GOVERNOR PATERSON ANNOUNCES 12 NEW LAWS TO TAKE EFFECT ON JANUARY 1, 2010
Laws Will Enact New Tier V Pension, Institute Consumer Protections and Make Election Law Changes
Last week, Governor David A. Paterson announced that 12 new laws would take effect on January 1, 2010.
"2010 will bring with it new laws on the books in New York State. Among them, the enactment of the new Tier V pension plan - the first substantive pension reform in a quarter century that takes a critical step toward making our government more accountable to taxpayers," Governor Paterson said. "With the New Year, we also increase protections for our State's consumers, and strengthen the laws against identity theft that will help make New York safer and healthier for a prosperous 2010."
In addition to pension reform, two significant legislative initiatives proposed by and signed into law by Governor Paterson will go into effect in the New Year: provisions of an identity theft protection bill placing significant restrictions on governmental disclosure of social security numbers; and a wholesale reform of the manner in which workers' compensation benefits are paid to livery drivers, which removes perennial difficulties with provision of such benefits that have led to extensive litigation and long delays in payment.
The laws going into effect include:
S.66026/ A.40026: Provides retirement benefits for new entrants to certain public retirement systems; makes the coordinated-escalator retirement plan and coordinated retirement plan permanent; extends the expiration of public arbitration of disputes between public employers and employee organizations.
S.5472-A/A.8402-A: Enhances consumer and provider protections by instituting a series of managed care reforms through limitations on denial of claims for pre-authorized health care services; relates to grievance procedures; relates to managed care health insurance contracts; relates to determinations involving urgent care by utilization review agents.
S.8376-A/A.11752: Relates to identity theft, protection of sensitive personal information, employee personal identifying information and crime of unlawful possession of a skimmer device. This bill strengthens New York State's identity theft laws and helps protect the State's residents from the fraudulent use of their personal information. (All of this bill is already in effect except for restrictions on state and local government disclosure of social security numbers, which will go into effect on January 1.)
S.8715/A.11759: Establishes clear rules for determining when livery drivers in New York City, Westchester and Nassau Counties are employees or independent contractors of livery bases, and creates a fund to give independent contractor livery drivers workers' compensation benefits in certain circumstances where no-fault automobile insurance does not provide any or sufficient coverage.
S.2810/A.1001: Authorizes the use of titles, initials or abbreviations of names as signatures on absentee ballots.
S.56-B /A.156-B: Enacts Part QQ, Sections 1 and 2: To amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to calculation of assessments.
S.57-B/A.157-B: Enacts Part Z, Sections 2-a and 3-a: To amend the social service law, in relation to the pass-through, disregard and assignment of support for persons applying for or in receipt of public assistance, and collection of a twenty-five dollar annual service fee for child support enforcement services furnished to certain persons receiving such services.
S.58-B/A.158-B: Enacts Part C, Section 27: To amend the public health law, in relation to payment by governmental agencies for general hospital inpatient services, inpatient medical assistance rates for non-public general hospitals, grants to public general hospitals, tobacco control and insurance initiatives pool distributions, health care initiatives pool distributions and payment made on behalf of persons enrolled in Medicaid managed care or family health plus.
S.522/A.1559: Requires a board of elections in a city of over one million to provide the same information in Russian that it provides in languages other than English.
S.3330/A.8088: Adds providers of voice over internet protocol service (VOIP) to current standards. Currently, voice over internet protocol service providers are not required to contribute to the enhanced emergency telephone systems surcharge. This act would add VOIP providers to the current law, so that they may begin to contribute to the emergency system network (E-911) in their respective counties.
S.4135-A/A.6718-B: Removes excess barriers to dental residencies and permit dental residents to take the mandated dental ethics training course during the period of their residency.
S.8122/A.10979: Exempts State-chartered credit unions from the special additional mortgage recording tax. This bill will encourage federal credit unions to convert to the State charter by allowing them to retain their exemption from the special additional mortgage recording tax, thereby removing one of the last remaining financial obstacles to operating as a State credit union. The bill will also exempt State credit unions from this tax, thereby encouraging the few remaining State-chartered credit unions to retain their State charter.