New York S 9942: Establishes the climate protection insurance act

Bill Text

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S09942 Summary:

BILL NOS09942 

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SAME ASSAME AS A03842-A

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SPONSORBAILEY

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COSPNSRCLEARE, SEPULVEDA

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MLTSPNSR

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Add Art 92 §§9201 - 9203, §§2354 & 215, amd §3425, Ins L; amd §102, Fin Serv L; amd §28-b, Bank L

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Establishes the insure our communities act to implement climate leadership and community protection act targets for insurers; identifies and protects such communities; relates to affordability of insurance rates; assesses covered insurance companies' record of performance at meeting insurance needs; requires covered insurance companies to file statistical reports, including information on insurance coverage in specific assessment areas and disadvantaged communities.

Go to top S09942 Actions:

BILL NOS09942 

&nbsp

04/16/2026REFERRED TO INSURANCE

Go to topS09942 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS09942 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS09942 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 9942

 IN SENATE

 April 16, 2026
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance

 AN ACT to amend the insurance law, the financial services law and the
 banking law, in relation to establishing the insure our communities
 act

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 2 the "insure our communities act".
 3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds and
 4 declares the following:
 5 1. The Department of Financial Services has identified that New York
 6 state is "in the midst of an affordable housing crisis driven by numer-
 7 ous factors, including the availability of affordable insurance";
 8 2. The Office of Budget Policy and Analysis has identified that "rates
 9 of rental cost burden have increased across all income groups since
 10 2012" and "significant racial disparities exist among households suffer-
 11 ing from housing insecurity. In New York, 55 percent of households head-
 12 ed by a Hispanic person (any race), 50 percent of households headed by a
 13 Black or African American person and 48 percent of households headed by
 14 an Asian person had at least one housing insecurity problem, compared
 15 with 31 percent of households headed by a white person. People experi-
 16 encing homelessness were also disproportionately Black and Hispanic or
 17 Latino";
 18 3. A 2022 study conducted by the Department of Financial Services and
 19 New York State Homes and Community Renewal found that affordable housing
 20 developers "had seen premiums rise, even in instances where there had
 21 been no previous claims made, to levels that they deemed prohibitively
 22 expensive";
 23 4. The availability of fair and affordable insurance has a significant
 24 impact on community credit needs as homeowners and business owners need
 25 insurance coverage in order to secure residential or commercial loans,
 26 as well as to protect their homes and businesses when damages occur, and

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD00753-05-6

 S. 9942 2

 1 housing developers need access to fair and affordable insurance coverage
 2 to secure financing for the development of affordable rental housing;
 3 5. A lack of fair and affordable insurance coverage can limit access
 4 to homeownership and business development, reduce the development of
 5 affordable rental housing, and can also limit lending and community
 6 development financing opportunities of institutions covered by New
 7 York's Community Reinvestment Act that evaluates banking institutions on
 8 their ability to meet credit needs of the entire community;
 9 6. Climate change, resulting primarily from the combustion of fossil
 10 fuels, is an immediate, grave threat to the state's communities, envi-
 11 ronment, and economy. New York has experienced an increasing number of
 12 extreme and unusual weather events, including Hurricanes Irene and Lee
 13 and the unprecedented Superstorm Sandy in 2012, which caused at least 48
 14 deaths and