BILL NUMBER: S9321
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to protections
against termination of residential utility service in cases of medical
emergencies, life-support equipment and elderly, blind or disabled
customers
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill strengthens medical protections under Public Service Law 32 by
creating uniform definitions, standardized applications, clear time-
lines, and accountability requirements to safeguard medically vulnerable
utility customers from service termination.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: This section amends Service Law to standardize and ity shut
offs. It provides for tion requirements, timeframes, authority for
implementation.subdivision 3 of section 32 of the Public enhance medical
protections against utiluniform definitions, procedures, applicareport-
ing requirements, and regulatory
Subsection (a): This subsection requires the Commission to utilize
specific coding definitions for medical emergency, life support equip-
ment, and elderly, blind, disabled.
Subsection (b): This subsection requires the Commission to establish and
require simplified and standardized application forms for all utilities.
Subsection (c): This subsection requires utilities to accept applica-
tions from licensed medical professionals or customers directly, limits
medical documentation to proof of necessity, prohibits financial
documentation for the first thirty days of medical emergency relief, and
requires HEFPA compliance for any subsequent verification.
Subsection (d): This subsection requires utilities to accept applica-
tions through multiple means of submission
Subsection (e): This subsection requires utilities to process applica-
tions within five business days and provides for automatic approval if
no action is taken within the five-day period.
Subsection (f): This subsection prohibits utilities from requiring
extensive , medical documentation beyond what is authorized or denying
life support equipment coding based on internal medical necessity deter-
minations.
Subsection (g) mandates the reporting of applications, approvals, and
denials by the utilities to the Commission each year and the preparation
of an annual public report by the Commission, which shall be published
starting July 1, 2027.
Section 2 gives the act an effective date of sixty days after the enact-
ment of the law.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Current law provides special protections from utility shut offs for
elderly, blind, or disabled customers as well as customers who depend on
life-support equipment to sustain their life. However, these protections
are inconsistently applied among utility corporations and sometimes hard
to access for medically vulnerable customers. Patients with medical
conditions requiring oxygen, ventilators, dialysis equipment, refriger-
ated medications, or severe health consequences from the loss of elec-
tricity, gas, or steam continue to face delays, denials, or onerous
documentation requirements.
Customers are often required to provide a great deal of medical informa-
tion, are subject to inconsistent financial verification requirements,
and face immense delays in processing applications. These factors pose
severe health and safety risks, especially to elderly, blind, disabled,
and chronically ill utility customers. In some instances, utility
service shut offs may lead to hospitalizations, emergency services, or
life-threatening outcomes.
The bill does not create new benefit programs or expand eligibility
categories; rather, it strengthens and clarifies existing protections to
ensure they function as intended.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPACTS:
None to state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Sixty days after becoming law.