Bill Text: NY S01780 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires gas and electric utilities to make available to landlords or lessors, upon request of prospective tenants or lessees, information concerning gas and electric charges incurred for residential rental premises.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-06-13 - PRINT NUMBER 1780A [S01780 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S01780-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1780--A
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 14, 2015
                                       ___________
        Introduced by Sen. ESPAILLAT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed  to  be  committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni-
          cations -- recommitted to the Committee  on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
          cations  in  accordance  with  Senate  Rule  6,  sec.  8  -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to  making  gas  and
          electric billing information for residential rental premises available
          upon request
          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  66-o to read as follows:
     3    §  66-o.  Gas  and electric billing information for residential rental
     4  premises. Every gas corporation, electric corporation  and  municipality
     5  shall  make  available  to  any landlord or lessor of residential rental
     6  premises, within ten days of receipt of a written  or  internet  request
     7  therefor  from  any  prospective  tenant or lessee thereof, prior to the
     8  commencement of tenancy or execution of a lease, information  consisting
     9  of  the  average  monthly  charges  incurred at such premises for gas or
    10  electric service or both for the  life  of  the  dwelling  unit  or  the
    11  preceding  two  year  period,  whichever is shorter.   The letter by the
    12  prospective tenant or lessee shall include their name, address, driver's
    13  license number or social  security  number  or  taxpayer  identification
    14  number  or non-driver ID card or any official documented or undocumented
    15  immigration identification, signature, and acknowledge that this billing
    16  information requested may only be used for the  purpose  of  determining
    17  prior  gas  and  electric  usage  as  a factor in deciding to occupy the
    18  dwelling unit. Each prospective tenant or lessee is limited to  a  total
    19  of  five requests in a calendar year within the state of New York.  Such
    20  information shall be identified solely by the address  of  the  dwelling
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01890-05-6
        S. 1780--A                          2
     1  unit,  and  no other information identifying the owner, lessee, or other
     2  occupant of the dwelling unit shall be utilized for, or  made  available
     3  in  connection  with,  the furnishing of billing information pursuant to
     4  this section.  Such information shall be furnished to both  the landlord
     5  or  lessor and to the prospective tenant or lessee with an imposition of
     6  a five dollar charge to the prospective tenant or lessee requesting  the
     7  billing information payable to the gas corporation, electric corporation
     8  and municipality providing such information.
     9    §  2. The public service commission is directed to: (a) create a proc-
    10  ess whereby a prospective tenant or lessee may obtain by written request
    11  or by the internet to the  gas  corporation,  electric  corporation  and
    12  municipality  the  average monthly electric and gas charges for the life
    13  of the dwelling unit or the preceding  two  year  period,  whichever  is
    14  shorter,  prior  to  the commencement of tenancy or execution of a lease
    15  while maintaining the privacy of  the  current  tenant  or  lessor;  (b)
    16  ensure  the  request is made only for the purpose of deciding whether to
    17  occupy a dwelling unit; and (c) determine  the  cost  of  providing  the
    18  information by the utility and assess a fee to the prospective tenant or
    19  lessee  requesting the information payable to the gas corporation, elec-
    20  tric corporation and municipality providing the information.
    21    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    22  it shall have become a law; provided that the public service  commission
    23  is  authorized to  promulgate any and all rules and regulations and take
    24  any other measures necessary to implement this act on its effective date
    25  on or before such date.