A
look at the September primaries and the upcoming November elections
The September primaries are over. On to the November
elections. Here is a quick recap of the Democratic primaries:
·
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo beat back challenger
Cynthia Nixon in a convincing primary win (64 percent to 34 percent).
·
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul barely beat challenger
Jumaane Williams (48 percent to 42 percent).
·
Williams now is considered the frontrunner for
the New York City Public Advocate position that will be vacated by Letitia
James, who won in the four-way New York attorney general primary.
·
On the state Senate side, all the former IDC
members were challenged in primaries, and six of the eight were defeated,
including former IDC head Jeffrey Klein, D-34.
·
Upstate Sen. David Valesky, D-53, who also was
defeated, decided not to run on the Independence line.
·
Sen. Martin Malave Dilan, D-18, a regular member
of the Senate Democrats, was beaten by a socialist Julia Salazar, riding
the coattails of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-14, who had beaten Congressman
Joseph Crowley earlier this year in the Congressional primaries.
That brings us to the Nov. 6 general election, in which:
·
Gov. Cuomo will face challenges from
Republican/Conservative Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro and former
Syracuse Mayor (and state Democratic co-committee chair) Stephanie Miner,
who is running on the third-party Serve America Movement (SAM) line.
Perennial Green Party Candidate Howie Hawkins also is on the gubernatorial
ballot.
·
Democrat Letitia James will face Republican
Keith Wofford on the attorney general ballot.
·
In the state Senate, the Republicans face a host
of challenges as there will be five vacant incumbent seats. (They have
decided not to run for re-election.) Additionally, Gov. Cuomo is supporting
challenges to at least two seats held by Long Islanders. As in the past
several elections, the Senate Republicans face the real possibility of
becoming a minority party in the state in January 2019.
News for your business
PIWA members should be aware of a state-mandated
requirement that all employees receive annual sexual harassment prevention
training. The New York State Department of Labor released its final
version of model sexual harassment prevention policy and training on
Oct. 1, 2018, and extended the date for which employee training must be
completed to Oct. 9, 2019. All New York employers still must have a
sexual harassment prevention policy in place by Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018.
Under the new law, all employers who have employees in
New York state, must implement annual sexual harassment prevention
training. Employers can use a model program or implement their own program
that meets or exceeds state requirements. There are a number of
requirements that the training must offer, including:
·
an explanation of sexual harassment and specific
examples of inappropriate conduct;
·
detailed information concerning federal, state
and local laws and the remedies available to victims of harassment; and
·
an explanation of employees’ external rights of
redress and the available administrative and judicial forums for bringing
complaints.
The DOL has finalized a
FAQ to answer common employer questions about the new law.
Legislative updates
Two bills of interest to PIWA members have passed both
houses and are waiting to be delivered to the governor. They are:
Prelicensing coursework via internet (S.7634-A/A.9527-A).
This legislation, sponsored by Sen. Kathleen A. Marchione, R-43, and
Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-113, would ensure that prelicensing courses
for all forms of insurance are offered in both classroom and
correspondence/distance learning formats. This bill now heads to the
governor to be signed and it has a good chance of becoming law.
CE for association membership (S.3960-A/A.7012-B). Under the terms of the bill, sponsored by Sen. James Seward, R-51, and
Assemblymember Pamela J. Hunter, D-128, active members of a statewide
professional insurance producer association would be granted six
continuing-education credits. We have heard the governor’s insurance
counsel has raised concerns regarding the number of credit hours. PIWA is
working with other producer associations to address any concerns that may
be a barrier to this becoming law. PIWA has written to the governor’s
office urging him to sign the legislation.
PIWA
signs letter asking NYDFS to add coverages to ‘Export List’
PIWA joined other industry trade groups in a letter that
asked the New York State Department of Financial Services to schedule a
hearing to consider adding certain types of coverages that generally are
unavailable in the admitted market to the “Export List.” The proposed
coverages included types of vacant property risks multi-peril; commercial
cyberliability; primary flood, wind deductible buyback coverage and more. A
full list of coverages can be found in the letter,
which was signed by PIWA, ELANY, PIANY and the Big I New York.
Register
today for the PIWA Fall Reception
Join PIWA for its 2018 Fall Reception. Don’t miss this
opportunity to learn about your industry and network with peers and company
representatives. It’s all happening Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018, at Haven
Rooftop, 132 W. 47th St., New York, NY 10036. Register for the event
today!
Do
you want more bang for your advertising buck?
Reach your prospective and current business partners by
advertising in PIA magazine. The award-winning PIA magazine is the most targeted insurance trade publication distributed to
professional, independent insurance agents throughout the Northeast.
Be ahead of your competitors by taking advantage of this
unique opportunity. The
2019 media kit is available here. Contact Magazine and Media
Advertising Sales Executive Susan Newkirk today at (800) 424-4244, ext. 231
or snewkirk@pia.org.
What’s
next …
At this time of year, we take stock of that for which we
are thankful—our members. Enjoy your holiday season. The PIWA eBulletin will return in January 2019 with more information and events.
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