Imposes standards for certain examination services
Summary
A10987 amends the New York Insurance Law to add standards for organizations that are contracted to provide insurance licensing examination services. Under the bill, the Superintendent of Insurance may continue to require applicants for certain insurance licenses and sub-licenses to take written examinations and pay an examination fee equal to the actual documented administrative cost of administering the exam. The bill also clarifies that the superintendent may accept a prior equivalent examination in place of a new one.
The new substantive change is that any outside organization under contract to develop, administer, or score these examinations must do so in accordance with standards and best practices developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), unless the superintendent adopts a different standard by regulation. The bill applies immediately to examinations conducted on or after its effective date.
Impact
The bill would amend section 2103 of the Insurance Law, affecting the licensing process for insurance producers and related applicants who must pass state examinations. It imposes a compliance framework on third-party exam vendors and gives the superintendent explicit authority to set or override standards by regulation. The measure does not change who must be licensed, but it does regulate how qualifying examinations are created, administered, and scored, and it reinforces that exam fees are limited to documented administrative costs.
Sentiment
The available legislative history shows little recorded controversy: there are no committee transcripts or vote details provided, and the bill ultimately passed the Senate. Based on the text and the lack of recorded opposition, the bill appears to have been treated as a technical or administrative reform aimed at standardizing exam services rather than a highly contentious policy change.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the requirement that contracted exam providers follow NAIC standards, which could affect vendor operations, exam design, and administrative flexibility. A secondary issue is the superintendent’s retained authority to impose a different standard by regulation, which preserves agency discretion but could raise questions about consistency and oversight. No specific legislators, industry groups, or other stakeholders are identified in the provided materials as opposing or supporting these provisions.
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Authorizes the imposition of penalties on subcontractors for failure to adhere to the standards for prompt, fair and equitable settlement of claims for health care and payments for health care services.
Relates to licensing of independent insurance adjusters by deeming requirements regarding a written examination met if the applicant holds a claim certification from a national or state-based claims association.
In school health services, further providing for health services and for vision screening and examinations, providing for eye health examinations and further providing for examinations by examiners of own choice.
In school health services, further providing for health services and for vision screening and examinations, providing for eye health and vision examinations and further providing for examinations by examiners of own choice.