Senate Bill S7931

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

                                  7931

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 25, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  GRIFFO, PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed,
  and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and  Tele-
  communications

AN  ACT  to  amend  the family court act, in relation to authorizing the
  court to issue orders requiring wireless telephone companies to trans-
  fer the  billing  responsibility  and  rights  to  wireless  telephone
  numbers in instances of domestic violence

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

  Section 1. Legislative intent.  The  legislature  finds  and  declares
that:
  (a)  For  many  victims  of domestic violence, a wireless telephone is
their lifeline to the community  resources,  life-saving  services,  and
support  network  they need to leave their batterer and abusive environ-
ment. For the majority of victims, shelter in a confidential safe  house
is  a  last  resort,  and, in fact, unnecessary. Victims are going about
their lives, working, and taking care of their  children,  as  they  are
making  plans  and  determining  their  next steps to safely leave their
abuser. Many victims are able to access counseling services  and  obtain
legal assistance, such as securing a restraining order, without entering
into  a  safe house. For these victims, a wireless telephone serves as a
critical tool for making appointments and communicating with their advo-
cates.
  (b) Allowing a victim of domestic violence to retain  the  use  of  an
existing  wireless telephone number and access to the contacts and other
information that may be contained in an existing wireless  telephone  is
important for both the safety and emotional support of the victim.  This
can be a problem if the domestic violence victim is not the accounthold-
er for the wireless telephone, as only an accountholder has the authori-
ty to release the telephone number or numbers contained in the account.
  (c)  According to a Wall Street Journal article, in 2011 just under 71
percent of households had a landline in the home,  down  from  a  little
more  than 96 percent of households 15 years earlier. Cellular telephone

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD15629-01-6
              

S. 7931                             2

ownership among adults reached 89 percent in 2011, up from approximately
36 percent in 1998.
  (d) A 2014 National Public Radio Survey of 72 shelters in large cities
and  smaller  towns across the nation found that 85 percent of the shel-
ters worked directly with victims  whose  abusers  tracked  the  victims
using  GPS.  Seventy-five  percent  of  the shelters worked with victims
whose abusers eavesdropped on  their  conversations  remotely  by  using
hidden mobile applications.
  S  2.  The  family court act is amended by adding a new section 848 to
read as follows:
  S 848. TRANSFER OF WIRELESS TELEPHONE ACCOUNTS. (A) IN ORDER TO ENSURE
THAT THE PETITIONER CAN MAINTAIN AN EXISTING WIRELESS TELEPHONE  NUMBER,
AND  THE WIRELESS NUMBERS OF ANY MINOR CHILDREN IN THE CARE OF THE PETI-
TIONER, THE COURT MAY ISSUE  AN  ORDER,  AFTER  NOTICE  AND  A  HEARING,
DIRECTING  A WIRELESS TELEPHONE SERVICE PROVIDER TO TRANSFER THE BILLING
RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND  RIGHTS  TO  THE  WIRELESS  TELEPHONE  NUMBER  OR
NUMBERS TO THE PETITIONER, IF THE PETITIONER IS NOT THE ACCOUNTHOLDER.
  (B)  (I)  THE ORDER TRANSFERRING BILLING RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND RIGHTS
TO THE WIRELESS TELEPHONE NUMBER OR NUMBERS TO A PETITIONER SHALL  BE  A
SEPARATE  ORDER  THAT  IS  DIRECTED  TO  THE  WIRELESS TELEPHONE SERVICE
PROVIDER. THE ORDER SHALL LIST THE NAME AND BILLING TELEPHONE NUMBER  OF
THE  ACCOUNTHOLDER,  THE  NAME  AND CONTACT INFORMATION OF THE PERSON TO
WHOM THE TELEPHONE NUMBER OR NUMBERS WILL BE TRANSFERRED, AND EACH TELE-
PHONE NUMBER TO BE TRANSFERRED TO THAT PERSON. THE  COURT  SHALL  ENSURE
THAT  THE  CONTACT  INFORMATION OF THE PETITIONER IS NOT PROVIDED TO THE
ACCOUNTHOLDER IN PROCEEDINGS HELD PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE.
  (II) THE ORDER SHALL BE SERVED  ON  THE  WIRELESS  SERVICE  PROVIDER'S
AGENT FOR SERVICE OF PROCESS LISTED WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
  (III)  WHERE  THE  WIRELESS  SERVICE  PROVIDER CANNOT OPERATIONALLY OR
TECHNICALLY EFFECTUATE THE ORDER DUE TO CERTAIN  CIRCUMSTANCES,  INCLUD-
ING,  BUT  NOT  LIMITED  TO,  ANY OF THE FOLLOWING, THE WIRELESS SERVICE
PROVIDER SHALL NOTIFY THE PETITIONER WITHIN SEVENTY-TWO HOURS OF RECEIPT
OF THE ORDER:
  (1) WHEN THE ACCOUNTHOLDER HAS ALREADY TERMINATED THE ACCOUNT.
  (2) WHEN DIFFERENCES IN NETWORK TECHNOLOGY PREVENT  THE  FUNCTIONALITY
OF A DEVICE ON THE NETWORK.
  (3)  WHEN  THERE  ARE  GEOGRAPHIC  OR  OTHER LIMITATIONS ON NETWORK OR
SERVICE AVAILABILITY.
  (C) (I) UPON TRANSFER OF BILLING RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND  RIGHTS  TO  A
WIRELESS  TELEPHONE NUMBER OR NUMBERS TO A PETITIONER PURSUANT TO SUBDI-
VISION (B) OF THIS SECTION BY A WIRELESS TELEPHONE SERVICE PROVIDER, THE
PETITIONER SHALL ASSUME ALL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE TRANSFERRED
WIRELESS TELEPHONE NUMBER OR NUMBERS, MONTHLY SERVICE COSTS,  AND  COSTS
FOR  ANY  MOBILE DEVICE ASSOCIATED WITH THE WIRELESS TELEPHONE NUMBER OR
NUMBERS.
  (II) THIS SECTION SHALL NOT PRECLUDE A WIRELESS SERVICE PROVIDER  FROM
APPLYING  ANY  ROUTINE AND CUSTOMARY REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCOUNT ESTABLISH-
MENT TO THE PETITIONER AS PART OF THIS TRANSFER OF BILLING  RESPONSIBIL-
ITY  FOR A WIRELESS TELEPHONE NUMBER OR NUMBERS AND ANY DEVICES ATTACHED
TO THAT NUMBER OR NUMBERS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT  LIMITED  TO,  IDENTIFICA-
TION, FINANCIAL INFORMATION, AND CUSTOMER PREFERENCES.
  (D)  THIS  SECTION SHALL NOT AFFECT THE ABILITY OF THE COURT TO APPOR-
TION THE ASSETS AND DEBTS OF THE PARTIES AS PROVIDED FOR IN LAW, OR  THE
ABILITY  TO  DETERMINE  THE  TEMPORARY  USE,  POSSESSION, AND CONTROL OF
PERSONAL PROPERTY.

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  (E) NO CAUSE OF  ACTION  SHALL  LIE  AGAINST  ANY  WIRELESS  TELEPHONE
SERVICE  PROVIDER, ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS, FOR ACTIONS TAKEN
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS OF A COURT ORDER ISSUED  PURSUANT  TO  THIS
SECTION.
  S  3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become  a  law;  provided,  however,
that  effective  immediately  the  chief  administrator of the courts is
authorized to promulgate any and all rules and regulations and  to  take
any  other  measures  necessary  to implement this act on or before such
effective date.