Bill Text: NY A05328 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits electric, gas, telephone, cellular telephone, television, internet, energy, water services or any other utility providers from imposing additional fees related to administrative surcharges, fees for non-use or any other charges to customers living at their primary residence who are over sixty-five years of age or who have a developmental disability.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-13 - referred to energy [A05328 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A05328-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5328

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 13, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. BROOK-KRASNY -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Energy

        AN ACT to amend the public service law and the general business law,  in
          relation  to prohibiting utility companies from imposing certain addi-
          tional fees to customers at  their  primary  residence  who  are  over
          sixty-five years of age or who have a developmental disability

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 65 of the public service law is amended by adding a
     2  new subdivision 17 to read as follows:
     3    17. No company that provides electric, gas or any other utility  shall
     4  impose  additional  fees  related to administrative surcharges, fees for
     5  non-use and any other charges to customers over the age of sixty-five or
     6  those with a developmental disability, as defined in  subdivision  twen-
     7  ty-two  of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, and when the premises
     8  receiving service is a primary residence.
     9    § 2. Section 91 of the public service law is amended by adding  a  new
    10  subdivision 15 to read as follows:
    11    15.  No  company  that  provides telephone or telegraph services shall
    12  impose additional fees related to administrative  surcharges,  fees  for
    13  non-use and any other charges to customers over the age of sixty-five or
    14  those  with  a developmental disability, as defined in subdivision twen-
    15  ty-two of section 1.03 of the mental  hygiene  law,  when  the  premises
    16  receiving service is a primary residence.
    17    § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 89-b of the public service law, as added
    18  by chapter 715 of the laws of 1931, is amended to read as follows:
    19    2.  No  water-works  corporation  shall directly or indirectly, by any
    20  special rate, rebate,  drawback  or  other  device  or  method,  charge,
    21  demand,  collect  or receive from any person or corporation a greater or
    22  less compensation for  water,  or  for  equipment  or  for  any  service
    23  rendered or to be rendered or in connection therewith, except as author-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09181-01-5
        A. 5328                             2

     1  ized  in  this  article,  than it charges, demands, collects or receives
     2  from any other person or corporation for doing a like and  contemporane-
     3  ous service with respect thereto under the same or substantially similar
     4  circumstances  or  conditions. Further, no water-works corporation shall
     5  impose additional charges to customers over the  age  of  sixty-five  or
     6  those  with  a developmental disability, as defined in subdivision twen-
     7  ty-two of section 1.03 of the mental  hygiene  law,  when  the  premises
     8  receiving service is a primary residence.
     9    §  4.  Section  224-b of the public service law is amended by adding a
    10  new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
    11    3. No cable television company with at least one thousand  subscribers
    12  shall  impose additional fees related to administrative surcharges, fees
    13  for non-use and any other charges to customers over the  age  of  sixty-
    14  five or those with a developmental disability, as defined in subdivision
    15  twenty-two  of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, when the premises
    16  receiving service is a primary residence.
    17    § 5. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 399-zzzz of  the  general
    18  business  law, as amended by chapter 246 of the laws of 2019, is amended
    19  to read as follows:
    20    a. no provider of telephone, cellular telephone, television, internet,
    21  energy, or water services shall impose a fee for  termination  or  early
    22  cancellation  of  a  service  contract  in  the  event  the customer has
    23  deceased before the end of such contract, or, when the premises  receiv-
    24  ing any such service is a primary residence and the customer is over the
    25  age  of  sixty-five  or  has  a  developmental disability, as defined in
    26  subdivision twenty-two of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law; and
    27    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.