S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8626--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 22, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  MANNION,  ADDABBO,  GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, JACKSON,
   PARKER, RAMOS -- 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
 
 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:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 13 of section 65 of
 the public service law, paragraph (a) as added by  chapter  330  of  the
 laws  of 2010 and paragraph (b) as amended by chapter 520 of the laws of
 2014, are amended to read as follows:
   (a) Every gas corporation or electric corporation  furnishing  utility
 services  shall  provide  the  following call center customer assistance
 receiving inquiries AND ASSOCIATED OFFICE TASKS BY PHONE, IN WRITING, OR
 ANY ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION,  INCLUDING  BUT  NOT  LIMITED  TO  EMAILS,
 TEXTS, AND CHATS on: customer financial responsibility; receiving APPLI-
 CATION requests to initiate or terminate service; receiving requests for
 emergency  services;  SHARED  METERING;  determining deposit required or
 billing rate; receiving meter and service orders  and  access  to  meter
 requests;  explaining  company rates, regulations, policies, procedures,
 and common practices; initiating  trouble  order  forms  and  high  bill
 investigations;  INBOUND  AND/OR  OUTBOUND handling OF payment and other
 credit arrangements such as obtaining deposits, financial statements and
 payment plans; COLLECTION ASSISTANCE INQUIRIES and  referring  customers
 to  social service agencies and other assistance programs.  FOR PURPOSES
 OF THIS SECTION, EACH INDIVIDUAL PHONE CALL, WRITING, EMAIL, TEXT, CHAT,
 OR ANY OTHER COMMUNICATION SHALL COUNT AS  AN  INDEPENDENT  INSTANCE  OF
 CUSTOMER  ASSISTANCE, AND THEREFORE EACH SHALL TRIGGER A GAS OR ELECTRIC
 CORPORATION'S DUTIES UNDER PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   (b) (I) No gas or electric corporation shall close a  call  center  or
 other  facility providing the customer assistance set forth in paragraph
 (a) of this subdivision or [relocate] SEND such customer assistance  [to

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

                                                            LBD13564-06-4
 S. 8626--A                          2

 another  area  of]  OUTSIDE  SUCH GAS OR ELECTRIC CORPORATION'S New York
 state SERVICE TERRITORY or outside of  New  York  state  without  notice
 [and], A hearing AND APPROVAL before the commission. Upon receipt of the
 notice required pursuant to this paragraph, the commission shall provide
 notice of the proceeding to interested parties and the public; and shall
 promptly fix a date for the commencement of a public hearing thereon not
 less than sixty days after such receipt. The testimony presented at such
 hearing may be presented in writing or orally, provided that the commis-
 sion  may make rules designed to exclude repetitive, redundant or irrel-
 evant testimony while giving all interested parties the  opportunity  to
 present  their  documentary  and/or testimonial evidence. The commission
 shall make a record of all testimony  in  all  contested  hearings.  THE
 COMMISSION  WITHIN  THIRTY  DAYS  SHALL APPROVE OR DENY THE CLOSURE OF A
 CALL CENTER OR OTHER FACILITY PROVIDING CUSTOMER SERVICE  OR  THE  RELO-
 CATION  OF  CUSTOMER  SERVICE ASSISTANCE INQUIRIES. For purposes of this
 section "public hearing" means a public forum at  a  physical  location,
 attended  by commission members or their designees, where oral testimony
 is accepted and written testimony may be submitted for inclusion in  the
 record.  Such  forum  shall be open to parties to the proceeding and the
 general public for the presentation of comments that shall be limited to
 relevant facts directly related to  the  proceeding  in  question.  Such
 hearing  shall  be  commenced  upon  proper notice to the parties to the
 proceeding and the public at least thirty days prior  to  the  scheduled
 date.  SUCH  HEARING  SHALL  BE  CLOSED AFTER THE COMMISSION APPROVES OR
 DENIES THE CLOSURE OF A CALL CENTER OR OTHER FACILITY PROVIDING CUSTOMER
 SERVICE OR THE RELOCATION OF CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSISTANCE INQUIRIES.   IN
 NO  EVENT  SHALL  A  GAS  OR  ELECTRIC  CORPORATION'S HISTORY OF SENDING
 CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE OUTSIDE THE GAS OR ELECTRIC CORPORATION'S  NEW  YORK
 STATE  SERVICE  TERRITORY OR OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK STATE BE USED AS JUSTI-
 FICATION FOR DOING SO AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF  THE  CHAPTER  OF  THE
 LAWS  OF  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-FOUR  THAT  AMENDED THIS PARAGRAPH TAKES
 EFFECT.  IT SHALL BE PERMISSIBLE FOR A GAS OR  ELECTRIC  CORPORATION  TO
 INITIATE  WORK  FLEXIBILITY POLICIES THAT ALLOW CALL CENTER EMPLOYEES TO
 WORK FROM AN APPROVED ALTERNATIVE WORKSITE  OTHER  THAN  A  CALL  CENTER
 LOCATION.    PROVIDED, HOWEVER, BEFORE A GAS OR ELECTRIC CORPORATION CAN
 ESTABLISH POLICIES FOR ANY CALL CENTER EMPLOYEES THAT ARE REPRESENTED BY
 A BONA FIDE LABOR ORGANIZATION THROUGH A  COLLECTIVE  BARGAINING  AGREE-
 MENT, SUCH POLICIES MUST HAVE BEEN MUTUALLY AGREED TO BY THE CORPORATION
 AND  THE  LABOR  ORGANIZATION.  SUCH  POLICIES  SHALL  NOT  VIOLATE THIS
 SECTION.
   (II) THE COMMISSION SHALL MAKE AVAILABLE A FORM ALLOWING AN ENTITY  TO
 TAKE  AN  ACTION  AGAINST  A  GAS OR ELECTRIC CORPORATION THAT KNOWINGLY
 FAILED OR NEGLECTED TO OBEY OR COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION. UPON RECEIPT OF
 SUCH FORM, IT SHALL COMMENCE A PROCEEDING TO DETERMINE IF A CALL  CENTER
 OR  OTHER  FACILITY PROVIDING CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE WAS CLOSED OR CUSTOMER
 SERVICE ASSISTANCE INQUIRIES WERE RELOCATED OUTSIDE NEW YORK STATE WITH-
 OUT NOTICE, HEARING, AND APPROVAL BEFORE  THE  COMMISSION.  PURSUANT  TO
 THIS  PARAGRAPH,  THE COMMISSION SHALL PROVIDE NOTICE OF SUCH PROCEEDING
 TO INTERESTED PARTIES AND THE PUBLIC AND SHALL PROMPTLY FIX A  DATE  FOR
 THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  A PUBLIC HEARING THEREON NOT LESS THAN SIXTY DAYS
 AFTER SUCH RECEIPT. THE TESTIMONY  PRESENTED  AT  SUCH  HEARING  MAY  BE
 PRESENTED  IN  WRITING  OR ORALLY, PROVIDED THAT THE COMMISSION MAY MAKE
 RULES DESIGNED TO EXCLUDE REPETITIVE, REDUNDANT OR IRRELEVANT  TESTIMONY
 WHILE  GIVING  ALL  PARTIES THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THEIR DOCUMENTARY
 AND/OR TESTIMONIAL EVIDENCE. THE COMMISSION SHALL A MAKE RECORD  OF  ALL
 TESTIMONY IN ALL CONTESTED HEARINGS.  THE COMMISSION SHALL WITHIN THIRTY
 S. 8626--A                          3
 
 DAYS  MAKE  A  DETERMINATION  IF SUCH GAS OR ELECTRIC CORPORATION WAS IN
 VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION.
   §  2.  Section 25 of the public service law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 4-a to read as follows:
   4-A.  NOTWITHSTANDING  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  SUBDIVISION  TWO  OF  THIS
 SECTION,  ANY SUCH PUBLIC UTILITY COMPANY, CORPORATION OR PERSON AND THE
 OFFICERS, AGENTS AND EMPLOYEES THEREOF THAT KNOWINGLY FAILS OR  NEGLECTS
 TO  OBEY  OR COMPLY WITH SECTION SIXTY-FIVE OF THIS CHAPTER, OR AN ORDER
 OR REGULATION ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION SIXTY-FIVE OF THIS CHAPTER, OR
 SUCH PUBLIC UTILITY COMPANY, CORPORATION OR  PERSON  AND  THE  OFFICERS,
 AGENTS  AND  EMPLOYEES  THEREOF  KNOWINGLY  SENDS  A CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE
 INQUIRY OUTSIDE A GAS OR ELECTRIC CORPORATION'S NEW YORK  STATE  SERVICE
 TERRITORY OR OUTSIDE THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT NOTICE, A HEARING AND
 APPROVAL  BEFORE  THE  COMMISSION PURSUANT TO SECTION SIXTY-FIVE OF THIS
 CHAPTER, SHALL FORFEIT TO THE STATE OF NEW YORK A SUM NOT TO EXCEED  THE
 GREATER OF:
   (A) FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS CONSTITUTING A CIVIL PENALTY FOR EACH SEPA-
 RATE  AND DISTINCT CUSTOMER SERVICE INQUIRY SENT OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK AND
 ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS CONSTITUTING A CIVIL PENALTY FOR EACH DAY A
 CALL CENTER OR OTHER  FACILITY  PROVIDING  THE  CUSTOMER  ASSISTANCE  IS
 CLOSED; OR
   (B)  THE  MAXIMUM FORFEITURE DETERMINED IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION
 TWO OF THIS SECTION.
   § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
 sion, section or part of this act shall be  adjudged  by  any  court  of
 competent  jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
 impair, or invalidate 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 judg-
 ment 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.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  all
 actions  or proceedings commenced on or after the effective date of this
 act.