Tips to Tans: New Year Means New Laws in New York

A new year means new state laws, and 2011 brought more than 140 to New York. They cover everything from highway safety to health insurance, charter schools and tanning salons. 

HIGHWAY SAFETY

On Jan. 1, New York became one of the last states in the country to implement a so-called "Move Over" law, which requires drivers to change lanes when approaching a police car or other emergency vehicle on any state road. The law was dubbed the Ambrose-Searles Move Over Act in honor of two upstate police officers who were killed while their cars were stopped on the side of the road. 

If a driver can't switch lanes, she is required to slow down to 15 miles below the posted speed limit on the road. Violating the law can result in fines of up to $275 and two points on your driver's license. 

Since 1999, more than 160 law enforcement officers have been struck by vehicles and killed, according to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.

TANNING SALON REGULATIONS

The state also has enacted a number of consumer safety measures, including new regulations for tanning salons. Under the new law, which took effect in December, no one under 14 can use a tanning booth, while kids under 18 will have to obtain parental consent forms. The law also requires salons to disclose the much-publicized links between tanning beds and skin cancer, and offer protective sunglasses to customers free of charge. 

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, sunbed tanning increases the risk of both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers.

REBATE POLICIES

Another new law is aimed at protecting consumers from exploitative rebate policies. A new law requires businesses to clearly disclose the terms of its rebate policies, including the form in which the rebate will be issued and whether rebates involve any additional fees. 

The rebate law arose after the state received numerous complaints about companies that offered rebates on a range of products, only to disclose after the purchase that the rebate would take the form of a credit toward a future purchase.

TIP WORKERS

A new set of state labor laws could make 2011 a banner year for food service and hospitality workers who rely on tips. The minimum wage for tip workers was raised from $4.65 an hour to $5, and the laws require that tips be shared among certain types of employees, though it allows restaurants and hotels to set their own percentages and set up a specific system for doling out the money. 

HEALTH INSURANCE

A different consumer protection could do more than save shoppers some cash—it could save lives.Ian's Law prohibits health insurance companies from dropping entire groups of policy holders as a pretext to cutting off coverage for high-cost patients. The law is named after Ian Pearl, a 37-year-old Florida man who has muscular dystrophy and was dropped by his insurance company despite being dependent on a ventilator to survive. 

The law requires insurance companies to get permission from the State Insurance Department to drop an entire class of policy holders, and allows those patients to comment on the impact of losing their policies. 

Ian's Law isn't the only new medical mandate; two new laws requires insurance policies to include coverage for non-emergency, out-of-network dialysis and ensure that information on the affordability and accessibility of reconstructive surgery is made available to breast cancer surgery patients. 

CHARTER SCHOOLS

As public schools grow anxious over talks of a third straight year of cuts in state aid, the process for opening new charter schools is being streamlined. The state in 2011 will issue 260 new charters, and a package of new laws that take effect Jan. 1 set enrollment and retention targets, prohibit for-profit corporations from managing or operating new charter schools, and outline a new competitive bidding process.

A number of other state laws also took effect Jan. 1:

• Voting is now a little easier for members of the military and absentee voters. A new law allows members of the military who are stationed away from home to pick their preferred methods for receiving ballots, including over the Internet. The law also simplifies the absentee voter application by removing parts of the questionnaire not required by the state constitution. 
• The definition of "life insurance" has been expanded so that policies can be written for seniors who have been living in a nursing home for at least three months. New York is the last state in the country to adopt such a measure.
• Another new law updates the reference books used as authoritative sources to determine what types of off-label drugs and biologicals may be used in chemotherapy regimens. The previous law listed three reference guides, two of which are no longer published. Those guides were removed from the law, and three new ones were added. 
• Hospitals and health care providers are now required to report the results of newborn infant hearing tests to the State Department of Health. The law's sponsors said that the measure will increase the rates of newborn infant hearing tests and improve their accuracy.

Our lawmakers in Washington are just as enamored of enacting new legislation.

Here are some new federal laws of interest:

The Social Security tax dropped from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent. The decrease, which will last only through 2011, was a part of the tax law legislation that caused an uproar in Congress last month. The measure is designed to put more money in Americans' pockets in hopes of stimulating the convalescent economy. 

Another federal law provides 50-percent discounts on brand-name prescriptions to Medicare beneficiaries languishing in the so-called "donut hole," a coverage gap that requires patients to shell out up to $3,500 a year for medications. Medicare also has been expanded to provide some free preventive services, such as annual checkups. 

Mortgage lenders are now required to register in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System so consumers can easily track a lender's records. The new requirement applies to any loan officer from a federally-chartered institution, including major banks.