What's happening
This bill directs a study and regular reporting on workforce trends and future labor needs in New York's utility power generation and transmission industries.
Why it matters
Anticipates Workforce Shortages. By requiring ongoing monitoring and reporting, the bill helps New York proactively identify and address potential shortages in critical utility sector jobs before they become crises, reducing the risk of disruptions in power generation and transmission.
Data-Driven Policy and Accountability. The commissioner of labor gains broad authority to collect detailed information from utilities—including staffing levels, recruitment/retention plans, and succession strategies—ensuring that policy decisions and legislative recommendations are informed by real-world data rather than assumptions.
Inclusive Stakeholder Input. The mandated data review committee brings together representatives from utilities, labor, consumers, large industrial users, and regulators, aiming to balance the interests of all affected groups and encourage transparency in workforce planning.
Link to Rate Hikes and Industry Changes. Additional studies can be triggered by utility rate hike requests or third-party complaints, tying workforce analysis directly to major industry and consumer impacts—helping ensure that utility staffing issues are considered when prices and service quality are on the line.
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Who cares
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Study Utility Workforce Trends
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History
- Referred to energy
- Referred to energy
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
254
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Energy
AN ACT directing a study and report on current trends in the workforce that supports the generation and transmission of power in the utility industry
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. 1. The commissioner of labor, in consultation with, and using data collected by, the public service commission, shall monitor trends in the workforce of:
(a) personnel that support the generation of power in the utility industry; and
(b) personnel that support the transmission of power in the utility industry.
2. Not later than one year after the effective date of this act, the commissioner of labor shall submit to the legislature a report on current trends under subdivision one of this section, with recommendations to meet the future labor requirements for the energy industries. The commissioner of labor shall have the authority to commence additional studies when (a) a utility initiates a rate hike request; or (b) a complaint is brought by a third party. The scope of any additional study can be broadened to include all utilities in the state or limited to the evaluation to just one utility.
3. As soon as practicable after the date on which the commissioner of labor identifies or predicts a significant shortage in this state of personnel in one or more energy sectors, the commissioner of labor shall submit to the legislature a report describing the shortage, after the data review committee, appointed pursuant to subdivision four of this section has reviewed and provided input on the report. The commissioner of labor shall have broad authority to require utilities to provide
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00033-01-9
A. 254 2
documents and reports regarding their staffing practices. The commissioner of labor shall have the authority to seek the following types of information, including but not limited to:
(a) staffing-related service quality data;
(b) current staffing levels;
(c) recruitment and hiring plans;
(d) anticipated retirements;
(e) anticipated skills set needs;
(f) retention plans;
(g) succession plans; and
(h) efforts to capture knowledge from retiring personnel.
4. The commissioner of labor shall evaluate the data with the assistance of experts in human resources, corporate management, internal controls and business/planning policies, and forecasting and planning. The commissioner of labor shall benefit by being informed by all entities with interests in, and relevant information concerning, utility staffing issues. The commissioner of labor shall form a data review committee and shall appoint one member each from the following constituencies to serve for terms of 2 years:
(a) a regulated utility;
(b) a labor representative;
(c) a state ratepayer advocate organization;
(d) an industrial customer or other large user; and
(e) the public service commission.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
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.