NY State Senate Bill 2013-S6944

Senate Bill S6944

2013-2014 Legislative Session

Authorizes the public service commission, upon application by a municipality, to order costs for infrastructure maintenance and access to be charged to all customer classes

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 04, 2014	referred to energy and telecommunications

2013-S6944 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:: Public Services

2013-S6944 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the public service commission, upon application by a municipality, following a local law, to order costs for infrastructure maintenance and access to be charged to all customer classes located in such municipality; provides that all costs allocated to the infrastructure maintenance and access function of a water-works corporation including equipment used in connection with the sale, furnishing, transmission and distribution of water for domestic, commercial, public and emergency purposes are eligible to be apportioned to customers in a municipality; defines municipality as a city, town, village or fire district in the county of Nassau.

2013-S6944 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S6944

TITLE OF BILL:  An act in relation to authorizing the public service
commission, upon application by a municipality, to order costs for
infrastructure maintenance and access to be charged to all customer
classes located in such municipality

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL: To reduce property tax liability
under certain circumstances by having all water rate payers pay for
the costs associated with fire hydrant infrastructure maintenance and
access charged to a municipality by a private water company, public
water authority or water district.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 authorizes a municipality, after public hearing with notice
and upon affirmative resolution of the municipality, to apply to the
public service commission to have the costs associated with
infrastructure, maintenance and access it is charged by a private
water works corporation, water system, municipal water system or water
authority to be charged to all customers across all customer classes.
Any savings achieved as a result to be applied to the property tax
levy of the municipality in an amount equal to such savings in the
following fiscal year. This section also includes definitions.

Section 2 provides for an immediate effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:  Municipalities that separately purchase water have a
line item in their budgets dedicated to fire hydrant infrastructure
maintenance and access. The burden of this cost being borne by
municipal tax payers and not necessarily all water rate payers. This
is not the case in municipalities which own their own water systems.

Currently, the Western Nassau County Water Authority is able to charge
exorbitant fire hydrant rental fees to volunteer fire departments and
fire districts within the water authority's service area. This
practice harms the homeowners serviced by these fire districts, who
also happen to be ratepayers of the water authority's utility rates.

This bill allows for a municipality, including fire districts in
Nassau County, to apply to the public service commission to have costs
for hydrant maintenance and infrastructure fees distributed among all
rate-payers to remediate this inequity, where applicable.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new bill. Similar legislation has
previously been signed in to law for Westchester County
(S.5278-A/A.4086-A - Chapter 433 of the laws of 2013)

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.

2013-S6944 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  6944

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              April 4, 2014
                               ___________

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

AN  ACT  in  relation to authorizing the public service commission, upon
  application by a municipality, to order costs for infrastructure main-
  tenance and access to be charged to all customer  classes  located  in
  such municipality

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

  Section 1. 1. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a  municipality
may apply to the public service commission to have any costs for infras-
tructure  maintenance  and  access it is charged by a water-works corpo-
ration, water system, municipal water  system,  or  water  authority  to
instead  be charged to all customers across all customer classes located
in the municipality provided the municipality has held a public  hearing
with notice on the matter and has adopted a resolution and determined by
a  majority vote of the total voting strength of its governing body that
it is in the overall public interest to have such costs charged  to  all
customers  across all customer classes. Any savings achieved as a result
of this action shall be applied to the property tax levy of the  munici-
pality  which  has  adopted such a resolution in an amount equal to such
savings in the following fiscal year. Within 120 days after receiving an
application pursuant to this  act,  the  public  service  commission  is
empowered  and  directed  to  issue  an  order  requiring that costs for
infrastructure maintenance and access be included in the  rates  charged
to  all  customer classes and apportioned among all customers located in
the municipality and that such municipality shall not be  charged  sepa-
rately  or  additionally  for  costs  for infrastructure maintenance and
access. The public service commission shall have the  power  to  request
any  information  that it may deem necessary from the water-works corpo-
ration, water system, municipal water  system,  or  water  authority  or
municipality  so  that it may issue an order as required by this section
and may require that such information or application be in the form  and
manner as the commission may request.

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

                                                           LBD14616-01-4

S. 6944                             2

  2. Definitions. For purposes of this act:
  a.  "costs  for infrastructure maintenance and access" means all costs
associated with maintenance and operation of infrastructure  and  equip-
ment  used  connection  with  the  sale,  furnishing,  transmission  and
distribution of water for domestic,  commercial,  public  and  emergency
purposes  and shall also mean costs or charges associated with municipal
access to infrastructure or equipment.
  b. "municipality" shall mean a city, town, village or fire district in
the county of Nassau.
  c. "water-works corporation" shall have the same meaning as that  term
is defined in section 2 of the public service law.
  d.  "water system" shall have the same meaning as that term is defined
in section 2 of the public service law.
  e. "municipal water system" shall have the same meaning as  that  term
is defined in section 89-l of the public service law.
  f.  "water authority" shall mean any authority established under arti-
cle 5 of the public authorities law.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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