What's happening
This bill requires gas corporations to file annual gas safety reports detailing pipeline projects, safety activities, and use of employees or contractors.
Why it matters
Requires detailed disclosure of how gas corporations plan, prioritize, and execute pipeline replacement projects. , increasing transparency about the decision-making processes behind critical infrastructure upgrades.
Mandates reporting on whether pipeline projects were completed by company employees or outside contractors. , which may affect accountability, safety practices, and potentially worker conditions—this data could influence future labor and contracting policies.
Empowers regulators to request independent cost-benefit analyses comparing in-house versus contracted work. , providing tools to assess financial efficiency and safety implications, which could drive changes in how pipeline work is awarded and performed.
Enables quicker regulatory response to identified deficiencies in safety practices or project management. , allowing the commission to order improvements that better protect public health and safety, and ensuring that ratepayer funds are appropriately used.
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Who cares
Gas corporations
They would have to file annual gas safety reports by March 15 detailing pipeline replacement priorities, safety activities, inspections and completed replacement projects.
Department of Public Service and Public Service Commission
The department would review safety practices and spending and flag deficiencies at the commission’s next public session, while the commission could order improvements.
Gas utility employees and pipeline contractors
Reports would identify which replacement projects used utility employees versus contractors, and the commission could require an independent cost-benefit analysis of those staffing choices.
Gas customers
The bill would require oversight of pipeline replacement and other safety activities to assess compliance with requirements for safe and reliable service.
Headline styles
Require Annual Gas Safety Reports
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
4 Co-sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Enacting clause stricken
- Recommitted to codes
- Ordered to third reading cal.173
- Returned to assembly
- Died in senate
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Advanced to third reading cal.34
- Reported
- Reported referred to codes
- Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Require Gas Safety Reports
In Senate Committee · Energy And Telecommunications · Sponsor John E. Brooks
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2320
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 17, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to filing gas safety reports
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 66-o to read as follows:
§ 66-o. Gas safety reports. 1. On or before March fifteenth of each year, each gas corporation shall file with the department a gas safety report. The department shall review the reports to monitor each gas corporation's pipeline replacement projects and all other activities related to providing safe and reliable gas service in order to determine whether the projects or activities are being carried out in a manner consistent with this chapter, the commission's rules, regulations and orders, and any practice the department has deemed necessary for the provision of safe and reliable service, and to track how each gas corporation is spending any funds allocated for pipeline replacement projects and all other activities related to providing safe and reliable gas service.
2. The gas safety report provided for in subdivision one of this section shall include a thorough description and explanation of the strategic planning and decision-making methodology used to determine and prioritize pipeline replacement projects, a description of the corporation's operation and maintenance activities related to gas safety, a description of the corporation's inspections of its intrastate transmission and distribution lines, and any other information the department may require. If there has been no substantial change in a gas corporation's safety report since the gas safety report most recently filed with the department, the corporation, with consent of the department, may file an updated version of such report.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02147-01-7
A. 2320 2
2-a. A gas corporation shall also include with its gas safety report a list of pipeline replacement projects completed by a gas corporation within the last year; such list shall indicate which projects were completed with a gas corporation's own employees and which were completed by contractors. The commission may also order a gas corporation to submit an independent cost benefit analysis which examines the gas corporation's use of its own employees and its use of contractors to complete pipeline replacement projects.
3. If the department determines that there is a deficiency in a gas corporation's prioritization or administration of its pipeline replacement projects or operation and maintenance activities related to gas safety, the department shall notify the commission at the next scheduled public session and shall provide a brief description of the facts and nature of the deficiency. The commission may order reasonable improvements that will best promote the public interest, preserve the public health and protect those using gas pursuant to those powers provided to the commission as provided in this chapter, including but not limited to those in section sixty-six of this article.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.