Assembly Bill A10666

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10666
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               July 22, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Santabar-
   bara) -- read once and referred  to  the  Committee  on  Corporations,
   Authorities and Commissions
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public service law, in relation to enacting the
   "internet service outage consumer protection act"
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 the "internet service outage consumer protection act".
   § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new  section  224-d
 to read as follows:
   §  224-D.  PRORATED  BILL CREDITS FOR INTERNET SERVICE OUTAGES. 1. FOR
 THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
   (A) "INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER" MEANS ANY PERSON, BUSINESS  OR  ORGAN-
 IZATION  QUALIFIED  TO  DO BUSINESS IN THIS STATE THAT PROVIDES INDIVID-
 UALS, CORPORATIONS, OR OTHER ENTITIES WITH THE ABILITY TO CONNECT TO THE
 INTERNET;
   (B) "OUTAGE" MEANS ANY PERIOD OF TIME DURING WHICH A CONSUMER'S INTER-
 NET SERVICE IS UNAVAILABLE, EXCLUDING SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE  PERIODS  OF
 WHICH  THE  CONSUMER  HAS  BEEN  NOTIFIED  AT LEAST TWENTY-FOUR HOURS IN
 ADVANCE; AND
   (C) "CONSUMER" MEANS ANY PERSON  OR  ENTITY  THAT  PURCHASES  INTERNET
 SERVICE FOR PERSONAL OR BUSINESS USE.
   2. EVERY INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER OPERATING IN THIS STATE SHALL ISSUE
 A  PRORATED  BILL  CREDIT  TO  CONSUMERS FOR ANY INTERNET SERVICE OUTAGE
 LASTING MORE THAN ONE HOUR. SUCH CREDIT SHALL BE CALCULATED BASED ON THE
 CONSUMER'S MONTHLY SERVICE  RATE,  PRORATED  FOR  THE  DURATION  OF  THE
 OUTAGE.    SUCH  CREDIT SHALL BE AUTOMATICALLY APPLIED TO THE CONSUMER'S
 NEXT BILL CYCLE WITHOUT REQUIRING ANY ACTION OR REQUEST FROM THE CONSUM-
 ER.  INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS SHALL NOTIFY CONSUMERS OF THE OUTAGE AND
 THE APPLIED CREDIT  WITHIN  TWENTY-FOUR  HOURS  OF  THE  RESTORATION  OF
 SERVICE.
   3.  INTERNET  SERVICE  PROVIDERS SHALL MAINTAIN RECORDS OF ALL OUTAGES
 AND CORRESPONDING BILL CREDITS ISSUED FOR  A  MINIMUM  PERIOD  OF  THREE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15906-01-4
 A. 10666                            2
 
 YEARS.    SUCH  RECORDS  SHALL  BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE COMMISSION UPON
 REQUEST FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH THIS SECTION.
   4. ANY INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER THAT FAILS TO ISSUE THE REQUIRED BILL
 CREDITS  IN  ACCORDANCE WITH THIS SECTION SHALL BE SUBJECT TO PENALTIES,
 INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO FINES, AS DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.