Assembly Bill A10525

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10525
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 27, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Mosley) --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
 
 AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to issuing a morato-
   rium on utility termination of services during  periods  of  pandemics
   and/or  state  of  emergencies;  and to amend a chapter of the laws of
   2020 amending the public service law, relating to issuing a moratorium
   on utility termination of services during periods of pandemics  and/or
   state  of  emergencies,  as  proposed  in  legislative  bills  numbers
   S.8113-A and A.10521, in relation to the effectiveness thereof
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivisions  9,  10  and  12 of section 91 of the public
 service law, as added by a chapter of the  laws  of  2020  amending  the
 public  service  law, relating to issuing a moratorium on utility termi-
 nation of services during periods of pandemics and/or state of  emergen-
 cies, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.8113-A and A.10521, are
 amended to read as follows:
   9.  No  telephone corporation shall terminate or disconnect a residen-
 tial service customer for the non-payment of an overdue charge  for  the
 duration  of the state disaster emergency declared pursuant to executive
 order two hundred two of two thousand twenty (hereinafter "the  COVID-19
 state  of  emergency").  Telephone  corporations  shall  have  a duty to
 restore service, to the extent not already required under this  chapter,
 [to] AT THE REQUEST OF any residential customer within forty-eight hours
 if  such service has been terminated during the pendency of the COVID-19
 state of emergency AND DISCONNECTION OF SUCH SERVICE WAS DUE TO NON-PAY-
 MENT OF AN OVERDUE CHARGE.
   10. [After] FOR A PERIOD OF ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS AFTER the COVID-19
 state of emergency is lifted or expires, no telephone corporation  shall
 terminate  or  disconnect  the service of a residential customer account
 because of defaulted deferred payment agreements or arrears THEN owed to
 the telephone corporation when such customer has experienced a change in
 financial circumstances due to  the  COVID-19  state  of  emergency,  as
 defined by the department.  The telephone corporation shall provide such
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15908-11-0

 A. 10525                            2
 
 residential  customer  with  the  right to enter into, or restructure, a
 deferred payment agreement without the requirement of  a  down  payment,
 late fees, or penalties[, as such is provided for in article two of this
 chapter].
   12. Implementation of the provisions of this section shall not prohib-
 it  a  telephone  corporation  from recovering lost or deferred revenues
 after the lifting or expiration of  the  COVID-19  state  of  emergency,
 pursuant to such means for recovery as are provided for in this chapter,
 and  by  means  not  inconsistent  with  any  of  the provisions of this
 article. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL PROHIBIT A TELEPHONE  CORPORATION
 FROM DISCONNECTING SERVICE AT THE REQUEST OF A CUSTOMER. Nothing in this
 section  shall  prohibit  a  telephone  corporation  from  disconnecting
 service when it is necessary to protect the health and safety of custom-
 ers and the public.
   § 2. Section 5 of a chapter of the laws of 2020  amending  the  public
 service  law, relating to issuing a moratorium on utility termination of
 services during periods of pandemics and/or  state  of  emergencies,  as
 proposed  in  legislative bills numbers S.8113-A and A.10521, is amended
 to read as follows:
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately AND SHALL EXPIRE MARCH 31,
 2021 WHEN UPON SUCH DATE THE PROVISIONS OF  THIS  ACT  SHALL  BE  DEEMED
 REPEALED.
   §  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect on the same date and in the same
 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2020 amending the public service law,
 relating to issuing a moratorium  on  utility  termination  of  services
 during  periods of pandemics and/or state of emergencies, as proposed in
 legislative bills numbers S.8113-A and A.10521, takes  effect;  provided
 however,  that the amendments to subdivisions 9, 10 and 12 of section 91
 of the public service law made by section one  of  this  act  shall  not
 affect  the  repeal  of  such  subdivisions  and  shall  be deemed to be
 repealed therewith.