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New York Senate Insurance Committee advances insurance bills, refers school reimbursement measure to education panel
Summary
The Senate Standing Committee on Insurance advanced several insurance-related bills — covering uncovered dental services, anti-discrimination protections, and policy-renewal limits — and referred a measure to set up a reimbursement program for local educational agencies to the education committee. Most items moved by voice vote.
The chair opened the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Insurance meeting on Monday and moved through a largely procedural agenda that advanced multiple insurance-related measures and referred one education-related reimbursement bill to the Senate education committee.
The meeting began with brief informal remarks and a recognition: the chair thanked legal fellow Elizabeth Dionne, noting this was her last meeting before bar study. After that, the committee considered a slate of bills carried on the printed agenda.
Senate print 5313a (Bailey), described in the meeting as addressing uncovered dental services, was moved, seconded and reported out of committee by voice vote. The transcript records the committee taking the motion and reporting the bill; a roll-call tally was not recorded in the committee transcript.
A separate bill by Senator Martin Lawrence would authorize the New York Litigation Bureau to establish a reimbursement program for eligible local educational agencies. Committee discussion on that measure was brief; the chair recorded Senator Hamilton as "recorded but direct" and the bill was referred to the committee on education for further consideration.
Senate print 9179a (Schubert), described as a prohibition on insurance discrimination on certain bases, drew brief comment from a member who questioned whether existing law already addressed the issue, while another member said industry engagement had addressed concerns. The committee moved that bill and reported it by voice vote.
A measure clarifying that certain prohibitions on insurance would not apply to policies purchased and delivered in New York City was presented and reported by voice vote after brief consideration.
Senate print 9832 (Bailey), concerning standards for certain examination services under the insurance law, and Senate print 9941 (final bill on the agenda), described as prohibiting insurers from refusing to renew certain policies (noted in the meeting in connection with social service transportation), were each moved and reported by voice vote. The chair said the latter bill had also passed the Assembly.
Committee members offered only limited debate on the measures on the agenda; one comment recorded in the transcript was, "It's pretty crazy," attributed to a committee member during the anti-discrimination discussion. The transcript does not include formal recorded vote tallies for the motions reported by voice; outcomes in the record are described as "the bill is reported" or similar phrasing.
The meeting ended with the chair thanking members and staff and noting the next meeting would be the committee's final meeting in the near term.
Notes: all quotations and attributions in this article are taken from the committee transcript. Where the transcript records motion authorship (mover/second), that information is preserved in the meeting actions record; the committee transcript does not include detailed vote tallies.
