S51-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
• Jan 5, 2011: REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

S51-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S51

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the public service law, in relation to prohibiting certain
additional charges for unlisted telephone numbers

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would require that individuals are charged no more for an
unlisted telephone number than a listed phone number.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Amends the Public Service law by adding section 92-g providing that no
telephone corporation or provider or any person, firm or corporation
acting as an agent or representative of a telephone corporation or
provider shall impose any additional charge for unlisted telephone
numbers over and above the customary charges imposed by that
telephone corporation or provider for listed telephone numbers.
Additionally, it provides that fee be associated with unlisting, or
making private, an existing telephone number.

JUSTIFICATION:
Unlisted numbers are generally preferred by those who have a concern
about privacy and further by those who prefer to not receive phone
calls for purposes of solicitation. "Do not call" lists are effective
for many, but they do not fully remove nuisance or protect the
privacy of all telephone line subscribers. Phone companies are able
to charge upwards of four dollars per month to maintain an unlisted
number for residential accounts. There should be no assessed fee to
either subscribe to a new unlisted line, or make a currently "listed"
line unlisted. Further, a monthly line charge for unlisted lines
should not be any higher than the customary fee for a listed or
published line.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2009-10: S.5416 (Squadron) - Energy and Telecommunications, A.7980
(Kavanagh) - Corporations, Authorities and Commissions.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law; provided that the public service commission is authorized
to promulgate any and all rules and regulations and take any other
measures necessary to implement section one of this act on its
effective date on or before such date.

S51-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                     51

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 (PREFILED)

                               January 5, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by Sen. SQUADRON -- 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 prohibiting
    certain additional charges for unlisted telephone numbers

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


    Section  1.  The public service law is amended by adding a new section
  92-g to read as follows:

    S 92-G.  TELEPHONE  SERVICE;  CHARGES.  NO  TELEPHONE  CORPORATION  OR
  PROVIDER OR ANY PERSON, FIRM OR CORPORATION ACTING AS AN AGENT OR REPRE-
  SENTATIVE  OF A TELEPHONE CORPORATION OR PROVIDER SHALL IMPOSE ANY ADDI-
  TIONAL CHARGE FOR UNLISTED TELEPHONE NUMBERS OVER AND ABOVE THE  CUSTOM-
  ARY CHARGES IMPOSED BY THAT TELEPHONE CORPORATION OR PROVIDER FOR LISTED
  TELEPHONE  NUMBERS, NOR SHOULD ANY FEE BE ASSOCIATED WITH MAKING PRIVATE
  A TELEPHONE NUMBER THAT IS PUBLIC.   IN  CONSTRUING  AND  ENFORCING  THE
  PROVISIONS  OF  THIS SECTION, THE ACT OF ANY PERSON, FIRM OR CORPORATION
  ACTING AS AN AGENT OR REPRESENTATIVE OF A TELEPHONE CORPORATION SHALL BE
  DEEMED TO BE THE ACT OF SUCH TELEPHONE CORPORATION.
    S 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
  have  become  a  law;  provided  that  the  public service commission is
  authorized to promulgate any and all rules and regulations and take  any
  other  measures  necessary  to  implement section one of this act on its
  effective date on or before such date.



   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD00169-01-1