Enacted Law Bulletin 01.01.24

KNOW BETTER NEW YORK CONNECTIONS

Enacted Law Bulletin 01.01.24

The following bills have been enacted into law this session after being signed by Governor Hochul. Should you have any questions regarding these bills, please contact NYIA’s General Counsel, Bob Farley at (518) 986-2037 or bfarley@nyia.org.

A2672B (Paulin) / S1048A (Cooney)

Bill Links: A2672B (Paulin) / S1048A (Cooney)

AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring sellers to clearly post the price of a credit card surcharge.

This bill would amend section 518 of the general business law to establish notice requirements and penalties for credit card surcharges.

More specifically, this bill would provide that any seller in any sales transaction imposing a surcharge on a customer who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means shall clearly and conspicuously post the total price for using a credit card in such transaction, inclusive of surcharge, provided however, any such surcharge may not exceed the amount of the surcharge charged to the business by the credit card company for such credit card use.

This bill would further provide that the final sales price of any such sales transaction, inclusive of such surcharge, shall not amount to a price greater than the posted price for such sales transaction.

This bill would not be deemed to prohibit merchants from offering a two-tier pricing system, which would be the tagging or posting of two different prices in which the credit card price, inclusive of any surcharge, is posted alongside the cash price.

Lastly, this bill would also provide that any seller who violates the above requirements would be liable for a civil penalty, recoverable in an action or proceeding brought in a court of competent jurisdiction not to exceed $500 for each such violation.

NYIA Position: No Position – Neutral.

Action: Chapter: 723 of the Laws of 2023; signed by the Governor on December 13, 2023.

Governor’s Approval Message: No Governor’s Approval Message was issued with this bill’s signing.

Effective Date: This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law (February 11, 2024).

History: A2672B (Paulin) / S1048A (Cooney) – This bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Cooney since 2022 as S8774, and was introduced in the Assembly by Assemblymember Paulin as A9679, and was never considered by the Consumer Committees in either house.

A4668B (Weprin)/S5764B (Breslin)

Bill Links: A4668B (Weprin)/S5764B (Breslin)

An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to using driving history as a rating or underwriting factor for private passenger motor vehicle insurance.

This bill would add a new section 2327 to the insurance law, to provide that no insurer, who utilizes an applicant’s driving history as a rating or underwriting factor for private passenger motor vehicle insurance in this state, shall bind a policy of insurance, or accept a percentage of the annual premium due for a policy, without first making a good faith effort to verify said applicant’s driving history, as well as the driving history of all named drivers that are used to rate the policy and are listed by the applicant on the private passenger motor vehicle insurance application, through the use of a third-party database. Under this ill-considered language, an insurance company would have been required to request and pay for the production of the driving record, not only of the named insured on the policy, but also for all other named authorized drivers on the vehicle(s) in question, for both new and renewed policies despite the fact that there are circumstances where a person’s driving history would not be available, or it would not make sense to request verification of a person’s driving history. The verification of an insured’s driver’s history typically costs $7 per driver per verification check. This would mean that a driving family of four, could face an additional cost of $28 each and every time they purchased or renewed their insurance. As car insurance is typically issued and renewed on a six-month basis, this bill could impose an additional $56 cost on such family each year.

Thankfully, in her official approval memo, the Governor has stated that this bill was signed only on the condition that the legislature enact certain chapter amendments effecting this bill’s most troublesome provisions. NYIA has had several conversations and meetings with the Governor’s office seeking to improve this bill.

A chapter amendment is a bill introduced, and promised to be rapidly passed, by the legislature in its new session, that seeks to amend the chapter signed into law, in a manner negotiated between the Executive and the Legislature, as a condition of her signing the bill.

From NYIA’s conversations with the Governor’s office, it is believed that the Chapter Amendments sought will remove renewals from this bill, and limit the history requirements only to a New York driving history.

NYIA Position: Opposed as Originally Written. Discussed and proposed Chapter Amendments with the Governor’s Office.

Action: Chapter: 767 of the Laws of 2023; signed by the Governor on December 22, 2023.

Governor’s Approval Message: “This bill would require verification of driving history when used as a rating or underwriting factor for private passenger motor vehicle insurance. This bill aims to stop predatory insurance practices, where insurance companies promise consumers one price to earn their business and then increase premiums once they become customers. I support the goals of this legislation. However, as drafted, the bill required certain technical changes. I have reached an agreement with the Legislature to enact these changes. On the basis of this agreement, I am pleased to sign this bill.”

Effective Date: This act shall take effect on the 180th day after it shall have become a law (June 22, 2024) and shall apply to policies issued or renewed on or after such date. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

A5646A (Cook) / S5591A (Comrie)

Bill Links: A5646A (Cook) / S5591A (Comrie)

AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to the collateral estoppel effect of issues decided by certain arbitrators.

This bill would amend section 5106 to the insurance law, to provide that: “With respect to an action for serious personal injury, an award or decision of an arbitrator or master arbitrator or that is court rendered seeking no-fault reimbursement by or for medical providers, shall not be given collateral estoppel effect in any action or proceeding arising out of the same occurrence and shall not be admissible in any action or proceeding in actions seeking damages for bodily injuries, pain suffering, medical care and loss of wages as evidence of any facts.”

More specifically, this bill could seriously disrupt New York’s No-Fault Law, that has proven of great benefit to consumers since its enactment in the 1970s.

Currently, one of the most effective mechanisms used in the No-Fault system is the process of arbitration. In many ways, this alternative to a civil court action, leads to faster, fairer, less expensive decisions, which significantly benefit both accident victims and insurers.

As a result, this bill, could seriously impact the New York’s No-Fault system, by now legally prohibiting the use of collateral estoppel. Accordingly, this bill would use this prohibition to drive all the cases determined through the current fair, effective, and efficient arbitration system, back into the court room, which was the very purpose of No-Fault to prevent.

Advocated for by the plaintiff lawyers, and the civil litigation industry they advocate for, this bill benefits neither accident victims, nor premium paying drivers in New York. Indeed, the only persons it does help, are the case churning members of the trial bar, who are seeking to manufacture yet another source for their contingency fees.

NYIA Position: Strongly Opposed.

Action: Chapter: 766 of the Laws of 2023; signed by the Governor on December 22, 2023.

Governor’s Approval Message: The Governor has not yet released an approval message on this bill, which more than likely means that there will be no Chapter Amendments to correct its deficiencies.

History: A5646A (Cook) / S5591A (Comrie) – This bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Comrie since 2021 as S5532, and in the Assembly by Assemblymember Cook as A3375, and was never considered by the Insurance Committee.

A1178 (Jacobson) / S439 (Skoufis)

Bill Links: A1178 (Jacobson) / S439 (Skoufis)

AN ACT to amend the insurance law and the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to supplementary uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage for police agencies.

This bill would amend section 3420 to the insurance law, to require bodily injury be covered under supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist (SUM) insurance coverage for police and fire vehicles, and to provide that such vehicles must have complementary uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance coverage no less than the bodily injury liability insurance limits of coverage provided under such policy.

The sponsor claims that the intent of this bill is to define what is covered under supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist (SUM) insurance coverage, upon the decision of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Fitzgerald, a July 1, 2015 case, where the state appellate court determined the statutory mandate that all motor vehicle insurance policies containing SUM coverage has no application to police vehicles.

The Governor, in consultation with the Legislature, has agreed to certain Chapter Amendments for this bill, that would remove unnecessary language, delete references to subjects not regulated by the Department of Financial Services, and add language that the vehicles must be garaged within New York State.

NYIA Position: No Position – Neutral.

Action: Chapter: 751 of the Laws of 2023; signed by the Governor on December 22, 2023.

Governor’s Approval Message: “This bill would expand supplemental uninsured/underinsured motorist (SUM) insurance coverage to fire and police vehicles and agencies, in response to a recent court decision that limited that coverage absent specific provisions in a SUM endorsement.

This bill, as drafted, required certain technical changes to remove unnecessary language, delete references to subjects not regulated by the Department of Financial Services, and add language that the vehicles must be garaged within New York State.

I have reached an agreement with the Legislature to enact these changes. On the basis of this agreement, I am pleased to sign this bill.”

Effective Date: This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to policies and contracts issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after such effective date.

History: A1178 (Jacobson) / S439 (Skoufis) – This bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Skoufis since 2021 as S1843A, and passed the Senate in 2021 and 2022, and was introduced in the Assembly by Assemblymember Jacobson as A742A, and was never considered by the Insurance Committee.