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BILL NUMBER:S295

TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring telegraph and telephone corporations to offer residential rates to religious organizations

PURPOSE: To make the telephone bills of religious organizations more affordable by requiring telephone companies to offer residential rates to such organizations.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 Amends Section 92 Subdivision 3 of the Public Service law. Prohibits telephone companies from charging religious organizations rates which are greater than rates applicable to residential customers for telephone services utilized exclusively in connection with religious purposes.

EXISTING LAW: Current law allows religious organizations to be charged residential rates for gas and electric service. This provision is not applicable to telephone services.

JUSTIFICATION: Under current law, section 76 of the Public Service Law provides that religious organizations shall be subject to residential rates for gas and electric service. Such law assists religious organizations by making their gas and electric bills more affordable. This bill would provide similar assistance to religious organizations with regard to their telephone bills.

Religious organizations are not businesses and they do not make a profit. They rely primarily on donations for their expenses. It is inappropriate, therefore, that religious organizations be subject to business telephone rates. Business telephone rates generally charge customers by the number of calls and by the length of each call, a practice which may be warranted when calls are being used to derive profit or to further a business purpose. When calls are being made for religious purposes, however, lower cost residential rates should be applicable.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2009-10: S.3105 - Referred to Energy and Telecommunications/A.5028 Reported Referred to Ways and Means

2008:    S.7250 - Referred to Energy and Telecommunications

2007-08: A.6631 Reported Referred to Ways and Means

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

 This bill will take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall become law.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________

295

2011-2012 Regular Sessions

IN SENATE

(PREFILED)

January 5, 2011
___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  DIAZ  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
  cations

AN  ACT  to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring tele-
  graph and telephone corporations to offer residential rates  to  reli-
  gious organizations

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 92 of the public service  law,  as
amended  by  chapter  124  of  the  laws  of 1911, is amended to read as
follows:
  3. [No] (A) EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED  IN  PARAGRAPH  (B)  OF  THIS
SUBDIVISION,  NO  telegraph corporation or telephone corporation subject
to the provisions of this chapter shall, directly  or  indirectly,  give
any  free  or  reduced service, or any free pass or frank for the trans-
mission of messages by either  telephone  or  telegraph  between  points
within  this  state, except to its officers, employees, agents, pension-
ers, surgeons,  physicians,  attorneys-at-law  and  their  families;  to
persons  or corporations exclusively engaged in charitable and eleemosy-
nary work and ministers of religions; to officers and employees of other
telegraph corporations and telephone corporations, railroad corporations
and street railroad corporations.  But this subdivision shall not  apply
to state, municipal or federal contracts.
  (B)  NO TELEGRAPH CORPORATION OR TELEPHONE CORPORATION SHALL, DIRECTLY
OR INDIRECTLY, CHARGE, DEMAND, COLLECT OR RECEIVE A RATE,  WHICH  IS  IN
EXCESS  OF  THE  APPLICABLE  RESIDENTIAL  RATE  FOR  THE TRANSMISSION OF
MESSAGES BY EITHER TELEPHONE OR  TELEGRAPH  BETWEEN  POINTS  WITHIN  THE
STATE,  FROM  ANY  CORPORATION OR ASSOCIATION ORGANIZED AND CONDUCTED IN
GOOD FAITH FOR RELIGIOUS PURPOSES, INCLUDING THE OPERATION OF  A  SCHOOL
REGARDLESS  OF  WHETHER  SECULAR  SUBJECTS ARE TAUGHT THEREIN, WHEN SUCH

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02464-01-1
S. 295                              2

CORPORATION OR ASSOCIATION UTILIZES SUCH SERVICES IN CONNECTION WITH ITS
RELIGIOUS PURPOSES.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law.