NY State Senate Bill 2023-S172

Senate Bill S172

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Increases the penalties imposed upon gas and electric utilities for failure to file or correct an annual report with the public service commission

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Archive: Last 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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to energy and telecommunications
Jan 04, 2023	referred to energy and telecommunications

co-Sponsors

2023-S172 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:: Public Service Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §66, Pub Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S4230
2013-2014: S608
2015-2016: S2482
2017-2018: S3234
2019-2020: S2154
2021-2022: S1244
2025-2026: S7229

2023-S172 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Increases the penalties imposed upon gas and electric utilities for failure to file or correct an annual report with the public service commission; provides such penalties shall not be more than one-tenth of 1% of the utilities' annual net revenue for each day of violation, but not to exceed $25,000 nor be less than $100.

2023-S172 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S172

SPONSOR: GIANARIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public service law, in relation to penalties for the
failure of gas and electric corporations to file or correct an annual
report

 
PURPOSE:

This bill will help ensure compliance with reporting requirements in the
Public Service Law by scaling the penalties for failure to file or
correct an annual report to the size of a regulated entity.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends subdivision 6 of section 66 of the public service law,
as amended by chapter 784 of the laws of 1923 to increase the penalties
imposed upon gas and electric utilities for failure to file or correct
an annual report with the public service commission.

Section 2 sets the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Click here

 
JUSTIFICATION:

A Task Force convened in response to a massive power outage in western
Queens in 2006 found that in many cases the sanctions imposed by the PSC
are neither timely nor meaningful. While New York's Public Service
Commission is authorized to sanction utility providers for violating
deadlines or fail to correct their annual reports are not meaningful or
imposed in a timely fashion. A $100 penalty is simply a minor cost of
doing business to a multi-billion-dollar utility provider. The amounts
that a major utility could be penalized for being one day, or even one
year, late in meeting a deadline would be well beneath its notice. To
aggressively protect consumers, the PSC needs to have sufficient tools
with which to do so. This bill would bring the penalties in line with
the realities of today's energy markets.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: Died in Energy an Telecommunications

2021: Died in Rules

2020: Died in Energy and Telecommunications

2019: Died in Energy and Telecommunications

2018: Died in Energy and Telecommunications

2017: Died in Energy and Telecommunications

2016: Died in Energy and Telecommunications

2015: Died in Energy and Telecommunications

2014: Senate Bill 608(Gianaris)- Died in Senate Energy and Telecommu-
nications Committee

2012: Senate Bill 4230 (Gianaris) - Died in Senate Rules Committee

2012: Assembly Bill 2364 (Hevesi) - Died in Assembly Codes Committee

2010: Assembly Bill 1595-A (Gianaris) - Died in Assembly Rules Committee
2008: Assembly Bill 8623-A (Gianaris) - Died in Assembly Codes Committee

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Click here

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become law; however, the Public Service Commission will be
immediately authorized and directed to take any and all actions, includ-
ing but not limited to the promulgation of rules, necessary to fully
implement the Provisions of this act on its effective date.

2023-S172 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    172
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. GIANARIS, KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Tele-
   communications
 
 AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to penalties for the
   failure of gas and electric corporations to file or correct an  annual
   report
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 66 of the public service  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  784  of  the  laws  of 1923, is amended to read as
 follows:
   6. Require every person and corporation under its supervision  and  it
 shall  be the duty of every such person and corporation to file with the
 commission an annual report, verified by  the  oath  of  the  president,
 vice-president,  treasurer,  secretary, general manager, or receiver, if
 any, thereof, or by the person required to file the same. The  verifica-
 tion  shall  be  made by said official holding office at the time of the
 filing of said report, and if not made upon the knowledge of the  person
 verifying  the  same  shall set forth the sources of his information and
 the grounds of his belief as to any matters not stated  to  be  verified
 upon  his  knowledge.  The report shall show in detail (a) the amount of
 its authorized capital stock and the amount thereof issued and outstand-
 ing; (b) the amount of its authorized bonded indebtedness and the amount
 of its bonds and other forms of  evidence  of  indebtedness  issued  and
 outstanding;  (c)  its  receipts  and  expenditures during the preceding
 year; (d) the amount paid as dividends upon its stock  and  as  interest
 upon  its  bonds; (e) the names of its officers and the aggregate amount
 paid as salaries to them and the amount paid as wages to its  employees;
 (f)  the  location  of  its  plant  or  plants  and  system, with a full
 description of its property and franchises, stating in detail  how  each

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

                                                            LBD01967-01-3
 S. 172                              2
 
 franchise  stated  to  be  owned  was acquired; and (g) such other facts
 pertaining to the operation and maintenance of the plant and system, and
 the affairs of such person or corporation as  may  be  required  by  the
 commission.  Such  reports shall be in the form, cover the period and be
 filed at the time prescribed by the commission. The commission may, from
 time to time, make changes and additions in such forms.  When  any  such
 report  is  defective  or believed to be erroneous, the commission shall
 notify the person, corporation or municipality  making  such  report  to
 amend  the  same  within  a  time prescribed by the commission. Any such
 person or corporation or municipality which shall neglect  to  make  any
 such  report  or  which shall fail to correct any such report within the
 time prescribed by the commission shall be liable to a  penalty  of  NOT
 MORE  THAN  ONE-TENTH  OF ONE PERCENT OF THE ANNUAL NET REVENUES OF SUCH
 PERSON, CORPORATION OR MUNICIPALITY FOR THE PAST YEAR, BUT NOT MORE THAN
 TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS NOR LESS THAN one hundred  dollars  and  an
 additional  penalty  of  [one  hundred  dollars]  NOT MORE THAN THE SAME
 AMOUNT for each day after the prescribed time for which it shall neglect
 to file or correct the same, to be sued for in the name of the people of
 the state of New York. The amount recovered in any such action shall  be
 paid  into  the  state treasury and be credited to the general fund. The
 commission may extend the time prescribed for cause shown.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately,  the  public  service
 commission  is authorized to take any and all actions, including but not
 limited to the promulgation of any necessary rules, necessary  to  fully
 implement the provisions of this act on its effective date.

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Senate Bill S172

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Sponsored By

Michael Gianaris