Bill Text: NY S08964 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes strict liability for certain violations by public utility companies, corporations, or persons and the officers thereof; removes requirement that violations be committed knowingly.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-09-04 - REFERRED TO RULES [S08964 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S08964-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8964 IN SENATE September 4, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAYER -- 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 establishing liability for certain violations by public utility companies, corpo- rations, or persons and the officers thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 2, 3 and 4 of section 25 of the public service 2 law, subdivision 2 and paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 and paragraph (a) 3 of subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 375 of the laws of 1986 and 4 subdivisions 3 and 4 as added by chapter 665 of the laws of 1980, are 5 amended to read as follows: 6 2. Any public utility company, corporation or person and the offi- 7 cers[, agents and employees] thereof that [knowingly] fails or neglects 8 to obey or comply, or any agents and employees thereof that knowingly 9 fail or neglect to obey or comply, with a provision of this chapter or 10 an order adopted under authority of this chapter so long as the same 11 shall be in force, shall forfeit to the people of the state of New York 12 a sum not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil 13 penalty for each and every offense and, in the case of a continuing 14 violation, each day shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense. 15 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this section, 16 any such public utility company, corporation or person and the offi- 17 cers[, agents and employees] thereof that [knowingly] fails or neglects 18 to obey or comply, or any agents and employees thereof that knowingly 19 fail or neglect to obey or comply, with a provision of this chapter, or 20 an order or regulation adopted under the authority of this chapter, 21 adopted specifically for the protection of human safety, including but 22 not limited to the commission's code of gas safety regulations shall, if 23 it is determined by the commission that such safety violation caused or 24 constituted a contributing factor in bringing about a death or personal 25 injury, forfeit to the state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater 26 of: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD17184-02-0S. 8964 2 1 (a) two hundred and fifty thousand dollars constituting a civil penal- 2 ty for each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for 3 purposes of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not 4 be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a contin- 5 uing violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly 6 treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para- 7 graph; or 8 (b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision 9 two of this section. 10 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one or two of this 11 section, a public utility company, corporation or person and the offi- 12 cers[, agents and employees] thereof that [knowingly] fails or neglects 13 to obey or comply, or any agents and employees thereof that knowingly 14 fail or neglect to obey or comply, with a provision of this chapter, or 15 an order or regulation adopted under authority of this chapter, designed 16 to protect the overall reliability and continuity of electric service, 17 shall forfeit to the state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater 18 of: 19 (a) five hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for 20 each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for purposes 21 of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not be deemed 22 a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a continuing 23 violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly 24 treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para- 25 graph; or 26 (b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision 27 two of this section. 28 § 2. Subdivision 6 of section 25-a of the public service law, as added 29 by section 2 of part X of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is amended to 30 read as follows: 31 6. Any officer of any combination gas and electric corporation deter- 32 mined by the commission to have violated the provisions of subdivision 33 three, four, or five of this section, and who [knowingly] violates a 34 provision of this chapter, regulation or an order adopted under authori- 35 ty of this chapter so long as the same shall be in force shall forfeit a 36 sum not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil 37 penalty for each and every offense and, in the case of a continuing 38 violation, each day shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense. 39 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
