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Sen. Addabbo this week detailed some of the new State laws that went into effect on Jan. 1.
By Forum Staff
A wide array of new State laws went into effect on Jan. 1, noted State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach), including legislative efforts to combat opioid addiction, increase the minimum wage, cut taxes, address the proliferation of abandoned properties, and expand health and
consumer protections.
“When the ball dropped in Times Square on New Year’s Eve to mark the beginning of 2017, it also heralded the implementation of a roster of new State laws addressing issues from ‘A’ for addiction to ‘Z’ for ‘zombie’ properties,” Addabbo said. “An assortment of new statutes will also put more money in the pockets of some workers, aid businesses, provide assistance for veterans, fight back against breast cancer, and make homeowners’ insurance more affordable.”
Addabbo noted that among the new laws in effect for 2017 are measures to:
• Make changes to insurance policies to better address opioid and heroin addiction, end prior authorization for immediate inpatient treatment, and increase access to naloxone and other overdose-reversal medications.
• Update New York’s Child Health Plus insurance program to cover newborns from the first day of their birth month.
• Enable New Yorkers applying for health insurance through the State’s Health Benefit Exchange to also register as organ donors.
• Provide New York City public employees with up to four hours of excused leave annually for breast cancer screening.
• Extend the “Hire a Vet” tax credit to 2019, and the period of eligible employment for veterans under the program to 2018.
• Require that local social service departments and non-profit agencies receiving State funding ask all people applying for assistance whether they or members of their families have served in the armed forces. If so, those seeking aid would also be provided with contact information for the State Division of Veterans’ Affairs.
• Inform the public of scheduled meetings of the State Board of Regents and any of its subcommittees, task forces, or other subgroups seven days in advance.
• Enable homeowners to receive a 5-percent rate reduction for fire insurance, homeowners’ insurance, or property/casualty premiums for residential property if they complete a course in natural disaster preparedness.
• Make sure that escolar/oilfish, a fish that can cause significant gastric disturbances, is no longer labeled as “white tuna.”
• Require insurance companies to inform motorists of their right to have their vehicles repaired in a shop of their choice.
• Mandate certain banks to secure and maintain vacant or abandoned one- to four-family residential properties; require the State Department of Financial Services to keep a statewide registry of vacant properties; and ensure that homeowners receive clear notice of their rights during a foreclosure process.
• Expand the state’s highway “move over” law to provide more protection to volunteer firefighters, volunteer ambulance workers, and others using vehicles with blue or green lights to respond to roadside emergencies.
• Require that the window tint of vehicles be examined during yearly safety inspections, with window glass tinted beyond 30 percent of light transmittance leading to inspection failure and required remediation.
• Increase the minimum wage for employees in New York City from $9 to $11 an hour for most businesses, and to $10.50 for employers with fewer than 10 workers.
• Make a number of tax law changes to reduce the corporate franchise tax for businesses; extend the Clean Heating Fuel Tax Credit; allow taxpayers to directly deposit a portion of their income tax refunds into 529 college savings accounts; continue tax credits to companies providing transportation to the disabled; permanently extend the non-custodial parent Earned Income Tax Credit, and give a new City income tax credit to beer producers in the five boroughs.
