Jun 29, 2017

2017 state legislative session wrap-up

The 2017 state legislative session ended June 7, with several days continuing into the early morning hours to debate and pass priority legislation. In the final days, PIACT priority legislation saw increasing activity, and several bills were passed and signed into law.

Ride-hailing legislation

One of PIACT’s biggest priorities was legislation dealing with the regulation of transportation network companies. A bill to regulate TNCs (H.B.7126) was passed by the House on May 11 and went through several amendments and debates in the Senate before its passage on June 6. It was signed into law by Gov. Dannell Malloy as Public Act 17-140 on June 19 and goes into effect Monday, Jan. 1, 2018.

The act requires that TNC drivers carry, either through their own personal auto policy or through the TNC policy, $50,000 for damages by reason of bodily injury to, or the death of, any one person, $100,000 for damages by reason of bodily injury or death per accident, and $25,000 for property damage during Phase 1 (when the driver is connected to the TNC network and is available to receive requests for prearranged rides). For Phases 2 and 3, which begin once the driver has accepted a prearranged ride and ends when the passenger exits the vehicle, the act requires $1 million combined single limit. During all phases, the driver must have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage of the state minimums.

PIACT had concerns with the previous draft of the legislation, which created insurance gaps by repealing the current insurance requirements for taxis and livery vehicles and replacing them with those for ride hailing, including the three-phase system. PIACT submitted testimony requesting legislators revisit this provision to eliminate the gaps created when taxi and livery drivers engage in activities not covered by the TNC model, such as picking up street hails or being dispatched via radio to pick up passengers for hire. The version passed by both chambers eliminated these gaps by eliminating the insurance repeal and instead creating regulations to require any taxi owner or operator to use tiered rates when posting rates.

Increasing state minimum limits on personal auto policies

Connecticut mandatory limits for personal auto policies will increase as of Monday, Jan. 1, 2018. Public Act 17-114 was signed by the governor on June 16. Beginning Jan. 1, 2018, all automobile liability insurance policies delivered, issued for delivery, renewed, amended or endorsed in Connecticut must have at least $25,000 for injury or death of one person, $50,000 for damages by reason of bodily injury or death per accident and $25,000 for property damage. This increases the previous limits of $20,000, $40,000 and $10,000, respectively. By the nature of the statute, the uninsured/underinsured minimum limits also will increase to match the new 25/50 limits.

Task force to improve insurance industry workforce

Special Act 17-10 was signed into law on June 19. The act establishes a task force to study methods of developing, expanding and improving the insurance industry workforce in Connecticut.

PIACT past President Augusto Russell, CIC, presented testimony to the Insurance and Real Estate Committee in March to applaud it for taking up this issue that is recurring among PIACT members and encouraged the committee to consider the insight and experience an active agent would be able to provide in service of such a task force.

Paid family leave

A bill concerning earned family and medical leave (S.B.1) received a favorable report on March 9 and was debated briefly in June before being passed temporarily by the Senate. It was not taken up by the House before the end of the session. There is a small chance it could be revisited during the special session this summer, but it is unlikely due to the large fiscal components attached to the proposal.

The bill would have made several key changes in the state’s current FMLA and family violence leave law, including expanding coverage from private-sector employees with at least 75 employees to all employers with at least two employees; changing the maximum leave allowed from 16 weeks in a 24-month period to 12 weeks in a 12 month period; and eliminate an employer’s ability to require employees taking FMLA leave to exhaust their paid time off. It created a Family and Medical Leave Compensation Program, which would be funded by a trust and would determine the eligibility of the employee for leave. The LCO projects that the start-up costs to the Department of Labor of implementing the FMLC program would be in excess of $10 million.

Budget, special session

The Legislature and Gov. Malloy were unable to come to an agreement on the 2018-19 biennium budget, forcing the Legislature into a special session this summer. The big issue for the session is closing the $317 million budget deficit. The Senate passed a mitigation bill that transferred money from off-budget accounts to close the deficit and guarantee certain state agencies receive the necessary funds to pay their obligations. This moving of funds would essentially deplete the state’s emergency reserve funds, leaving only $29.2 million in the emergency reserve, an amount equal to less than one-sixth of 1 percent of annual operating costs. The bill was sent to the House, but an agreement has not yet been reached.

One of the budget proposals currently being considered would substantially increase the licensing fees of insurance agents and brokers. The proposed fee increase, opposed by PIACT, would be charged annually, rather than every two years. The Connecticut Legislature expects the proposal to affect roughly 20,000 agents and brokers in Connecticut. PIACT will continue to monitor budget discussions and oppose any proposed increase to agent and broker licensing fees.

Crumbling foundations

Along with discussing the budget issues, the Legislature also will take up crumbling foundations issues during its special session. Initially there was an amendment made by House Republicans to ensure that the issue was on the agenda for the special session. In response to the amendment, Rep. Tim Ackert, R-8, said House Majority Leader Matthew Ritter, D-1, assured everyone that the House would be taking up the crumbling foundation issue during the special session as part of the budget implementation and bond authorization processes. The amendment was then withdrawn.