Late last night the Governor acted on several pieces of legislation that are relevant to the property casualty industry. Most notably, the majority of these bills would expand litigation. NYIA will be releasing more information on the bills signed over the coming days but wanted to provide a quick update to keep members apprised of where these bills landed. We are pleased to see vetoes on a number of bills and are currently analyzing the chapter amendments to gain a full understanding of the impact of the bills that were signed.

Bills Vetoed by the Governor 

• Health Information Privacy Act (S929 Krueger) Governs companies that collect and sell personal information and limits the use and sale of that information. Veto Message NYIA opposed. 
• Third Party Recovery (S5170 Skoufis) Permits a plaintiff to recover against a third-party defendant found liable in certain actions. Veto Message NYIA opposed.
• Tort Settlement (S8185 Salazar) Prohibits certain entities from negotiating any contracts or settlements releasing such entities from liability for a tortious or potentially tortious act within thirty days of such act. Veto Message NYIA opposed.
• Consent to Jurisdiction (A8303 Lunsford) Provides that a foreign corporation's application for authority to do business in this state constitutes consent to jurisdiction of the courts of this state. Veto Message NYIA opposed.
• Remedial Construction of the Labor Law (S7388 Ramos) Provides that the New York labor law shall be construed liberally in favor of workers. Veto Message NYIA opposed.
• New York Travel Insurance Act (S5304 Bailey) Authorizes the underwriting of travel insurance. Veto Message NYIA supported.

Bills Signed by the Governor with Chapter Amendments 

• UDAAP (S8416 Comrie) Expands what is purported to be unfair, deceptive, and abusive business acts and practices. We understand that the chapter amendment includes a modified definition of unfair and retains the consumer oriented standard among other changes. NYIA opposed.
• Impleading to Delay (S8071A Addabbo) Enacts the avoiding vexatious overuse of impleading to delay (AVOID) act. The chapter amendment is stated to ensure that the time for filing a third party summons and complaint is clearly known to all parties, that all defendants are treated equally, and that courts can allow later filings when the circumstances warrant. NYIA opposed.
• Glass Repair (A6943B Hunter) Establishes standards for glass repair and calibration of advanced driver assistance systems. The chapter amendment is indicated to establish protections for independent glass repair shops. NYIA supported.
• Lawsuit Lending (A804C Magnarelli) Enacts the consumer litigation funding act to promote consumer protections related to third-party litigation funding transactions. The chapter amendment appears to require litigation funding companies to register with DFS. NYIA supported but requested a chapter amendment in relation to discovery. We will be continuing to advocate for the necessary transparency with the discovery process.
• Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing (S5941B Skoufis) Changes requirements for peer-to-peer car sharing programs’ insurance coverage. The chapter amendment is stated to clarify DFS’s authority in relation to administrators having the ability to offer additional insurance to shared car owners and drivers. NYIA did not take a position. 
• Training and Use of AI Frontier Models (S6953B Gounardes) Relates to the training and use of artificial intelligence frontier models. The chapter amendment appears to include a number of changes including a requirement for developers to publish AI frameworks with standardized criteria to promote transparency. NYIA did not take a position.
• Battery Recycling (S73A Kavanagh) Relates to rechargeable battery recycling. The chapter amendment is stated to address several practical and safety concerns with the bill. NYIA did not take a position.