Bill Text: NY A01416 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relates to information cable television companies must provide to subscribers regarding availability of required equipment at retail.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-01-08 - ordered to third reading cal.73 [A01416 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A01416-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1416--A
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 15, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Corporations, Authorities and  Commissions  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee
        AN  ACT  to  amend the public service law, in relation to establishing a
          cap on the amount a subscriber may be charged  for  leasing  a  modem,
          remote or other device from a cable television company
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a  new  section
     2  231 to read as follows:
     3    §  231. Leasing of equipment. 1. For the purposes of this section, the
     4  following terms shall have the following meanings:
     5    (a) "lease" means a  contract  or  instrument  conveying  property  to
     6  another  for a specified period or for a period determinable at the will
     7  of either lessor or lessee in consideration of compensation; and
     8    (b) "modem" means an electronic device that makes possible the  trans-
     9  mission  of  data  to or from a computer via telephone or other communi-
    10  cation lines.
    11    2. No cable television company shall charge any subscriber  an  amount
    12  which  is  more than the actual cost of the modem, remote control or any
    13  other device paid for by the company and provided to the subscriber.
    14    3. A cable or internet provider shall disclose in an  initial  billing
    15  correspondence:  (a) the amount the equipment costs the company, (b) how
    16  many payments the subscriber must make on the equipment  in  total,  and
    17  (c)  information  regarding  how or where a subscriber may purchase such
    18  equipment at retail.
    19    4. No cable television company shall charge any subscriber  a  monthly
    20  fee  for the lease or use of a new modem, remote control or other device
    21  beyond twelve months after such equipment  has  been  provided  by  such
    22  cable  television  company.  If  a cable television company replaces the
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06362-03-9

        A. 1416--A                          2
     1  customer's existing modem, remote control or other  device  with  a  new
     2  modem,  remote control or other device during or after such twelve month
     3  period an additional twelve month period shall commence.
     4    5.  No  cable television company shall charge an additional or monthly
     5  fee for the maintenance of a provided modem,  remote  control  or  other
     6  device.
     7    6.  Whenever  there  shall be a violation of this section, application
     8  may be made by the commission in the name of the people of the state  of
     9  New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction by a special proceed-
    10  ing to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of not less
    11  than  five  days,  to  enjoin  and  restrain  the  continuance  of  such
    12  violations; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the  court  or
    13  justice  that  the  defendant  has,  in  fact, violated this section, an
    14  injunction may be  issued  by  such  court  or  justice,  enjoining  and
    15  restraining  any  further  violation,  without  requiring proof that any
    16  person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby.
    17    7. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this section
    18  has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more than five
    19  hundred dollars for each violation.
    20    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
feedback