NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7544
SPONSOR: Magnarelli TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law and the general municipal law, in
relation to enforcement of pole attachment safety and quality
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To ensure the enforcement of unsafe make-ready work and violations of
statutory protections of Collective Eargaining Agreements.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: This section introduces a new provision (Section 119-e) to
the Public Service Law, requiring utility pole owners and attachers to
submit detailed information about their equipment when a new pole
attachment is made, during pole modifications, repairs, or inspections.
The data will include the telecommunication or cable company that owns
the equipment, the contractor or subcontractor responsible for complet-
ing the pole attachment work, & the date of work. The data must be
submitted electronically to the Public Service Commission (PSC), which
will maintain an electronic database, PSC will establish uniform regu-
lations for submitting this information, and create an electronic
complaint form for the public and telecommunications workers to report
issues, such as violations of laws, industry standards, safety hazards,
or unsafe attachments, PSC is required to inspect complaints within two
weeks and may result in fines and penalties, with escalating fines for
repeated offenses, including a stop work order after the third
violation, PSC will compile a list of entities with multiple complaints,
and those on the list will be ineligible for state grants or loans for
three years.
Section 2: This section amends the General Municipal Law to require
applicants for a Public Right-of-Way Permit to disclose the identity of
each contractor, subcontractor, or agent who will perform work author-
ized by the permit. If there are any changes to these entities after the
submission, the applicant must update the local permitting authority
within 24 hours.
Section 3: Establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
"Make-ready" work refers to moving existing equipment to create the
necessary space on utility poles for new equipment. This work is danger-
ous and complex, and, when done incorrectly, poses threats both to work-
ers and the public. Unskilled work could leave heavy terminals and wires
hanging without the proper support; ungrounded wires could pose electro-
cution risks; Incorrect placement or overloading equipment on damaged or
decaying poles could lead to poles falling in the public right-of-way.
Unfortunately, subcontractors often evade responsibility for their work-
force and rush through work, compromising both safety and quality. This
can lead to shoddy work, accidents that endanger workers and the public,
and damaged public infrastructure. Make-ready work is increasingly
performed by subcontractors, in some cases in violation of existing
collective bargaining agreements.
By requiring utility pole owners and attachers to identify their work,
creating an accessible complaint form to make the Public Service Commis-
sion aware of violations, and implementing a penalty structure, this
bill will ensure robust enforcement of unsafe make-ready work and
violations of statutory protections of Collective Bargaining Agreements.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7544
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 1, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public service law and the general municipal law, in
relation to enforcement of pole attachment safety and quality
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section
2 119-e to read as follows:
3 § 119-e. Utility pole and attachment identification. 1. (a) In
4 connection to a new pole attachment, or during the modification, repair
5 or inspection of a pole or pole attachment, all utility pole owners and
6 attachers shall be required to submit information that allows inspectors
7 to ensure physical identification of their equipment on a utility pole.
8 Such information shall include the (i) telecommunication or cable compa-
9 ny that owns the equipment, (ii) contractor or subcontractor responsible
10 for completing the pole attachment work, and (iii) date of work. Such
11 information shall also be submitted electronically to the commission and
12 kept in an electronic database pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdi-
13 vision.
14 (b) The commission shall keep a record of all pole attachment work
15 including which attachers have equipment on which poles and the contrac-
16 tor, telecommunications or cable company who completed the work.
17 (c) The commission shall promulgate rules and regulations to provide a
18 uniform format or form for complying with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this
19 subdivision.
20 2. (a) The commission shall create an electronic complaint form, post-
21 ed to the commission's website, to allow members of the public and tele-
22 communications workers to report (i) telecommunications equipment moved
23 in violation of applicable laws and regulations including but not limit-
24 ed to subdivision five of section one hundred nineteen-a of this arti-
25 cle, (ii) an attachment that does not meet industry standards including
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11374-01-5
A. 7544 2
1 but not limited to the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) and
2 Telcordia Standards, (iii) an unsafe attachment, telecommunications or
3 electrical equipment, or a pole that presents a safety hazard, and (iv)
4 anything else the commission deems necessary to protect workers and the
5 public and ensure safe pole attachment work.
6 (b) The complaint form shall include, at minimum, (i) the date and
7 time of the complaint, (ii) the location of the violation, (iii) a
8 description of the violation, and (iv) information on the pole owner,
9 attacher or contractor, if available. Such form shall allow for the
10 submission of photographs.
11 3. The commission shall be required to inspect a reported complaint
12 within two weeks of the submission of such complaint.
13 4. (a) Where the commission finds a violation outlined in subdivision
14 two of this section, any public utility company, corporation or person
15 and the officers, attachers, agents and employees shall be subject to
16 penalties set forth in subdivision two of section twenty-five of this
17 chapter and as further set forth in this subdivision. The commission
18 shall notify the responsible telecommunications or cable company and
19 their contractor of its findings in writing.
20 (i) Upon a first violation, the responsible party may be subject to a
21 twenty thousand dollar fine.
22 (ii) Upon a second violation, the responsible party may be subject to
23 a fifty thousand dollar fine.
24 (iii) Upon a third violation, the responsible party may be subject to
25 a stop work order in the county where any of the violations were made.
26 (b) The commission shall issue a fine of no less than twenty thousand
27 dollars for violations of the provisions of subdivision five of section
28 one hundred nineteen-a of this article.
29 5. The commission shall compile a semiannual list of attachers, inter-
30 net service providers and their contractors that have received three or
31 more complaints. The commission shall distribute such list to relevant
32 agencies including but not limited to the division of broadband access,
33 as established in section sixteen-gg of the urban development corpo-
34 ration act. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a contractor,
35 telecommunications or cable company that appears on the list shall be
36 deemed ineligible for any direct or indirect state grants, state guaran-
37 teed loans or tax benefits for three years after the date such list is
38 published.
39 § 2. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new section
40 109-e to read as follows:
41 § 109-e. Additional requirements for right-of-way permits. As a
42 requirement of obtaining a public right-of-way permit, all applicants
43 shall disclose to the local permitting authority of a municipality prior
44 to the issuance of such permit the identity of each contractor, subcon-
45 tractor, or agent that will perform work authorized by the permit in the
46 right-of-way, whether a sole proprietor, independent contractor, compa-
47 ny, or other entity. If there are any changes to the entities that will
48 perform permitted work in the right-of-way after submission, the appli-
49 cant shall update the municipality with the new information within twen-
50 ty-four hours.
51 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
