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Who cares
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Sponsors
History
- Notice of committee consideration - withdrawn
- Notice of committee consideration - requested
- Referred to insurance
- Referred to insurance
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to providing for the gathering, compilation, and disclosure of slaveholder insurance policy information
Purpose or general idea of bill
To gather, compile and make available to the descendants of slaves and to the general public important historical data on slavery.
Summary of specific provisions
Amends the Insurance law by adding a new § 215, which directs the Superintendent of Insurance to obtain from state-regulated insurance companies any records relating to the insurance of slaves by slaveholders. The bill also requires insurance companies to research and report to the Superintendent of Insurance the existence of any records in their possession or information relating to insurance policies issued to slaveholders that provided coverage for damages to or death of their slaves.
Further requires the Superintendent to make available to the public and legislature information gathered from these entities.
Justification
Insurance policies from the slavery era have been discovered in the archives of several insurance companies. These policies document insurance coverage for slaveholders for damage to or death of their slaves. Some policies were issued by predecessor insurance firms that either went out of business or were taken over by another company. These documents provide evidence that profits from slavery provided capital to insurers whose successors remain in existence today.
The descendants of slaves -- whose ancestors were defined under the law as property, dehumanized, separated from their families, forced to perform labor without compensation, and whose ancestor's owners were compensated for damages by insurers -- are entitled to know of the existence of such documents.
In 2000, the State of California enacted two similar proposals. The first required the California Commissioner of Insurance to gather archival records of insurance policies held on slaves. The second established an academic research council to explore and identify issues concerning the economic legacy of slavery.
New York State has a moral and legal responsibility in assuring that similar justice is afforded to its citizens. That African-Americans were treated as chattel is an awful reality that has shaped the collective life of ancestors of slaves. The healing process will never be complete unless there is full disclosure of information regarding who profited from slavery. This proposal begins the process of redressing the historic injustices suffered by African-Americans through the collection and full disclosure of information relating to insurance policies covering slaves.
Prior legislative history
2005-06: S.1383 - Referred to Insurance 2003-04: S.2487 - Referred to Insurance 2002: S.6749 - Referred to Insurance
Fiscal implications for state and local government
Undetermined.
Effective date
Takes effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.