Requires utilities to notify property owners prior to beginning certain services, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1848
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- 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 corpo-
   rations and municipalities to notify property owners prior  to  begin-
   ning certain services

   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
 119-e to read as follows:
   § 119-E. NOTIFICATION OF WORK. 1. PRIOR TO BEGINNING ANY NON-EMERGENCY
 CONSTRUCTION  OR  OTHER  WORK FOR WHICH A UTILITY HAS A VALID PERMIT AND
 REASONABLY BELIEVES WILL DIRECTLY AND MATERIALLY IMPACT THE USE OF RESI-
 DENTIAL, COMMERCIAL OR OTHER PROPERTY, SUCH UTILITY SHALL PROVIDE NOTICE
 OF SUCH WORK. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION,  THE  TERM  "UTILITY"  SHALL
 INCLUDE:  A GAS CORPORATION, AN ELECTRIC CORPORATION, A GAS AND ELECTRIC
 CORPORATION, A WATER  CORPORATION,  A  STEAM  CORPORATION,  A  TELEGRAPH
 CORPORATION,  A TELEPHONE CORPORATION OR A MUNICIPALITY RENDERING EQUIV-
 ALENT UTILITY SERVICES. SUCH NOTICE SHALL BE PROVIDED TO  CUSTOMERS  THE
 UTILITY  REASONABLY BELIEVES WILL BE DIRECTLY AND MATERIALLY IMPACTED BY
 SUCH WORK.
   2. SUCH NOTICE SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, A DESCRIPTION  OF
 THE  WORK  TO  BE  PERFORMED,  THE  EXPECTED  DURATION OF SUCH WORK, THE
 LOCATION OF SUCH WORK, ANY ROAD CLOSURES OR DETOURS THAT MAY  OCCUR  DUE
 TO SUCH WORK, ANY ACTION THAT MAY DIRECTLY AND MATERIALLY IMPACT THE USE
 OF SUCH PROPERTY, AND THE CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE UTILITY PERFORMING
 SUCH  WORK.  SUCH NOTICE MAY INCLUDE ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, SIGNAGE,
 AND WRITTEN MATERIALS.
   3. SUCH NOTICE SHALL BE GIVEN AS FAR IN ADVANCE AS PRACTICABLE  BEFORE
 THE  START OF WORK BUT NOT MORE THAN THIRTY DAYS IN ADVANCE OF THE START
 OF SUCH WORK.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00971-01-5
 S. 1848                             2
 
   4. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY IN  THE  CASE  OF  A
 NATURAL  OR  MAN-MADE DISASTER OR STATE OF EMERGENCY PURSUANT TO ARTICLE
 TWO-B OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW, OR WHERE THE NEED  TO  PROVIDE  SUCH  NOTICE
 WOULD PREVENT THE TIMELY INSTALLATION, RESTORATION OR REPAIR OF A UTILI-
 TY CUSTOMER'S SERVICE.
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.    Effective  immediately,  the  addition,  amendment
 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
 of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are  authorized  to be made and
 completed on or before such effective date.