What's happening
This bill requires telegraph and telephone companies to offer residential rates to religious organizations for their services.
Why it matters
Levels the playing field for religious organizations. by ensuring they pay the same lower rates for telegraph and telephone services as residential customers, rather than more expensive business rates, which can significantly reduce their operational costs.
Explicitly includes religious schools. (even those teaching secular subjects) in the definition of eligible organizations, expanding the potential impact to a broader array of faith-based educational institutions.
May influence service providers’ pricing structures. by mandating a new customer class eligible for residential rates, potentially prompting adjustments in how these rates are determined or offered.
Targets non-profit, faith-based community work. by making telecommunication services more affordable for organizations that often rely on donations and limited budgets, potentially freeing up resources for other community or charitable activities.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Religious Groups Get Residential Rates
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Enacting clause stricken
- Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
- Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4668
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 3, 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 requiring telegraph and telephone corporations to offer residential rates to religious organizations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 92 of the public service law, as amended by chapter 124 of the laws of 1911, is amended to read as follows:
3. [No] (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, no telegraph corporation or telephone corporation subject to the provisions of this chapter shall, directly or indirectly, give any free or reduced service, or any free pass or frank for the transmission of messages by either telephone or telegraph between points within this state, except to its officers, employees, agents, pensioners, surgeons, physicians, attorneys-at-law and their families; to persons or corporations exclusively engaged in charitable and eleemosynary work and ministers of religions; to officers and employees of other telegraph corporations and telephone corporations, railroad corporations and street railroad corporations. But this subdivision shall not apply to state, municipal or federal contracts.
(b) No telegraph corporation or telephone corporation shall, directly or indirectly, charge, demand, collect or receive a rate, which is in excess of the applicable residential rate for the transmission of messages by either telephone or telegraph between points within the state, from any corporation or association organized and conducted in good faith for religious purposes, including the operation of a school regardless of whether secular subjects are taught therein, when such corporation or association utilizes such services in connection with its religious purposes.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07189-01-7
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.