Assembly Bill A2429

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2429
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 16, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  BRAUNSTEIN  -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
 
 AN ACT directing the department of public service to prepare  a  written
   report on the affordability of water services for commercial and resi-
   dential customers

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  1. As used in this act:
   a. "Assistance program" shall mean any  program  offered  to  eligible
 low-income  customers  to assist with the costs of electricity, gas, and
 water, including but not limited to the low-income home  energy  assist-
 ance  program,  any low-income affordability plans as provided by public
 service commission case number 14-M-0565,  and/or  any  other  financial
 assistance  program  provided through or by New York state or individual
 utilities, counties or municipalities.
   b. "Commission" shall mean the public service commission.
   c. "Municipality" shall mean potable water districts and potable water
 systems owned and/or operated by a city,  town,  village,  authority  or
 other governmental subdivision.
   d.  "Water-works  corporation" shall have the same meaning as subdivi-
 sion 27 of section 2 of the public service law, or a municipality.
   2. a. Every water-work corporation shall be subject to  the  jurisdic-
 tion  of the public service commission for the purposes of enforcing the
 provisions of this act pursuant to sections 24, 25 and 26 of the  public
 service  law.  The  commission  shall  adjudicate complaints and conduct
 investigations for violation of this act in the manner provided  by  the
 provisions of article 2 of the public service law.
   b.  Within  180 days after the effective date of this act, the commis-
 sion shall prepare and submit to the  governor  and  the  legislature  a
 written  report  that shall make findings and recommendations concerning
 the affordability  of  water  services  to  commercial  and  residential

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06376-01-5
              

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 customers  in  this state. An updated report shall be submitted one year
 after the commission has submitted such initial report to  the  governor
 and  legislature.    Without  unreasonably  exposing consumer personally
 identifiable  information  in  a manner that violates public service law
 and public service commission practice or federal law, the reports shall
 include but not be limited to the following, with all information to  be
 broken  down by water-work corporation, type of service provided, month,
 customer class, and county:
   (1) the number of  disconnection  notices  sent  due  to  non-payment,
 disconnections  due  to non-payment, and reconnections of customers that
 were disconnected for non-payment;
   (2) the number of liens on real property placed, sold, or enforced due
 to non-payment, and how those numbers compare to the  previous  year  on
 the same month and day, if applicable;
   (3) the number of customers in arrears greater than 60 days at the end
 of each month, and the total dollar amount of arrears;
   (4) the number of customers enrolled in deferred payment agreements at
 the end of each month;
   (5) the number of customers that entered into, successfully completed,
 or  defaulted  from  a deferred payment agreement, and how those numbers
 compare to the previous year on the same month and day;
   (6) the number of customers receiving assistance under each assistance
 program at the end of each month, the total dollar amount of  assistance
 provided for arrears, the total dollar amount of assistance provided for
 current  or  future  bills  and the average amount per customer, and how
 those numbers compare to the previous year on the same  month  and  day;
 and
   (7)  the  commission's assessment of whether existing customer assist-
 ance programs are presently and will in the future be sufficient to meet
 the financial needs of customer accounts in arrears who  are  unable  to
 pay those arrears in full, as well as the needs of customer accounts who
 may be unable to pay bills for current service.
   c.  Following the commission's submission of the reports to the gover-
 nor and legislature such reports shall be  posted  on  the  commission's
 website  and  be  subject  to 30 days of public comment on affordability
 from the date of the submission to the governor and the legislature. The
 commission shall provide meaningful  opportunities for   public  comment
 from   all   persons who will be impacted by findings of the commission,
 including   persons living in disadvantaged  communities  and  in  rural
 communities  across  the  state  in  entirety.  Within  90  days  of the
 submission of the initial report, the commission shall conduct at  least
 five  public    hearings in different regions of the state,  as  defined
 by  the empire state development  corporation,  and  provide  meaningful
 opportunity for comment. The public hearings may be held virtually.
   d.  Each water-work corporation shall, within 90 days of the effective
 date of this act, submit to the commission, in a form and manner  deter-
 mined  by the commission, the information required pursuant to paragraph
 b of this subdivision.  Six months after the submission of  the  initial
 report  to  the  governor  and  legislature, each water-work corporation
 shall submit to the commission, in a form and manner determined  by  the
 commission,  the  information  required  pursuant to paragraph b of this
 subdivision. Each water-work corporation shall publish  on  its  website
 the  data  it  reports  pursuant  to this paragraph, simultaneously with
 submission of the data to the commission.
   3. If the data required by this act cannot reasonably be obtained from
 an existing water-work corporation's information technology system with-
 A. 2429                             3
 
 out an increase in customer utility bills, a water-work  corporation  or
 municipality  may  petition  the  commission, in a form and manner to be
 determined by the commission, to provide the required data in an  alter-
 native format.
   4.  The  commission  shall publish on its website the reports required
 pursuant to subdivision two of this  section,  simultaneously  with  the
 submission  of  each report.   The reports shall include the information
 required pursuant to this section in a spreadsheet format.
   § 2. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision,    section    or
 part  of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdic-
 tion to be invalid, such judgment  shall  not  affect, impair, or inval-
 idate  the  remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to
 the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section  or  part  thereof
 directly  involved  in the controversy in which such judgment shall have
 been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature
 that this act would have been enacted even if  such  invalid  provisions
 had not been included herein.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.