Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official source posted by the New York State Senate, fetched 2026-08-11. Nothing is edited or removed. Where this bill amends existing law, language marked for deletion in the official source appears here in brackets. The official bill page.
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
2679
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
January 22, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to call centers for
gas and electric corporations; to amend a chapter of the laws of 2024
amending the public service law relating to call centers for gas and
electric corporations, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.
8626-A and A. 9444-A, in relation to the effectiveness thereof; and to
repeal certain provisions of the public service law relating thereto
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, as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2024
amending the public service law relating to call centers for gas and
electric corporations, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.
8626-A and A. 9444-A, 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] BY PHONE OR IN WRITING on: customer financial respon-
sibility; receiving [application] 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 communi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02896-01-5
S. 2679 2
cation 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.] THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL NOT APPLY
TO COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS TO RESOLVE A CUSTOMER INQUIRY. FOR
PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "COLLECTION ASSISTANCE INQUIRIES" SHALL NOT
INCLUDE CALLS OR ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE COLLECTION OF DEBTS THAT ARE
REFERRED TO THIRD-PARTY COLLECTION AGENCIES OR THOSE INVOLVING THE
DIRECT PURSUIT OF FINANCIAL RECOVERY ON DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS.
(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 send such customer assistance outside such
gas or electric corporation's New York state service territory or
outside of New York state without notice, 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 commission may make rules
designed to exclude repetitive, redundant or irrelevant testimony while
giving all interested parties the opportunity to present their documen-
tary 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 facili-
ty providing customer service or the relocation 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 direct-
ly 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 relo-
cation 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 terri-
tory or outside of New York state be used as justification 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 SEND CUSTOMER ASSIST-
ANCE REQUESTS OUTSIDE OF SUCH CORPORATION'S NEW YORK STATE SERVICE
TERRITORY OR OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK STATE IN THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES:
(I) WHEN A CALL CENTER OR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE FACILITY IS UNABLE TO
ADEQUATELY RESPOND TO CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE REQUESTS DUE TO NATURAL DISAS-
TER, CYBER ATTACK, TEMPORARY LOSS OF INTERNET OR PHONE CONNECTION OR
POWER, A STATE OR LOCAL DECLARED EMERGENCY THAT IMPACTS THE ABILITY OF A
CALL CENTER TO MANAGE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE REQUESTS, OR CUSTOMER CALL
VOLUME THAT EXCEEDS THE CAPACITY OF THE CALL CENTER GIVEN NORMAL STAFF-
ING LEVELS; (II) FOR THE PURPOSE OF WORKFORCE TRAINING; OR (III) TO
initiate work flexibility policies that allow call center employees to
work from an approved alternative worksite other than a call center
location[. Provided] PROVIDED, however, before a gas or electric corpo-
ration can establish policies for any call center employees that are
S. 2679 3
represented by a bona fide labor organization through a collective
bargaining agreement, such policies must have been mutually agreed to by
the corporation and the labor organization. Such WORK FLEXIBILITY poli-
cies shall not [violate] BE CONSIDERED A VIOLATION OF this section. ANY
TRANSFER OF CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE REQUESTS OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK STATE OR
OUTSIDE OF THE CORPORATION'S NEW YORK STATE SERVICE TERRITORY PURSUANT
TO SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE TEMPORARY AND ONLY FOR
THE DURATION OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION. A CORPORATION MUST NOTIFY THE
COMMISSION OF ANY TRANSFERS WITHIN TEN BUSINESS DAYS FOLLOWING AN
EXEMPTION CLAIMED PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH. FOR
THE PURPOSES OF THIS PARAGRAPH, "NEW YORK STATE SERVICE TERRITORY" SHALL
BE UNDERSTOOD TO REFER TO THE DESIGNATED GEOGRAPHIC AREA SERVED BY THE
GAS OR ELECTRIC CORPORATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS LEGAL SERVICE OBLI-
GATIONS. THE RELOCATION OF CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CALLS TO ANY OF THE
CORPORATION'S CALL CENTERS WITHIN NEW YORK STATE IN EXISTENCE PRIOR TO
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-
FIVE THAT AMENDED THIS PARAGRAPH, REGARDLESS OF THE SPECIFIC SERVICE
TERRITORY, SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED A VIOLATION OF THIS PARAGRAPH.
[(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
days make a determination if such gas or electric corporation was in
violation of this section.]
§ 2. Subdivision 4-a of section 25 of the public service law, as added
by a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the public service law relat-
ing to call centers for gas and electric corporations, as proposed in
legislative bills numbers S. 8626-A and A. 9444-A, is REPEALED.
§ 3. Section 4 of a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the public
service law relating to call centers for gas and electric corporations,
as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 8626-A and A. 9444-A, is
amended to read as follows:
§ 4. This act shall take effect [immediately] ON THE ONE HUNDRED
EIGHTIETH DAY AFTER IT SHALL HAVE BECOME A LAW and shall apply to all
actions or proceedings commenced on or after the effective date of this
act.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
sections one and two shall take effect on the same date and in the same
manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the public service law
relating to call centers for gas and electric corporations, as proposed
in legislative bills numbers S. 8626-A and A. 9444-A, takes effect.Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.