N.Y. PBS Law § 92 — New York Code / Act PBS / Article 5 / Section 92
Rate schedules
Status: in_force

§ 92. Rate schedules. 1. Every telegraph corporation and every\ntelephone corporation shall print and file with the commission schedules\nshowing all rates, rentals and charges for service of each and every\nkind by or over its line between points in this state and between each\npoint upon its line and all points upon every line leased or operated by\nit and between each point upon its line or upon any line leased or\noperated by it and all points upon the line of any other telegraph or\ntelephone corporation whenever a through service or joint rate shall\nhave been established between any two points. If no joint rate over a\nthrough line has been established the several corporations in such\nthrough line shall file with the commission the separately established\nrates and charges applicable where through service is afforded. Such\nschedule shall plainly state the places between which telephone or\ntelegraph service, or both, will be rendered and shall also state\nseparately all charges and all privileges or facilities granted or\nallowed and any rules or regulations or forms of contract which may in\nany wise change, affect or determine any or the aggregate of the rates,\nrentals or charges for the service rendered. Such schedule shall be\nplainly printed and kept open to public inspection. The commission shall\nhave the power to prescribe the form of every such schedule and may from\ntime to time prescribe, by order, changes in the form thereof. The\ncommission shall also have power to establish rules and regulations for\nkeeping such schedules open to public inspection and may from time to\ntime modify the same. Every telegraph corporation and telephone\ncorporation shall file with the commission as and when required by it a\ncopy of any contract, agreement or arrangement in writing with any other\ntelegraph corporation or telephone corporation or with any other\ncorporation, association or person relating in any way to the\nconstruction, maintenance or use of a telegraph line or telephone line\nor service by or rates and charges over or upon any such telegraph line\nor telephone line.\n  2. (a) No change shall be made in any rate, charge or rental, or joint\nrate, charge or rental applicable to regulated basic services, switched\ncarrier access services, charges for interconnection between local\nexchange carriers, and toll services within a local access and transport\narea which shall have been filed by a telegraph corporation or telephone\ncorporation hereinafter in this subdivision called a utility in\ncompliance with this chapter, except after thirty days' notice to the\ncommission and to each county, city, town and village served by such\nutility which had filed with such utility within the prior twelve months\na request for such notice and shall be affected by such change and\npublication of a notice to the public of such proposed change once in\neach week for four successive weeks in a newspaper having general\ncirculation in each county containing territory affected by the proposed\nchange. No other change shall be made in any rate, charge or rental, or\njoint rate, charge or rental filed by a utility, except after ten\nbusiness days' notice to the commission and publication of one notice at\nleast ten business days prior to the effective date of the change in a\nnewspaper of general circulation in each county affected by the proposed\nchange. Such notices shall plainly state the changes proposed and the\ntime when they go into effect. For the purpose of this paragraph,\n"regulated basic services" are defined as: residential, individual\nbusiness, and public access line network access, connection charges for\nsuch network access, local usage, local coin usage rates, tone dialing,\naccess to emergency services, statewide relay services, operator\nassistance services, director listings, and provisions that affect\nprivacy protections.\n  (b) All proposed changes shall be shown by filing new schedules or\nshall be plainly indicated upon the schedules filed and in force at the\ntime and kept open to public inspection. The commission, for good cause\nshown, may, except in the case of major changes, allow changes in rates,\ncharges or rentals to take effect prior to the end of such thirty-day\nperiod or such ten-day period and without publication of notice to the\npublic under such conditions as it may prescribe. All such changes shall\nbe immediately indicated upon its schedules by such utility. The\ncommission may delegate to the secretary of the commission its authority\nto approve a change to a schedule postponing the effective date of such\nschedule previously filed with the commission and for good cause shown\nto allow the postponement to take effect prior to the end of such\nthirty-day period or ten-day period and without publication of notice to\nthe public.\n  (c) For the purpose of this subdivision, "major changes" shall mean an\nincrease in rates, charges and rentals which would increase the\naggregate revenues of the applicant more than the greater of five\nhundred thousand dollars or two and one-half percent, but shall not\ninclude changes in rates, charges or rentals allowed to go into effect\nby the commission or made by the utility pursuant to an order of the\ncommission after hearings held upon notice to the public. If an increase\nin rates, charges and rentals would increase the aggregate revenues of\nthe applicant by less than five hundred thousand dollars, the commission\nmay hold a hearing pursuant to paragraph (e) of this subdivision and/or\nprovide a statement pursuant to subdivision four of this section.\n  (d) No utility shall charge, demand, collect or receive a different\ncompensation for any service rendered or to be rendered than the charge\napplicable as specified in its schedule on file and in effect. Nor shall\nany utility refund or remit directly or indirectly any portion of the\nrate or charge so specified, nor extend to any person any form of\ncontract or agreement, or any rule or regulation, or any privilege or\nfacility, except such as are specified in its schedule filed and in\neffect and regularly and uniformly extended to all persons under like\ncircumstances for the like or substantially similar service.\n  (e) Whenever there shall be filed with the commission by any utility,\nany schedule stating a new rate or charge, or any change in any form of\ncontract or agreement or any rule or regulation relating to any rate,\ncharge or service, or in any general privilege or facility, the\ncommission may at any time within sixty days from the date when such\nschedule would or has become effective, either upon complaint or upon\nits own initiative, and, if it so orders, without answer or other formal\npleading by the utility, but upon reasonable notice, hold a hearing\nconcerning the propriety of a change proposed by the filing. If such\nchange is a major change the commission shall hold such a hearing.\nPending such hearing and decision thereon, the commission, upon filing\nwith such schedule and delivering to the utility, a statement in writing\nof its reasons therefor, may suspend the operation of such schedule, but\nnot for a longer period than one hundred and twenty days beyond the time\nwhen it would otherwise go into effect. After full hearing, whether\ncompleted before or after it goes into effect, the commission may make\nsuch order in reference thereto as would be proper in a proceeding begun\nafter the rate, charge, form of contract or agreement, rule, regulation,\nservice, general privilege or facility has become effective.. If such\nhearing cannot be concluded within the period of suspension as above\nstated, the commission may extend the suspension for a further period,\nnot exceeding six months. The commission may, as authorized by section\nninety-seven of this article, establish temporary rates, charges or\nrentals, for any period of suspension under this section.\n  (f) At any hearing involving a change or a proposed change of rates,\nthe burden of proof to show that the change or proposed change if\nproposed by the utility, or that the existing rate, if it is proposed to\nreduce the rate, is just and reasonable shall be upon the utility; and\nthe commission may give to the hearing and decision of such questions\npreference over all other questions pending before it.\n  (g) During the suspension by the commission as above provided, the\nschedule, rates, charges, form of contract or agreement, rule,\nregulation, service, general privilege or facility in force when the\nsuspended schedule, rate, charge, form of contract, rule, regulation,\nservice, general privilege or facility was filed shall continue in force\nunless the commission shall establish a temporary rate.\n  3. No telegraph corporation or telephone corporation subject to the\nprovisions of this chapter shall, directly or indirectly, give any free\nor reduced service, or any free pass or frank for the transmission of\nmessages by either telephone or telegraph between points within this\nstate, except to its officers, employees, agents, pensioners, surgeons,\nphysicians, attorneys-at-law and their families; to persons or\ncorporations exclusively engaged in charitable and eleemosynary work and\nministers of religions; to officers and employees of other telegraph\ncorporations and telephone corporations, railroad corporations and\nstreet railroad corporations. But this subdivision shall not apply to\nstate, municipal or federal contracts.\n  3-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this\nsection, the division of military and naval affairs, in cooperation with\nthe office of general services, shall negotiate with a telephone\ncorporation or telephone corporations for the provision of telephone\nservice at bulk rates to residents of this state in military service, as\ndefined in section three hundred one of the military law, and their\nfamilies, which shall include spouses, domestic partners, children, and\nparents and such others as meet criteria established by the division.\n  4. The commission shall require each telephone corporation providing\nlocal exchange service in the state to provide with any application for\na major rate change, as defined in subdivision two of this section, a\nstatement of the effect the proposed rate change is expected to have on\nthe goal of universal service to residential customers. The commission\nmay require such a statement with respect to any other application for a\nrate change and shall specifically consider any such statement in its\nrate determination.\n  5. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this\nsection, the commission may authorize a telephone corporation to offer\nfree or reduced basic service for a limited period of time to introduce\na present or potential customer to a service not previously received by\nthe customer.\n  (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one and three of\nthis section, a telephone corporation may offer free or reduced services\nother than basic services for a period of time to be determined by the\ntelephone corporation to a new customer or to an existing customer for\nthe purpose of inducing the customer to maintain such services.\n  6. The commission shall provide that any net decrease in a telephone\ncorporation's real property tax expense resulting from the provisions of\na chapter of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty-seven phasing out the\ntaxation of certain property subject to such tax shall inure to the\nbenefit of the ratepayers of such corporation.\n  7. The commission shall provide that any net decrease in a telephone\ncompany's real property tax expense resulting from the provisions of the\nchapter of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-five which added this\nsubdivision shall inure to the benefit of the ratepayers of such\ncompany.\n