The New York State Senate

                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  10577

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              April 8, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. HOYT -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions

AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring a safe-
  ty and reliability inspection of all telephone poles used by telephone
  corporations providing telephone service  to  more  than  one  million
  subscribers and the replacement or removal of deficient poles

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby declares  that
unsafe,  inadequate  or  unreliable  telephone poles are a danger to the
general public and to telecommunications workers;  that  such  telephone
poles  impair the effective delivery of telecommunications services; and
that the public interest requires increased oversight of the safety  and
reliability  of  jurisdictional telecommunications services carried over
or by above ground telephone lines, as such are defined in article 1  of
the  public  service law; and that the public interest requires a set of
minimum fines to ensure compliance with this statute by  each  telephone
corporation serving over one million subscribers.
  S 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 98-a to
read as follows:
  S  98-A.  SAFETY  AND  RELIABILITY  INSPECTION.  1. THE PUBLIC SERVICE
COMMISSION SHALL, WITHIN THIRTY DAYS  OF  THE  EFFECTIVE  DATE  OF  THIS
SECTION,  REQUIRE  TELEPHONE CORPORATIONS PROVIDING TELEPHONE SERVICE TO
MORE THAN ONE MILLION SUBSCRIBERS, TO CONDUCT A STUDY OF THE SAFETY  AND
RELIABILITY  OF ALL TELEPHONE POLES USED BY SUCH CORPORATIONS TO PROVIDE
TELEPHONE SERVICE WITHIN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, AND TO REPORT  UPON  THE
FOLLOWING FACTORS:
  (A) THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TELEPHONE POLES PER COUNTY;
  (B) THE NUMBER OF TELEPHONE POLES WITHIN EACH COUNTY THAT ARE SPLIT OR
SHATTERED FOR MORE THAN FIVE PERCENT OF THE LENGTH OF SUCH POLES;
  (C)  THE  NUMBER  OF  TELEPHONE  POLES  PER COUNTY THAT ARE SEVERED OR
PARTIALLY SEVERED FROM THEIR BASE;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD16730-02-0

A. 10577                            2

  (D) THE NUMBER OF TELEPHONE POLES PER COUNTY THAT ARE ATTACHED DIRECT-
LY TO OTHER TELEPHONE POLES ("STRAPPED") BY MEANS OTHER THAN THE UTILITY
LINES CONNECTING SUCH POLES;
  (E)  THE  NUMBER  OF STRAPPED POLES, OF WHICH EITHER OR BOTH POLES ARE
SPLIT OR SHATTERED FOR MORE THAN FIVE PERCENT  OF  THE  LENGTH  OF  SUCH
POLES;
  (F)  ANY  POLES  THAT NO LONGER COMPLY WITH ANSI SAFETY STANDARD O5.1;
AND
  (G) ANY TELEPHONE POLES FROM WHICH ALL ELECTRICAL, TELEPHONE AND CABLE
EQUIPMENT OR ELECTRICAL, TELEPHONE AND CABLE LINES HAVE BEEN  PREVIOUSLY
REMOVED  FROM  THE  POLES  AND  TO WHICH NO NEW TELEPHONE, ELECTRICAL OR
CABLE PLANT AND EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN ATTACHED FOR AT LEAST THIRTY DAYS.
  2. TELEPHONE POLES IDENTIFIED IN SUBDIVISIONS (B), (C), (D), (E),  (F)
AND  (G)  OF  SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE PRESUMED TO BE NO
LONGER SAFE, ADEQUATE OR RELIABLE FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE AND  AN
ENDANGERMENT  TO  THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS WORKERS, AND
SHALL BE SUBJECT TO SUCH STANDARDS FOR REPLACEMENT OF UNSAFE  POLES,  OR
FINES, OR BOTH, AS MAY BE REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION.
  3.  THE  TELEPHONE  POLE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY STUDY REQUIRED BY THIS
SECTION SHALL BE COMPLETED BY EACH TELEPHONE  CORPORATION  SERVING  MORE
THAN  ONE MILLION SUBSCRIBERS WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF
THIS SECTION.  THE TELEPHONE POLE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY STUDY  REQUIRED
BY  THIS  SECTION  SHALL  CONTAIN SUCH TELEPHONE CORPORATION'S PLAN (THE
"CORRECTIVE PLAN") FOR REPLACING, WITHIN ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS OF  THE
ISSUANCE  OF  SUCH  REPORT  (THE CORRECTIVE PLAN "COMPLETION DATE"), ALL
POLES SPLIT OR SHATTERED FOR MORE THAN FIVE PERCENT  OF  THE  LENGTH  OF
SUCH  POLES, ALL POLES SEVERED OR PARTIALLY SEVERED FROM THEIR BASE, ALL
POLES THAT ARE STRAPPED DIRECTLY TO OTHER  TELEPHONE  POLES,  ALL  POLES
FROM  WHICH ALL ELECTRICAL, TELEPHONE AND CABLE EQUIPMENT OR ELECTRICAL,
TELEPHONE AND CABLE LINES HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY REMOVED  FROM  THE  POLES
AND  TO  WHICH NO NEW TELEPHONE, ELECTRICAL OR CABLE PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
HAS BEEN ATTACHED FOR AT  LEAST  THIRTY  DAYS,  (COLLECTIVELY,  "UNSAFE"
POLES).
  4.  UPON  ITS  COMPLETION,  THE  TELEPHONE POLE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY
STUDY REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION SHALL BE SUBMITTED AS A REPORT,  BY  EACH
TELEPHONE  CORPORATION  SERVING MORE THAN ONE MILLION SUBSCRIBERS TO THE
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, THE GOVERNOR, THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF  THE
SENATE,  THE  SPEAKER  OF THE ASSEMBLY, AND THE CHAIR OF BOTH THE SENATE
AND  ASSEMBLY  STANDING  COMMITTEES  ON  CORPORATIONS,  AUTHORITIES  AND
COMMISSIONS.
  5. THE STUDY TO BE COMPLETED BY THE TELEPHONE CORPORATION SHALL INCOR-
PORATE  REPORTS  OF  POLES  NON COMPLIANT WITH THE FACTORS IDENTIFIED IN
SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION PROVIDED TO THE TELEPHONE CORPORATION BY
MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC, TELEPHONE CORPORATION UNIONS, AND  LOCAL,
MUNICIPAL, COUNTY, AND STATE GOVERNMENT AND AGENCIES.
  6.  ALL TELEPHONE POLES IDENTIFIED AS UNSAFE OR NONCOMPLIANT WITH ANSI
SAFETY STANDARD O5.1, IN THE CORRECTIVE PLAN REQUIRED IN  THE  TELEPHONE
POLE  SAFETY  AND  RELIABILITY STUDY, SHALL BE REPLACED BY THE TELEPHONE
CORPORATION OWNING SUCH POLES, WITHIN ONE HUNDRED  TWENTY  DAYS  OF  THE
ISSUANCE OF SUCH REPORT.
  7.  REPLACEMENT  OF  THE POLES IDENTIFIED AS UNSAFE OR NONCOMPLIANT IN
THE CORRECTIVE PLAN SHALL BE CONDUCTED BY PROPERLY TRAINED,  EXPERIENCED
AND  EQUIPPED  EMPLOYEES  OF EACH TELEPHONE CORPORATION SERVING OVER ONE
MILLION SUBSCRIBERS PREPARING THE STUDY.
  8. A FINE OF ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS PER MONTH PER UN-REPLACED  POLE
SHALL  BE  ASSESSED  AGAINST EACH TELEPHONE POLE THAT A TELEPHONE CORPO-

A. 10577                            3

RATION SERVING MORE THAN  ONE  MILLION  SUBSCRIBERS  HAS  IDENTIFIED  AS
UNSAFE  OR  NONCOMPLIANT  IN  ITS STUDY, AND HAS NOT REPLACED WITHIN ONE
HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS OF THE ISSUANCE OF THE  TELEPHONE  POLE  SAFETY  AND
RELIABILITY REPORT.
  S  3. The public service commission shall begin, within ninety days of
the effective date of this act, a  rulemaking  proceeding  to  establish
statewide  safety  and reliability standards for wooden telephone poles,
and to establish penalties for the violation of such  standards.  Penal-
ties  for violation of established standards shall not be less than $150
per month per un-replaced pole. The rulemaking proceeding  to  establish
statewide  safety  and  reliability standards for wooden telephone poles
and to establish penalties for the violation of such standards shall  be
completed within one year of its inception.
  S  4.  Severability.  If any provision of this act, or the application
thereof to any person or circumstance, shall be adjudged by any court of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such  judgment
shall  not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall
be confined in its operation to the provision of this  act,  or  in  its
application  to  the  person  or  circumstance, directly involved in the
controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.