Bill Text: NY A03674 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Provides that all regulated local exchange telephone companies shall offer customers the option to block access to obscene information-access services and inform their customers of such blocking service; such service shall be without charge to the customer; requires public service commission to instruct such telephone companies to designate a specific prefix for messages the telephone company considers extreme.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 7-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-05-15 - held for consideration in corporations, authorities and commissions [A03674 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A03674-Introduced.html

---

                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         3674
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   January 26, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M. of A. FINCH, KOLB, BURLING, McDONOUGH, KATZ -- Multi-
         Sponsored by -- M. of A. HAWLEY, MAGEE -- read once  and  referred  to
         the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection
       AN  ACT  to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring local
         phone companies to provide customers with a cost free option to  block
         certain information-access services
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1.  Legislative findings and intent. Effective  July  1,  1989
    2  customers  who wish to block "adult" messages, group calling services or
    3  recorded information and entertainment services from their  phones  have
    4  had  to  pay  a  five  dollar  fee. The legislature finds that customers
    5  should not have to pay to block a service they never requested and  that
    6  this blocking option should be made available free of charge.
    7    S  2.  Section 91 of the public service law is amended by adding a new
    8  subdivision 8 to read as follows:
    9    8. (A) THE COST FOR PROVIDING BLOCKING SERVICES AND INFORMING  CUSTOM-
   10  ERS  THEREOF,  SHALL  BE  BORNE  BY  THE TELEPHONE COMPANY PROVIDING THE
   11  BLOCKING SERVICE, AND SHALL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THAT TELEPHONE  COMPANY'S
   12  RATE BASE.
   13    (B)  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  COMMISSION SHALL PROMULGATE THE APPROPRIATE
   14  RULES AND REGULATIONS WITHIN ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS  OF  THE  EFFECTIVE
   15  DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   16    S  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
   17  have become a law.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD03811-01-1