What's happening
This bill requires telegraph and telephone companies to offer residential rates to religious organizations for their communication services.
Why it matters
Levels the playing field for religious organizations. by ensuring they pay the same, often lower, rates for phone and telegraph services as residential customers, reducing operational costs for houses of worship and faith-based schools.
Could free up resources for community services. with lower utility bills, religious organizations may have more funds available for charitable outreach, social programs, and educational initiatives.
Clarifies the law. by explicitly including religious schools (even those teaching secular subjects) and organizations using services “in connection with religious purposes,” potentially preventing discrimination or inconsistent rate application by service providers.
May impact telecommunication company revenues. by requiring them to extend discounted residential rates to a new class of customers, potentially affecting pricing structures for other business and nonprofit users.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Religious Groups Get Residential Rates
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
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.
Religious Groups Get Residential Rates
Stricken · Sponsor Jeffrey Dinowitz
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4907
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 3, 2017
Introduced by Sens. DIAZ, HAMILTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications
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.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring telegraph and telephone corporations to offer residential rates to religious organizations
Purpose
To make the telephone bills of religious organizations more affordable by requiring telephone companies to offer residential rates to such organizations.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Amends Section 92 (3) of the Public Service law. Prohibits telephone companies from charging religious organizations rates which are greater than rates applicable to residential customers for telephone services utilized exclusively in connection with religious purposes.
Section 2. Effective Date
Existing law
Section 76 of the Public Service Law allows religious organizations to be charged residential rates for gas and electric service. This provision is not applicable to telephone services.
Justification
Under current law, section 76 of the Public Service Law provides that religious organizations shall be subject to residential rates for gas and electric service. Such law assists religious organizations by making their gas and electric bills more affordable. This bill would provide similar assistance to religious organizations with regard to their telephone bills.
Religious organizations are not businesses and they do not make a profit. They rely primarily on donations for their expenses. It is inappropriate, therefore, that religious organizations be subject to business telephone rates. Business telephone rates generally charge customers by the number of calls and by the length of each call, a practice which may be warranted when calls are being used to derive profit or to further a business purpose. When calls are being made for religious purposes, however, lower cost residential rates should be applicable.
Legislative history
2016: S.140 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2015: S.140 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2014: S.444 - Referred to Energy and Telecommunications/A.6004 Referred to Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions 2013: S.444 - Referred to Energy and Telecommunications/A.6004 Referred to Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions 2012: S.295 - Referred to Energy and Telecommunications/A.6115Referred to Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions 2011: S.295 - Reported, Committed to Finance/A.6115- Referred to Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions 2009-10: S.3105 - Referred to Energy and Telecommunications/A.5028 -Reported, Referred to Ways and Means 2008: S.7250 - Referred to Energy and Telecommunications 2007-08: A.6631 Reported Referred to Ways and Means
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This bill will take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.