The customer's ability to pay; 27 (iii) The customer's payment history; 28 (iv) The anticipated energy assistance benefits for which the customer 29 may be eligible; 30 (v) The circumstances which resulted in the past due bills; 31 (vi) Hardships which may result from the lack of utility service to 32 the customer; and 33 (vii) Any other relevant factors related to the circumstances of the 34 customer. 35 (b) An investor-owned combination utility company shall permit each 36 customer a period of not less than twenty-one days from the date the 37 bill was sent to pay in full, unless the customer and the utility agree 38 on a different due date. A utility shall not withdraw funds from a 39 customer's account before the due date in cases where a customer uses an 40 automatic bill payment plan unless the customer agrees to a different 41 period. 42 5. The attorney general may bring a civil action against any investor 43 owned combination utility companies that violate this section to enjoin 44 such violation and may recover a civil penalty of up to one hundred 45 dollars per violation of this section or, for a pattern or practice of 46 such violations, of up to one thousand dollars per violation. A 47 violation shall be judged per individual account. 48 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
