EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*sb1035*
SENATE BILL 1035
C5 5lr3496
By: Senator A. Washington
Introduced and read first time: February 9, 2025
Assigned to: Rules
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Electric and Gas Service – Termination – Third–Party Notification 2
FOR the purpose of requiring a public service company to notify a certain municipality and 3
certain elected officials before terminating for nonpayment electric or gas service to 4
a multifamily dwelling unit for which the account is held by a property owner or 5
manager; and generally relating to termination of electric or gas service. 6
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 7
Article – Public Utilities 8
Section 7–307.3 9
Annotated Code of Maryland 10
(2020 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 11
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 12
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 13
Article – Public Utilities 14
7–307.3. 15
(a) (1) A public service company that intends to terminate, because of 16
nonpayment, electric or gas service to a customer of the service to a multifamily dwelling 17
unit shall notify the property owner or property manager of the multifamily dwelling unit 18
before terminating service to the customer if the public service company has received the 19
customer’s consent that designates the property owner or property manager as a 20
third–party authorized to receive a notice of termination of services. 21
[(b)] (2) As a term of a lease of a multifamily dwelling unit, the property owner 22
or property manager of the multifamily dwelling unit may require a tenant to ensure that 23
a customer of the public service company that is responsible for the account for that 24 2 SENATE BILL 1035
multifamily dwelling unit provides consent for the property owner or property manager to 1
receive a notice of termination of services as a result of nonpayment by the customer. 2
[(c)] (3) A customer’s consent may be provided to a public service company by: 3
[(1)] (I) the customer; or 4
[(2)] (II) if the consent is written, the property owner or property manager 5
of the multifamily dwelling unit. 6
(B) BEFORE TERMINATING BE CAUSE OF NONPAYMENT ELECTRIC OR GAS 7
SERVICE TO A MULTIFA MILY DWELLING UNIT F OR WHICH THE ACCO UNT WITH THE 8
PUBLIC SERVICE COMPA NY IS HELD BY THE PR OPERTY OWNER OR MANA GER OF THE 9
MULTIFAMILY DWELLING UNIT, THE PUBLIC SERVICE C OMPANY SHALL NOTIFY : 10
(1) THE MUNICIPAL CORPOR ATION IN WHICH THE M ULTIFAMILY 11
DWELLING UNIT IS LOC ATED, IF ANY; AND 12
(2) THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND LOCAL ELECTED 13
OFFICIALS IN WHOSE D ISTRICTS THE MULTIFA MILY DWELLING UNIT I S LOCATED. 14
[(d)] (C) Each public service company shall set up a procedure for handling the 15
third–party notification process in a manner best suited to the circumstances of the 16
particular public service company. 17
[(e)] (D) Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent any other form of 18
third–party notification that a customer may request. 19
[(f)] (E) The Commission may adopt regulations to carry out this section. 20
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 21
October 1, 2025. 22