Bill Text: NY A09444 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to call centers for gas and electric corporations; sets penalties for violations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-06-06 - substituted by s8626a [A09444 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A09444-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9444--A IN ASSEMBLY March 14, 2024 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CRUZ, JEAN-PIERRE, SEAWRIGHT, STERN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Energy -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to call centers for gas and electric corporations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 13 of section 65 of 2 the public service law, paragraph (a) as added by chapter 330 of the 3 laws of 2010 and paragraph (b) as amended by chapter 520 of the laws of 4 2014, are amended to read as follows: 5 (a) Every gas corporation or electric corporation furnishing utility 6 services shall provide the following call center customer assistance 7 receiving inquiries and associated office tasks by phone, in writing, or 8 any electronic communication, including but not limited to emails, 9 texts, and chats on: customer financial responsibility; receiving appli- 10 cation requests to initiate or terminate service; receiving requests for 11 emergency services; shared metering; determining deposit required or 12 billing rate; receiving meter and service orders and access to meter 13 requests; explaining company rates, regulations, policies, procedures, 14 and common practices; initiating trouble order forms and high bill 15 investigations; inbound and/or outbound handling of payment and other 16 credit arrangements such as obtaining deposits, financial statements and 17 payment plans; collection assistance inquiries and referring customers 18 to social service agencies and other assistance programs. For purposes 19 of this section, each individual phone call, writing, email, text, chat, 20 or any other communication shall count as an independent instance of 21 customer assistance, and therefore each shall trigger a gas or electric 22 corporation's duties under paragraph (b) of this subdivision. 23 (b) (i) No gas or electric corporation shall close a call center or 24 other facility providing the customer assistance set forth in paragraph 25 (a) of this subdivision or [relocate] send such customer assistance [to26another area of] outside such gas or electric corporation's New York EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13564-05-4A. 9444--A 2 1 state service territory or outside of New York state without notice 2 [and], a hearing and approval before the commission. Upon receipt of the 3 notice required pursuant to this paragraph, the commission shall provide 4 notice of the proceeding to interested parties and the public; and shall 5 promptly fix a date for the commencement of a public hearing thereon not 6 less than sixty days after such receipt. The testimony presented at such 7 hearing may be presented in writing or orally, provided that the commis- 8 sion may make rules designed to exclude repetitive, redundant or irrel- 9 evant testimony while giving all interested parties the opportunity to 10 present their documentary and/or testimonial evidence. The commission 11 shall make a record of all testimony in all contested hearings. The 12 commission within thirty days shall approve or deny the closure of a 13 call center or other facility providing customer service or the relo- 14 cation of customer service assistance inquiries. For purposes of this 15 section "public hearing" means a public forum at a physical location, 16 attended by commission members or their designees, where oral testimony 17 is accepted and written testimony may be submitted for inclusion in the 18 record. Such forum shall be open to parties to the proceeding and the 19 general public for the presentation of comments that shall be limited to 20 relevant facts directly related to the proceeding in question. Such 21 hearing shall be commenced upon proper notice to the parties to the 22 proceeding and the public at least thirty days prior to the scheduled 23 date. Such hearing shall be closed after the commission approves or 24 denies the closure of a call center or other facility providing customer 25 service or the relocation of customer service assistance inquiries. In 26 no event shall a gas or electric corporation's history of sending 27 customer assistance outside the gas or electric corporation's New York 28 state service territory or outside of New York state be used as justi- 29 fication for doing so after the effective date of the chapter of the 30 laws of two thousand twenty-four that amended this paragraph takes 31 effect. It shall be permissible for a gas or electric corporation to 32 initiate work flexibility policies that allow call center employees to 33 work from an approved alternative worksite other than a call center 34 location. Provided, however, before a gas or electric corporation can 35 establish policies for any call center employees that are represented by 36 a bona fide labor organization through a collective bargaining agree- 37 ment, such policies must have been mutually agreed to by the corporation 38 and the labor organization. Such policies shall not violate this 39 section. 40 (ii) The commission shall make available a form allowing an entity to 41 take an action against a gas or electric corporation that knowingly 42 failed or neglected to obey or comply with this section. Upon receipt of 43 such form, it shall commence a proceeding to determine if a call center 44 or other facility providing customer assistance was closed or customer 45 service assistance inquiries were relocated outside New York state with- 46 out notice, hearing, and approval before the commission. Pursuant to 47 this paragraph, the commission shall provide notice of such proceeding 48 to interested parties and the public and shall promptly fix a date for 49 the commencement of a public hearing thereon not less than sixty days 50 after such receipt. The testimony presented at such hearing may be 51 presented in writing or orally, provided that the commission may make 52 rules designed to exclude repetitive, redundant or irrelevant testimony 53 while giving all parties the opportunity to present their documentary 54 and/or testimonial evidence. The commission shall a make record of all 55 testimony in all contested hearings. The commission shall within thirtyA. 9444--A 3 1 days make a determination if such gas or electric corporation was in 2 violation of this section. 3 § 2. Section 25 of the public service law is amended by adding a new 4 subdivision 4-a to read as follows: 5 4-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this 6 section, any such public utility company, corporation or person and the 7 officers, agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects 8 to obey or comply with section sixty-five of this chapter, or an order 9 or regulation adopted pursuant to section sixty-five of this chapter, or 10 such public utility company, corporation or person and the officers, 11 agents and employees thereof knowingly sends a customer assistance 12 inquiry outside a gas or electric corporation's New York state service 13 territory or outside the state of New York without notice, a hearing and 14 approval before the commission pursuant to section sixty-five of this 15 chapter, shall forfeit to the state of New York a sum not to exceed the 16 greater of: 17 (a) fifty thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for each sepa- 18 rate and distinct customer service inquiry sent outside of New York and 19 one hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for each day a 20 call center or other facility providing the customer assistance is 21 closed; or 22 (b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision 23 two of this section. 24 § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- 25 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 26 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 27 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 28 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 29 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 30 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of 31 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 32 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 33 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all 34 actions or proceedings commenced on or after the effective date of this 35 act.
