Bill Text: NY S01200 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: Relates to requiring the establishment of automatic payment plans; requires utility companies headquartered in New York to establish a statewide program to provide eligible participants with affordable payment plans.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-28 - referred to ways and means [S01200 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S01200-Amended.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1200--B
            Cal. No. 215

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 10, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. PARKER, ADDABBO, CHU, FERNANDEZ, GOUNARDES, WEBB --
          read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
          the   Committee   on   Energy   and  Telecommunications  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Energy and  Tele-
          communications  in  accordance  with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- reported
          favorably from said committee, ordered to  first  and  second  report,
          ordered  to  a  third  reading,  passed by Senate and delivered to the
          Assembly, recalled, vote  reconsidered,  restored  to  third  reading,
          amended  and  ordered  reprinted,  retaining its place in the order of
          third reading

        AN ACT to amend the public service law, in  relation  to  requiring  the
          establishment of automatic payment plans

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

     1    Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a  new  section
     2  37-b to read as follows:
     3    § 37-b. Utility automatic payment plans. 1.  Within one hundred eighty
     4  days  of  the  effective date of this section, notwithstanding any other
     5  provision of law, the commission is authorized and directed  to  require
     6  utility  companies  to  provide  eligible  participants  with affordable
     7  payment plans. Utility companies shall automatically provide appropriate
     8  payment plans to qualifying low income individuals who provide  documen-
     9  tation of their eligibility status. Enrollment shall be available at any
    10  time  during the year. For the purposes of this section, "utility compa-
    11  ny" shall mean a utility company that provides electric, gas,  or  steam
    12  service.
    13    2.  (a)  A  utility  company  which offers such a payment plan program
    14  shall conspicuously advertise the  availability  of  such  plan  on  the
    15  website of such utility company.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04261-07-3
        S. 1200--B                          2

     1    (b)  The commission shall also create a mechanism by which an individ-
     2  ual's documentation is submitted and reasonably and promptly reviewed by
     3  a utility company for qualification as proper documentation of the indi-
     4  vidual's eligibility status. Such mechanism shall also provide for elec-
     5  tronic submission of documentation.
     6    3. An individual or household shall be determined to be eligible for a
     7  payment  plan  if such individual or household provides documentation of
     8  eligibility for any of the following programs:
     9    (a) temporary assistance for needy families (family assistance);
    10    (b) safety net assistance (public assistance);
    11    (c) supplemental security income (SSI);
    12    (d) supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP);
    13    (e) veterans disability pension and survivors benefits;
    14    (f) child health plus;
    15    (g) lifeline;
    16    (h) home energy assistance program (HEAP);
    17    (i) direct vendor or utility guarantee;
    18    (j) social security disability insurance (SSDI);
    19    (k) emergency rental assistance program (ERAP);
    20    (l) Medicaid;
    21    (m) federal public housing assistance;
    22    (n) bureau of Indian affairs general assistance;
    23    (o) Head Start;
    24    (p) tribal TANF;
    25    (q) food distribution program on Indian reservation (FDPIR); and
    26    (r) any  other  income-based  assistance  program  identified  by  the
    27  commission and/or the office of temporary and disability assistance.
    28    4. (a) When devising payment plans, the utility company shall consider
    29  the circumstances and financial condition of the customer including:
    30    (i) The amount due, if any, on the account;
    31    (ii) The customer's ability to pay;
    32    (iii) The customer's payment history;
    33    (iv) The anticipated energy assistance benefits for which the customer
    34  may be eligible;
    35    (v) The circumstances which resulted in the past due bills;
    36    (vi)  Hardships  which  may result from the lack of utility service to
    37  the customer; and
    38    (vii) Any other relevant factors related to the circumstances  of  the
    39  customer.
    40    (b)  A utility company shall permit each customer a period of not less
    41  than twenty-one days from the date the bill was sent  to  pay  in  full,
    42  unless  the  customer  and  the utility company agree on a different due
    43  date. A utility company shall  not  withdraw  funds  from  a  customer's
    44  account  before the due date in cases where a customer uses an automatic
    45  bill payment plan unless the customer agrees to a different period.
    46    § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    47  have become a law.