N.Y. Public Service Law § 92: Rate schedules

§ 92. Rate schedules. 1. Every telegraph corporation and every

telephone corporation shall print and file with the commission schedules

showing all rates, rentals and charges for service of each and every

kind by or over its line between points in this state and between each

point upon its line and all points upon every line leased or operated by

it and between each point upon its line or upon any line leased or

operated by it and all points upon the line of any other telegraph or

telephone corporation whenever a through service or joint rate shall

have been established between any two points. If no joint rate over a

through line has been established the several corporations in such

through line shall file with the commission the separately established

rates and charges applicable where through service is afforded. Such

schedule shall plainly state the places between which telephone or

telegraph service, or both, will be rendered and shall also state

separately all charges and all privileges or facilities granted or

allowed and any rules or regulations or forms of contract which may in

any wise change, affect or determine any or the aggregate of the rates,

rentals or charges for the service rendered. Such schedule shall be

plainly printed and kept open to public inspection. The commission shall

have the power to prescribe the form of every such schedule and may from

time to time prescribe, by order, changes in the form thereof. The

commission shall also have power to establish rules and regulations for

keeping such schedules open to public inspection and may from time to

time modify the same. Every telegraph corporation and telephone

corporation shall file with the commission as and when required by it a

copy of any contract, agreement or arrangement in writing with any other

telegraph corporation or telephone corporation or with any other

corporation, association or person relating in any way to the

construction, maintenance or use of a telegraph line or telephone line

or service by or rates and charges over or upon any such telegraph line

or telephone line.

2. (a) No change shall be made in any rate, charge or rental, or joint

rate, charge or rental applicable to regulated basic services, switched

carrier access services, charges for interconnection between local

exchange carriers, and toll services within a local access and transport

area which shall have been filed by a telegraph corporation or telephone

corporation hereinafter in this subdivision called a utility in

compliance with this chapter, except after thirty days' notice to the

commission and to each county, city, town and village served by such

utility which had filed with such utility within the prior twelve months

a request for such notice and shall be affected by such change and

publication of a notice to the public of such proposed change once in

each week for four successive weeks in a newspaper having general

circulation in each county containing territory affected by the proposed

change. No other change shall be made in any rate, charge or rental, or

joint rate, charge or rental filed by a utility, except after ten

business days' notice to the commission and publication of one notice at

least ten business days prior to the effective date of the change in a

newspaper of general circulation in each county affected by the proposed

change. Such notices shall plainly state the changes proposed and the

time when they go into effect. For the purpose of this paragraph,

"regulated basic services" are defined as: residential, individual

business, and public access line network access, connection charges for

such network access, local usage, local coin usage rates, tone dialing,

access to emergency services, statewide relay services, operator

assistance services, director listings, and provisions that affect

privacy protections.

(b) All proposed changes shall be shown by filing new schedules or

shall be plainly indicated upon the schedules filed and in force at the

time and kept open to public inspection. The commission, for good cause

shown, may, except in the case of major changes, allow changes in rates,

charges or rentals to take effect prior to the end of such thirty-day

period or such ten-day period and without publication of notice to the

public under such conditions as it may prescribe. All such changes shall

be immediately indicated upon its schedules by such utility. The

commission may delegate to the secretary of the commission its authority

to approve a change to a schedule postponing the effective date of such

schedule previously filed with the commission and for good cause shown

to allow the postponement to take effect prior to the end of such

thirty-day period or ten-day period and without publication of notice to

the public.

(c) For the purpose of this subdivision, "major changes" shall mean an

increase in rates, charges and rentals which would increase the

aggregate revenues of the applicant more than the greater of five

hundred thousand dollars or two and one-half percent, but shall not

include changes in rates, charges or rentals allowed to go into effect

by the commission or made by the utility pursuant to an order of the

commission after hearings held upon notice to the public. If an increase

in rates, charges and rentals would increase the aggregate revenues of

the applicant by less than five hundred thousand dollars, the commission

may hold a hearing pursuant to paragraph (e) of this subdivision and/or

provide a statement pursuant to subdivision four of this section.

(d) No utility shall charge, demand, collect or receive a different

compensation for any service rendered or to be rendered than the charge

applicable as specified in its schedule on file and in effect. Nor shall

any utility refund or remit directly or indirectly any portion of the

rate or charge so specified, nor extend to any person any form of

contract or agreement, or any rule or regulation, or any privilege or

facility, except such as are specified in its schedule filed and in

effect and regularly and uniformly extended to all persons under like

circumstances for the like or substantially similar service.

(e) Whenever there shall be filed with the commission by any utility,

any schedule stating a new rate or charge, or any change in any form of

contract or agreement or any rule or regulation relating to any rate,

charge or service, or in any general privilege or facility, the

commission may at any time within sixty days from the date when such

schedule would or has become effective, either upon complaint or upon

its own initiative, and, if it so orders, without answer or other formal

pleading by the utility, but upon reasonable notice, hold a hearing

concerning the propriety of a change proposed by the filing. If such

change is a major change the commission shall hold such a hearing.

Pending such hearing and decision thereon, the commission, upon filing

with such schedule and delivering to the utility, a statement in writing

of its reasons therefor, may suspend the operation of such schedule, but

not for a longer period than one hundred and twenty days beyond the time

when it would otherwise go into effect. After full hearing, whether

completed before or after it goes into effect, the commission may make

such order in reference thereto as would be proper in a proceeding begun

after the rate, charge, form of contract or agreement, rule, regulation,

service, general privilege or facility has become effective.. If such

hearing cannot be concluded within the period of suspension as above

stated, the commission may extend the suspension for a further period,

not exceeding six months. The commission may, as authorized by section

ninety-seven of this article, establish temporary rates, charges or

rentals, for any period of suspension under this section.

(f) At any hearing involving a change or a proposed change of rates,

the burden of proof to show that the change or proposed change if

proposed by the utility, or that the existing rate, if it is proposed to

reduce the rate, is just and reasonable shall be upon the utility; and

the commission may give to the hearing and decision of such questions

preference over all other questions pending before it.

(g) During the suspension by the commission as above provided, the

schedule, rates, charges, form of contract or agreement, rule,

regulation, service, general privilege or facility in force when the

suspended schedule, rate, charge, form of contract, rule, regulation,

service, general privilege or facility was filed shall continue in force

unless the commission shall establish a temporary rate.

3. No telegraph corporation or telephone corporation subject to the

provisions of this chapter shall, directly or indirectly, give any free

or reduced service, or any free pass or frank for the transmission of

messages by either telephone or telegraph between points within this

state, except to its officers, employees, agents, pensioners, surgeons,

physicians, attorneys-at-law and their families; to persons or

corporations exclusively engaged in charitable and eleemosynary work and

ministers of religions; to officers and employees of other telegraph

corporations and telephone corporations, railroad corporations and

street railroad corporations. But this subdivision shall not apply to

state, municipal or federal contracts.

3-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this

section, the division of military and naval affairs, in cooperation with

the office of general services, shall negotiate with a telephone

corporation or telephone corporations for the provision of telephone

service at bulk rates to residents of this state in military service, as

defined in section three hundred one of the military law, and their

families, which shall include spouses, domestic partners, children, and

parents and such others as meet criteria established by the division.

4. The commission shall require each telephone corporation providing

local exchange service in the state to provide with any application for

a major rate change, as defined in subdivision two of this section, a

statement of the effect the proposed rate change is expected to have on

the goal of universal service to residential customers. The commission

may require such a statement with respect to any other application for a

rate change and shall specifically consider any such statement in its

rate determination.

5. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this

section, the commission may authorize a telephone corporation to offer

free or reduced basic service for a limited period of time to introduce

a present or potential customer to a service not previously received by

the customer.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one and three of

this section, a telephone corporation may offer free or reduced services

other than basic services for a period of time to be determined by the

telephone corporation to a new customer or to an existing customer for

the purpose of inducing the customer to maintain such services.

6. The commission shall provide that any net decrease in a telephone

corporation's real property tax expense resulting from the provisions of

a chapter of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty-seven phasing out the

taxation of certain property subject to such tax shall inure to the

benefit of the ratepayers of such corporation.

7. The commission shall provide that any net decrease in a telephone

company's real property tax expense resulting from the provisions of the

chapter of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-five which added this

subdivision shall inure to the benefit of the ratepayers of such

company.