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History
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Directs state insurance fund to offer title insurance and authorizes superintendent of insurance to implement such
In Assembly Committee · Labor · Sponsor David Weprin
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S307
Title of bill
An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to directing the state insurance fund to offer title insurance or certificates of clear title
Purpose or general idea of bill
It directs the state insurance fund to offer title insurance and authorizes the superintendent of insurance to implement.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1: Section 76 of The workers' compensation law is amended to add a new subdivision 6.
§2: The superintendent of insurance is directed to create, within the insurance department, a title insurance bureau which shall implement the title insurance program.
Justification
Like other forms of insurance, title insurance, which guarantees homebuyers against claims of prior liens against property they intend to purchase, is regulated by New York State. Currently, title insurance is available through only private entities and costs citizens, on average, $1.2 billion, in order to guarantee payments of $50 million, according to 2007 statistics. Because title insurance is a requirement of home purchase, citizen are forced to pay accept the prices set by private industry, but that require the approval of the New York State Insurance Department. New York State should take a greater interest in protecting citizens from the overpricing of something the state requires of home buyers. For example, the State of Iowa has prohibited the private sale of title insurance, allowing the government to set rates and ensure that its citizens are offered standard price. Reform of the current New York State system could preserve the legal and social benefits of guaranteed title while saving New Yorkers hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Prior legislative history
2010: A.9441/S.6288 - Held in Labor 2011: S.3565/A.4168 - Held in Labor
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.