Bill Text: NY A10900 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Directs the public service commission to study the feasibility and the costs of burying all or most of the electrical, telephone and internet transmission lines in New York state and to publish and deliver a report of its findings to the governor and the legislature, and requires new electrical, telephone and internet transmission lines to be buried underground.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-09-09 - print number 10900a [A10900 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A10900-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                        10900--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     August 17, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Jacobson,
          Dickens, Simon, Reyes, Thiele,  Galef,  Gottfried,  Stern,  Zebrowski,
          D'Urso,  Colton,  Englebright,  Magnarelli, L. Rosenthal, Brabenec) --
          read once and referred to the Committee on  Corporations,  Authorities
          and  Commissions -- reported and referred to the Committee on Rules --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted to said committee

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the public service law, in relation to directing the
          public service commission study the feasibility and the costs of bury-
          ing all or most of the electrical, telephone and internet transmission
          lines in New York state and to publish and deliver  a  report  of  its
          findings  to the governor and the legislature, and requiring new elec-
          trical, telephone and internet transmission lines to be buried  under-
          ground

          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  two  new
     2  sections 119-d and 119-e to read as follows:
     3    § 119-d. Buried line study. 1. The commission shall conduct a study to
     4  analyze the feasibility and the costs of burying underground all or most
     5  of the existing electrical, telephone and internet transmission lines in
     6  New York state. Such study shall include an analysis of:
     7    (a) the economic and environmental benefits from burying such existing
     8  lines; and
     9    (b)  the  economic cost burden of doing so, if any, including an esti-
    10  mate of what the cost per utility customer would be, the number of  jobs
    11  to  be  created to complete the project and a timeline for completion of
    12  the project.
    13    2. In analyzing costs and benefits for the purposes of this study, the
    14  commission shall consider the varying geographical areas  of  the  state
    15  and  report  separately on the impact particular areas might have on the
    16  project. The study shall also quantify the economic costs  and  benefits
    17  of  burying  existing  electrical,  telephone  and internet transmission
    18  lines to utility customers and shall disaggregate the results by  utili-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD17082-02-0
        A. 10900--A                         2

     1  ty.   The study shall calculate the cost per customer of the entire cost
     2  of project statewide, regardless of where the customer  lives,  for  the
     3  life of the project on a monthly basis.
     4    3.  Within  one  hundred  eighty  days  of  the effective date of this
     5  section, the commission shall:
     6    (a) publish the report of its findings on its website  in  a  location
     7  accessible to the public; and
     8    (b) deliver a copy of the report to the governor, the temporary presi-
     9  dent of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chair of the senate
    10  energy  and  telecommunications  committee and the chair of the assembly
    11  energy committee.
    12    § 119-e. Buried lines. 1. Notwithstanding any law, rule or  regulation
    13  to  the  contrary,  to the greatest extent possible, all new electrical,
    14  telephone and internet transmission lines installed in the  state  shall
    15  be buried underground.
    16    2. The provisions of this section shall apply to electrical, telephone
    17  and internet transmission lines for which preliminary permits are issued
    18  on and after the effective date of this section.
    19    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.