Include prenatal, health care benefits
Protections for pregnant women, performing artists and disabled tenants living in high-rises and the banning of complimentary personal care products provided by hotels are among the new state laws that took effect on Jan. 1.
Minimum wage
Employers in Dutchess and Putnam County must pay a minimum of $15.50 per hour, an increase of 50 cents. In New York City, Westchester County and Long Island, the minimum wage increased to $16.50 per hour.
Health care expansion
Eligibility for the state’s Basic Health Program expanded from 200 percent to 250 percent of the federal poverty level, which in 2024 was $15,060 for an individual and $31,200 for a family of four. Pregnant women are also eligible and can remain covered for a year after giving birth. The increase was included in the 2022-23 budget bill for education, labor, housing and family assistance.
Prenatal leave
Requires employers to provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave per year. The law was passed as part of the 2024-25 budget bill for state public protection and general government.
Wetlands protections
The state Department of Environmental Conservation’s jurisdiction is no longer limited to areas depicted on the state freshwater wetlands maps but includes new freshwater wetlands, including small wetlands of “unusual importance.” The change was included in the 2022-23 budget bill for transportation, economic development and environmental conservation.
Ambulance payments
New York requires insurance companies to pay for ambulance services that are not preferred providers. Under the previous law, payments for transport by non-preferred providers were sent to patients. According to the bill’s sponsor, patients “routinely” neglected to make the payments.
Hotel care products
Under legislation passed in 2021 to reduce plastic waste, hotels with 50 or more rooms can no longer provide small bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap or other personal care products. Hotels will receive a warning for the first violation, a $250 fine if they fail to correct the infraction within 30 days and a $500 fine for subsequent violations in the same calendar year. Hotels with fewer than 50 rooms will have to comply beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
Biomarker testing
Health insurers must cover biomarker testing. According to the bill’s sponsor, the test is “increasingly important” for the treatment of cancer and other diseases and “37 of the 62 oncology drugs launched in the past five years require or recommend biomarker testing before use.”
Evacuation plans
The owners of high-rise buildings must create evacuation plans for disabled residents based on standards developed by the State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council. Hospitals, assisted living residences and adult-care facilities are exempt.
Fare evaders
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority can issue fines of up to $150 per violation to people who evade fares. The MTA said in August that buses are the biggest problem, with 50 percent of riders failing to pay. The lost revenue totaled $315 million in 2022, according to the agency.
Insulin payments
Insulin is exempt from insurance deductible, copayment, coinsurance and other cost-sharing requirements.
Election ballots
Judicial candidates will be pushed to the end of ballots instead of being listed before congressional and state candidates. The bill’s sponsor says that voters know little about judicial candidates, and their current position on the ballot makes it likelier that people will overlook congressional candidates.
Health insurance enrollment
Insurers are prohibited from charging fees or other penalties when pregnant women enroll for health care coverage through New York’s State of Health exchange.
Digital creations
Contracts for the use of a performer’s digital voice or likeness are void and unenforceable if the replica replaces work the performer would have otherwise done in person, if the agreement does not have a “reasonably specific description” of the digital representation’s use and if negotiations did not involve legal or union representation.
