Senate Bill S723

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Limits certain charging practices by companies that provide prepaid telephone calling cards and increases fines for violations of limitation requirements

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee


  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

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2023-S723 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:
Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:
Public Service Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §92-f, Pub Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2013-2014: S3729
2015-2016: S1176
2017-2018: S3451
2019-2020: S2063
2021-2022: S1365

2023-S723 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Limits certain charging practices by companies that provide prepaid telephone calling cards and increases fines for violations of limitation requirements.

2023-S723 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S723 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    723
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 6, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SERRANO -- 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 limiting certain
   charging practices by companies that provide prepaid telephone calling
   cards and increasing fines for violations of limitation requirements
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 92-f of the public service law is amended by adding
 a new subdivision 4-a to read as follows:
   4-A. NO COMPANY THAT PROVIDES PREPAID CALLING SERVICES THROUGH PREPAID
 CALLING CARDS SHALL:
   A. CALCULATE USAGE CHARGES BY ROUNDING UP BEYOND THE NEXT  MINUTE  FOR
 TELEPHONE PHONE CALLS;
   B.  CHARGE  MINUTES  FOR  UNCONNECTED TELEPHONE PHONE CALLS, INCLUDING
 CALLS THAT ARE DROPPED OR TO WHICH THERE IS NO ANSWER OR A BUSY SIGNAL;
   C. PUBLICIZE OR  DISPLAY  ADVERTISEMENTS  STATING  THAT  THERE  IS  NO
 CONNECTION  FEE  ASSOCIATED  WITH  A  PLAN OR CALLING CARD IF THERE IS A
 DISCONNECTION FEE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PLAN OR CALLING CARD.
   § 2.  Subdivision 8 of section 92-f of  the  public  service  law,  as
 added by chapter 651 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
   8.  Enforcement.  The commission shall have the power, consistent with
 federal law, to assess a penalty  not  to  exceed  [one]  FIVE  thousand
 dollars  against  any  company  that  provides  prepaid calling cards or
 services that knowingly fails or neglects to comply with  any  provision
 of  this section or any regulation or order of the commission implement-
 ing or enforcing the provisions of this section FOR  A  FIRST  VIOLATION
 AND  TEN  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  FOR  A  SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION. All
 moneys recovered from any administrative penalty shall be paid into  the
 state treasury to the credit of the general fund.
   §  3.    This  act  shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day
 after it shall have become a law.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

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