New Year, New Laws: New York 2017

Another new year means new laws in New York. Among the hundreds of legal changes are health insurance laws to include drug abuse treatment and medicines; limits on how dark you can tint your car windows; and looser liquor laws.

And of course the minimum wage is going up.

Here’s a look at some of the laws that may affect your life in 2016:

Saving for college

You've already had it taken away, right? Starting in 2017, a taxpayer may deposit a sum derived from his or her personal income tax refund into college savings accounts.

Drug abuse

• Insurance companies: People seeking drug abuse treatment won't need prior approval from their health insurance company. People seeking medication to manage withdrawal symptoms or maintain recovery won't need prior approval for emergency supplies of these medications. Insurance companies must cover the costs of naloxone when prescribed to a person who is addicted to opioids and to his/her family member/s on the same insurance plan.
• Hospitals: Families can seek 72 hours of emergency treatment, an increase from the current 48 hours.
• Opiod prescriptions: The state has lowered the limit for opioid prescriptions for acute pain from 30 days to no more than a 7-day supply, with exceptions for chronic pain and other conditions.
• Information: For the first time, the state will collect and report county-level data on opioid overdoses and usage of overdose-reversal medication.

Tinted windows

The state has long said that car windows must let through 70 percent of the light (see the DMV for details). But starting in 2017, your car windows will be checked every time you go through state inspection. Auto shops that conduct inspections must now measure how much light is blocked through the windows before passing vehicles for operation.

Homeowner's insurance

This law reduces rates of homeowner's insurance and property/casualty insurance premiums for three years after a homeowner completes an appropriate natural disaster preparedness, home safety and loss prevention course.

Move Over Law

The current law has been expanded to protect volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers. That means you must slow down and move over a lane not only for police cars and fire trucks but also when approaching a vehicle with flashing blue or green lights that are operated by volunteer firefighters or ambulance workers involved in a roadside emergency.

Rail crossings

Nearly two years after six people died at a Hudson Valley at-grade rail crossing, the state will start a comprehensive review of its 5,304 rail crossings, evaluating and prioritizing the most dangerous ones and exploring new safety measures.

Hiring veterans

The state’s “Hire-a-Vet Tax Credit,” which helps to encourage businesses throughout New York to hire veterans, was due to expire but has been extended two years. The credit is given to any business in the state that hires a veteran returning home from military service on a full-time basis for at least one year. Businesses may earn up to $5,000 for hiring a qualified veteran and up to $15,000 if the veteran is also disabled.

Liquor laws

Changes to the state's liquor laws expand Sunday alcohol sales at restaurants and bars, allowing the sale of booze at bars and restaurants statewide at 10 a.m. instead of noon. The state will also allow wineries to sell wine in growlers for consumption off premises.

Minimum wage

New York is phasing in an increase in the minimum wage. The rate depends on the geographic location of the workplace, the size of the employer’s workforce and the calendar, and the goal is to hit $15 by Dec. 31, 2021.

For most of the state, the minimum wage will be set at $9.70 as of Dec. 31, 2016. In Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties, the minimum wage will rise to $10 an hour. In New York City, the minimum wage will be $11.

Zombie properties

Got an abandoned house in town that looks awful and drags down everything around it? A new law will streamline the foreclosure process for local blights. Plus banks and mortgage servicing companies will be required to maintain any houses that are abandoned before or while the lenders are foreclosing on them. There's also a daily fine of $500 if banks do not comply with new reporting requirements.

Photo via Flickr/CreativeCommons/Ron Cogswell- The New York State Capitol in Albany