NY Pub Serv L § 91 (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBS - Public Service Article 5 - Provisions Relating to Telegraph and Telephone Lines and to Telephone and Telegraph Corporations 91 - Adequate Service; Just and Reasonable Charges; Unjust Discrimination; Unreasonable Preference; Protection of Privacy.

§ 91. Adequate   service;   just   and   reasonable   charges;  unjust discrimination; unreasonable preference; protection of privacy. 1. Every telegraph corporation and every telephone corporation shall furnish  and provide   with  respect  to  its  business  such  instrumentalities  and facilities as shall be adequate and in all respects just and reasonable. All charges made or demanded by any telegraph corporation  or  telephone corporation  for  any  service  rendered or to be rendered in connection therewith shall be just and reasonable and not more than allowed by  law or  by order of the commission. Every unjust or unreasonable charge made or demanded for any such service or in connection therewith or in excess of that allowed by law or by order of the commission is  prohibited  and declared to be unlawful.   2.  (a)  No  telegraph  corporation  or  telephone  corporation  shall directly or indirectly or by any special rate, rebate, drawback or other device or method charge, demand, collect or receive from any  person  or corporation  a  greater or less compensation for any service rendered or to be rendered with respect to communication by telegraph  or  telephone or  in  connection therewith, except as authorized in this chapter, than it charges, demands, collects or  receives  from  any  other  person  or corporation for doing a like and contemporaneous service with respect to communication  by telegraph or telephone under the same or substantially the same circumstances and conditions.  (b) The local service area within which calls  are  made  on  a  local rather  than  toll  basis  in a city with a population of one million or more shall not be changed  as  a  result  of  the  establishment  of  an additional area code.   3.  No  telegraph  corporation  or telephone corporation shall make or give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage  to  any  person, corporation  or  locality, or subject any particular person, corporation or locality to any undue or unreasonable prejudice  or  disadvantage  in any respect whatsoever.   4. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent any telegraph corporation  or telephone corporation from continuing to furnish the use of its lines, equipment or service under any contract  or  contracts  in force at the date this article takes effect or upon the taking effect of any   schedule  or  schedules  of  rates  subsequently  filed  with  the commission, as hereinafter provided, at the rate or rates fixed in  such contract or contracts; provided, however, that when any such contract or contracts  are or become terminable by notice, the commission shall have power, in its discretion, to direct  by  order  that  such  contract  or contracts  shall be terminated by the telegraph corporation or telephone corporation party thereto, and  thereupon  such  contract  or  contracts shall   be   terminated  by  such  telegraph  corporation  or  telephone corporation as and when directed by such order.   5. No telegraph corporation or telephone  corporation  shall  sell  or offer  for sale any names and/or addresses of any of its customers whose listings have  been  omitted  from  the  telephone  company's  published directory at the request of the customer.   6. (a) Every local exchange telephone corporation shall include in any directory of telephone numbers it or an affiliated company publishes for general distribution an alphabetical list of interexchange carriers with their  federal  communications  commission assigned identification codes which may be used by the subscribers listed in such directory to  access any  telephone  corporation that originates interexchange service in the local exchange telephone corporation's service area and that  agrees  to publication of its access code in such directory.  (b)  Each interexchange carrier shall be responsible for providing its own identification codes, sorted by  geographic  area  serviced  by  the  individual  directories  published by each local exchange company or its affiliate. Further, the identification codes for each directory shall be delivered to the local exchange carrier or its affiliate  in  compliance with   the   established   directory   printing   closing  dates.  Those interexchange carriers wishing to be listed in the directory shall  bear full  responsibility  for  the  accuracy and completeness of the list of their identification codes.  (c) Local exchange telephone corporations and their  affiliates  shall not  be  exposed  to  any greater liability for their failure to include such carrier identification codes in their directories than  is  present in  the  provisions of filed and approved tariffs dealing with directory listing errors and omissions.   7. Every telephone corporation, as defined in this chapter  shall,  at its  option:  (a) allow a customer to use a modified or alternative name for a directory listing or (b) waive the  otherwise  applicable  charges for  a  non-published  telephone  listing,  where  the customer requests protection of its identity in connection with the customer's purchase of telephone service and the customer is a victim of domestic violence,  as defined in section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services law, and  for  whose  benefit any order of protection, other than a temporary order  of  protection,  has  been  issued  by  a  court   of   competent jurisdiction.  This  waiver  of charges shall be for the duration of the applicable, non-temporary, order. Any non-published listings provided in this subdivision shall conform to all the  same  requirements  of  other non-published  listings.  A  customer  requesting  such an accommodation shall provide a copy of  the  order  of  protection  to  the  applicable telephone corporation. Any customer requesting an accommodation pursuant to  this  subdivision may also request and shall be provided, at no cost to the customer, a new telephone number within  fifteen  days  from  the request for such accommodation.   8.  Every  telephone  corporation,  as  defined in this chapter, shall allow a person who is under contract including, but not  limited  to,  a multi-year  contract or bundle contract with such telephone corporation, to opt-out of such contract without charge when such person is a  victim of  domestic violence and requests to opt-out in writing. Such victim of domestic violence shall provide to such telephone corporation any of the following documents, which  shall  relate  to  such  domestic  violence, within  six  months  of  the  document's  issuance: (a) a valid domestic violence incident report form, as such term is  defined  in  subdivision fifteen  of section eight hundred thirty-seven of the executive law; (b) a valid police report; (c) a valid order of  protection;  (d)  a  signed affidavit  from  a  licensed  medical  or  mental  health care provider, employee of a court acting within the scope of his  or  her  employment, social worker, a rape crisis counselor, as defined in section forty-five hundred  ten  of the civil practice law and rules, or advocate acting on behalf of an agency that assists domestic violence victims. A claim  for opting-out  of such contract without charge shall be made in good faith. Such telephone corporation shall waive the otherwise applicable  charges for such person requesting to opt-out of such contract.   * 9.  No  telephone  corporation  shall  terminate  or  disconnect any services  provided  by  its  infrastructure  to  a  residential  service customer  or  a  small  business  customer  with  twenty-five  or  fewer employees that is not a (a)  publicly  held  company,  or  a  subsidiary thereof, (b) seasonal, short-term, or temporary customer, (c) high usage customer  as defined by the commission, or (d) customer that the utility can demonstrate has the resources to pay the  bill,  provided  that  the utility  notifies  the small business customer of its reasons and of the customer's right to contest this determination through the  commission's  complaint  procedures,  for the non-payment of an overdue charge for the duration of the state disaster emergency declared pursuant to  executive order  two hundred two of two thousand twenty (hereinafter "the COVID-19 state  of  emergency").    Telephone  corporations  shall have a duty to restore service, to the extent not already required under this  chapter, at  the  request  of  any  residential or small business customer within forty-eight hours  if  such  service  has  been  terminated  during  the pendency  of  the  COVID-19 state of emergency and disconnection of such service was due to non-payment of an overdue charge.   * NB Repealed July 1, 2022   * 10. For a period  of  one  hundred  eighty  days  after  either  the COVID-19   state   of   emergency  is  lifted  or  expires  or  December thirty-first,  two  thousand  twenty-one,  whichever  is   earlier,   no telephone   corporation  shall  terminate  or  disconnect  any  services provided by its  infrastructure  of  a  residential  or  small  business customer  account  because  of  defaulted deferred payment agreements or arrears then owed to the telephone corporation when  such  customer  has experienced  a  change  in  financial  circumstances due to the COVID-19 state  of  emergency,  as  defined  by  the  department.  The  telephone corporation  shall  provide  such residential or small business customer with the right  to  enter  into,  or  restructure,  a  deferred  payment agreement  without  the  requirement  of  a  down payment, late fees, or penalties, with  such  prohibition  on  down  payments,  late  fees,  or penalties  applicable to all arrears incurred during the pendency of the COVID-19 state of emergency.   * NB Repealed July 1, 2022   * 11. Every telephone corporation shall provide notice to  residential customers and small business customers, in a writing to be included with a  bill  statement or, when appropriate, via electronic transmission the provisions of this section and shall further make reasonable efforts  to contact   customers   who   have  demonstrated  a  change  in  financial circumstances due to the COVID-19 state of emergency for the purpose  of offering such customers a deferred payment agreement consistent with the provisions of this section and article two of this chapter.   * NB Repealed July 1, 2022   * 12.  Implementation  of  the  provisions  of  this section shall not prohibit a  telephone  corporation  from  recovering  lost  or  deferred revenues after either the lifting or expiration of the COVID-19 state of emergency  or  December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-one, whichever is earlier, pursuant to such means for recovery as are provided  for  in this  chapter,  and by means not inconsistent with any of the provisions of this article. Nothing in this  section  shall  prohibit  a  telephone corporation  from  disconnecting  service  at the request of a customer. Nothing in this section shall  prohibit  a  telephone  corporation  from disconnecting  service  when  it  is necessary to protect the health and safety of customers and the public.   * NB Repealed July 1, 2022